African American Resources for Minnesota

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Adoption Bible Records Business Records Cemeteries Census Church Records Colonial Records Correctional Institutions Court Records Crime & Punishment Directories Emigration & Immigration Funeral Homes Genealogies Land & Property Military Records Naturalization & Citizenship Newspapers Obituaries Online Collections Periodicals Probate Records Taxation Vital Records Voter Records

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Cultural Groups

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Local Research Resources

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United States

African American Genealogy

Minnesota

African American Resources

African American Online Genealogy Records

Online Resources

1846-1867 U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867 at Ancestry ($)

1861-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872 at FamilySearch

1865-1874 Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874 at FamilySearch

African American Digital Bookshelf - a growing list of digital books on FamilySearch and other websites

Discover Freedmen - this site searches all of the Freedmen's Bureau record collections on FamilySearch altogether (and redirects there)

Minnesota Digital Archives

Research Strategy

• Taylor, David Vassar. African Americans in Minnesota Call Number 977.6 F2td (includes index).

History

• Duluth Lynchings: Background and Chronology
• African Americans in Minnesota

• Johnson, Frederick L. Uncertain lives : African Americans and their first 150 years in the Red Wing, Minnesota area. Call number 977.614/R1 F2j (includes bibliographical references and index).
• Taylor, David Vassar. African Americans in Minnesota Call Number 977.6 F2td (includes index).

Resources

African American

• Duluth Lynchings, 1920 from the Minnesota Historical Society

Cemeteries

• Minnesota Cemeteries (Find a Grave)

Funeral Homes

• CAAGS Obituary and Funeral Home Collection at California African American Genealogical Society - index & images

Obituaries

• CAAGS Obituary and Funeral Home Collection at California African American Genealogical Society - index & images

Oral Histories

• T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History
• Minnesota Black History Project at the Minnesota Historical Society
• Our Gathering Places Oral History Project at the Minnesota Historical Society
• Rondo Oral History Project at the Minnesota Historical Society

Military Records

• Board of Commissioners. Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars: 1861-1861. St. Paul, Minnesota: Pioneer Press Company, 1890.
• Minnesota Adjutant General’s Report of 1866. Roseville, Minnesota: Park Genealogical Books, 1997. (FamilySearch Library book 977.6.) The report lists 26,088 names of men who served during the Civil War period, including citizen soldiers who served in local militias. It gives name, age, state or country of birth, dates of service, and remarks, and is arranged alphabetically. Family history researchers should look at both.

Newspapers

• Archives.com: Minnesota Obituaries
• Digital Newspapers at the Minnesota Historical Society

Reconstruction Records

Freedman’s Bank

An excellent source is the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (visit the African American Freedman's Savings and Trust Company Records page to learn more). This company was created to assist African American soldiers of the Civil War and Freedmen. Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company signature cards or registers from 3 March 1865 to 25 July 1874 may list the name of the depositor, date of entry, age, birthplace, residence, complexion, name of employer or occupation, wife or husband’s name, death information, children’s names, name of father and mother, brothers’ and sisters’ names, remarks, and signature. Early books sometimes contained the name of the former slaveholder and the name of the plantation. Copies of death certificates were sometimes attached to the entries. The collection is organized alphabetically by state, then city where the bank was located, then date the account was established, then account number.

Online collections of Freedman's Bank records:

• United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874
• U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871 ($)

Freedmen's Bureau

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was created by the US government in 1865 until 1872 to assist formerly enslaved persons in the southern United States. The Bureau created a wide variety of records extremely valuable to genealogists. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. These records often include full names, former slaveholders and plantations, and current residences. For 1865 and 1866, the section on abandoned and confiscated lands includes the names of the owners of the plantations or homes that were abandoned, confiscated, or leased. It gives the county and location, a description of the house, the number of acres owned, and the number of cabins of enslaved persons. These films do not appear to contain the names of the enslaved.

To find Freedmen's Bureau records:

• DiscoverFreedmen - the search on this site will utilize all of the Freedmen's Bureau records on FamilySearch, including:
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Claim Records,1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Hospital and Medical Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts, Indenture and Apprenticeship Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1861-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Ration Records,1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Records of Persons and Articles Hired, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Freedmen's Court Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Land and Property Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen's Complaints, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1972 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Other FamilySearch collections not included:

• 1865-1872 United States Freedmen's Bureau Miscellaneous Records,1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1865-1872 United States Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images. These reports primarily contain statistical and historical information.
• More collections are available in the FamilySearch Catalog. Search for "FREEDMEN - MINNESOTA" in the Subjects search bar to find.

Visit the African American Freedmen's Bureau Records page to learn more about utilizing these records.

Vital Records

Marriage

The Freedmen's Bureau (1865-1872) was created by the US government to assist formerly enslaved persons in the southern United States. One of their responsibilities was to record the marriages (past and present) of the formerly enslaved couples. These records can be found in the collections below and include the lists of marriages that occurred previously, marriage certificates, and marriage licenses. The information contained on the records may include the name of the husband and wife/groom and bride, age, occupation, residence, year or date of marriage, by whom, number of children, and remarks.

• United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872
• U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867

Death

• Minnesota Deaths and Burials, 1835-1990 - information may include name, gender, death date and place, age, birthplace, race, marital status, and parents and their birthplaces

Archives and Libraries

For a list of archives and libraries in Minnesota: Minnesota State Archives and Libraries.

Minnesota State Archives

Minnesota Digital Library
University of Minnesota
Wilson Library, Room 60
309 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: 612-624-4002

Societies

Minnesota Historical Society
345 W. Kellogg Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55102
Phone: 651-259-3000