Have you heard of the Freedmen's Bureau? In this post, learn what this agency was, and how the records it kept can help you with your genealogy research.
The roots of the Freedmen's Bureau can be traced back to the American Freedmen's Inquiry Commission, which was created after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1863.
After the end of the Civil War, the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was created to help support the transition of more than 4,000,000 formerly enslaved individuals to new lives as free citizens. The bureau was often referred to as the Freedmen's Bureau, a key element in the US government's attempt at reconstruction.
During its almost seven year period of operations, the bureau distributed around 20 million meal rations, and operated hospitals and refugee camps. Some of its other activities included legalizing marriages that people had entered into during their enslavement, establishing schools for those who were formerly enslaved, as well as providing transportation to freedpeople who were trying to find family members who lived in other areas of the United States.
Unfortunately, the Freedmen's Bureau was not as effective as was intended for a variety of reasons. Many people who had been enslaved did not benefit from the resources that were supposed to be available to them.
However, records from many of these Freedmen's Bureau activities still exist and can provide valuable information for descendants of the people are documented in the archives.
I first explored these records several years ago while I was trying to help a good friend learn more about his family history.
Why These Records Are Vital for African American Research
When Freedmen's Records exist for African-Americans, they can prove to be exceptionally valuable for family history purposes. It can be very difficult for people to figure out exactly where their enslaved ancestors were living and what their lives may have been like after the end of the Civil War.
The 1870 US Federal Census was the first time that formerly enslaved individuals would be listed in their family or household units on a census record. Any information that is discovered in the Freedmen's Bureau records can help families trace their ancestors' movements prior to the 1870 US Federal Census.
Which Freedmen's Bureau records could help genealogists?
While not all of the Freedmen's Bureau records have been located, almost all of the records that have been found have been digitized. The types of records that you might be able to find include:
- Work contracts
- Marriage records (legalization of marriages)
- Relief/welfare records
- School records
- Medical records
- Legal records
- Bank records (from the Freedman's Savings Bank, a related agency)
Exactly what you might be able to learn from any record that you do find about an ancestor will depend on the type of record. Marriage records tend to contain a lot of information, as can be seen in the marriage record below.
This marriage record is for Thomas and Jane Harris, who had been living together as husband and wife for about 15 years when this marriage record was created. One of the most valuable aspects of this record is that it contains the names and birth dates of their nine children - a goldmine of information for any descendant.
Other records might not seem to fall into any of the categories that I mentioned above, yet they might be very valuable. Take for example the letter below, I have produced a transcript that you can read after the image.
Transcript of letter
Dear Sir,
I am anxious to learn about my sisters, from whom I have been separated many years. I have never heard from them since I left Virginia 24 years ago. I am in hopes that they are still living and I am anxious to hear how they are getting on. I have no other one to apply to but you, and am persuaded that you will help one who stands in need of your service as I do. I shall be very grateful to you if you oblige me in this matter. One of my sisters belonged to Peter Coleman in Caroline County and her name was Jane - her husband's name was Charles and he belonged to Buck Haskin and lived near John Wright's store in the same county. She had three children, Robert, Charles, and Julia, when I left. Sister Martha belonged to Dr. Jefferson, who lived two miles above Wright's store. Sister Matilda belonged to Mrs. Botts in the same county. My dear Uncle Jim had a wife at Jack Langley's and his wife was named Adie and his oldest son who was named Buck, and they all belonged to Jack Langley. These are all my own dearest relatives and I wish to correspond with them with a view to visit there as soon as I can hear from them. My name is Hawkins Wilson and I am their brother who was sold at the sheriff's sale... (end of first page in image)
I was able to locate this letter in a different collection of records and read the end of the letter. In addition to the initial letter that you read above, Hawkins also included a lengthy letter to his sister, Jane, where he describes his marriage to his wife and his military service during the war.
Of course, it was difficult to read these letters and not wonder whether Hawkins Wilson ever found his relatives. According to the information that I located, he may have been living in Texas in the 1890s, which means he likely did not return to Virginia.
Where to Access the Records
If you have family members who might be in the Freemen's Bureau records, I definitely recommend taking a look to see what you can find. There are a few different places online where to can search through the records for free.
Ancestry has made the more than 3.5 million Freedmen's Bureau records free to view. All you need to do is create a free Ancestry account, and then you can search the records here.
You can also create a free Family Search account and view the records on that site by accessing this page.
Conclusion
I hope that this post has helped you understand what the Freedmen's Bureau records are, and why they are so important for the family history of many African Americans. You should definitely take the time to search through these records to see they can useful for your genealogy work.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this article, I first explored these records while trying to help a friend. My friend's family members don't seem to be listed in the bureau's records, which might mean that they were not among those who were helped by the agency.
However, there are many, many people listed in the records - and many of those people have descendants and other family members who will be interested to learn more about them.
If you have any questions about something that you read in this post, or if you would like to share a story about something you discovered in the Freedmen's Bureau records, I would love to hear from you in the discussion below.
Thanks for reading today!