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Register of Applications for Restoration of Property (38)

Type:
Archival materials
Date:
Aug. 1865–May 1866
Scope and Contents:
The entries in the register of applications for restoration of property, August 1865–May 1866, are arranged alphabetically by the initial letter of surname or office of correspondent and thereunder generally in chronological order by date of receipt of the application.

In the register for each letter entered, there is an entry number, the name of the petitioner, the name or description of the property, and the date the land was restored, if applicable. A cross–reference entry number is given for the application if it is also entered in the Assistant Commissioner's registers of letters received.

Not all the applications entered in the register are among the records. Some were forwarded to Bureau headquarters or other offices or officers. The National Archives has placed an asterisk (*) in the register by the entry number of each application still among the records of the Assistant Commissioner. The National Archives has also placed cross–reference symbols in the register in the same manner as in the registers of letters received.
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M869, Subseries 6.1
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Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870 / Series 6: Records Relating to Restoration of Property
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io3dda4bb14-f47d-40b6-9222-c5686b6f6f76
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmaahc-fb-m869-ref55
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S – Z

Type:
Archival materials
Date:
May 1865–May 1866
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M869, File 6.2.5
See more items in:
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870 / Series 6: Records Relating to Restoration of Property / 6.2: Registered Applications for Restoration of Property
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io30b3fa6cc-5273-4592-a5b8-1ac60f01299d
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmaahc-fb-m869-ref61
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A – B

Type:
Archival materials
Date:
May 1865–May 1866
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M869, File 6.2.1
See more items in:
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870 / Series 6: Records Relating to Restoration of Property / 6.2: Registered Applications for Restoration of Property
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io39cd09d3a-9a82-4e28-99ec-28a2b864b7b4
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmaahc-fb-m869-ref57
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Online Media:

F – J

Type:
Archival materials
Date:
Nov. 1866–Dec. 1867
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M869, File 4.3.2
See more items in:
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870 / Series 4: Registered Letters Received / 4.3: Entered in Registers 4 and 5
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io3c61f5a56-88df-4dc0-a5ae-cefba56d4235
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmaahc-fb-m869-ref38
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Online Media:

A – E

Type:
Archival materials
Date:
Nov. 1866–Dec. 1867
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M869, File 4.3.1
See more items in:
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870 / Series 4: Registered Letters Received / 4.3: Entered in Registers 4 and 5
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io321876d25-78fa-487a-b2a4-41bcccd0d2e4
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmaahc-fb-m869-ref37
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Records of the Field Offices for the District of Columbia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870

Extent:
20,421 Digital files
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Digital files
Date:
1865–1870
Summary:
The collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 21 rolls of microfilm described in NARA publication M1902. These digital surrogates reproduced the records of the District of Columbia field offices of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870. Some pre-Bureau records dated 1863 and 1864 are included. These records consist of bound volumes and unbound records, containing materials that include letters and endorsements sent and received, monthly reports, registers of marriages, and employment registers.
Records Description:
The records reproduced in this microfilm publication consist of volumes and inbound records. The volumes were originally arranged by type of record and thereunder by volume number. No numbers were assigned to series consisting of single volumes. Years later, all volumes were arbitrarily assigned numbers by the Adjutant General's Office (AGO) of the War Department after the records came into its custody. In this microfilm publication, AGO numbers are shown in parentheses to aid in identifying the volumes. The National Archives assigned the volume numbers that do not appear in parentheses. In some volumes, particularly in indexes and alphabetical headings of registers, there are a number of blank numbered pages that have not been filmed.

The volumes consist of letters and endorsements sent and received, press copies of letters sent, registers of letters received, letters and orders received, employment registers, registers of contraband camps, marriage records, special orders and circulars issued, and monthly reports forwarded to the Assistant Commissioner. The unbound documents consist of letters and orders received, unregistered letters received, special orders and circulars received, labor contracts, monthly reports, transportation orders, employment rosters, and ministers' reports relating to marriages.
Historical Note:
[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M1902.]

HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, also known as the Freedmen's Bureau, was established in the War Department by an act of Congress on March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507). The life of the Bureau was extended twice by acts of July 16, 1866 (14 Stat. 173), and July 6, 1868 (15 Stat. 83). The Bureau was responsible for the supervision and management of all matters relating to refugees and freedmen, and of lands abandoned or seized during the Civil War. In May 1865, President Andrew Johnson appointed Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard as Commissioner of the Bureau, and served in that position until June 30, 1872, when activities of the Bureau were terminated in accordance with an act of June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366). While a major part of the Bureau's early activities involved the supervision of abandoned and confiscated property, its mission was to provide relief and help freedmen become self-sufficient. Bureau officials issued rations and clothing, operated hospitals and refugee camps, and supervised labor contracts. In addition, the Bureau managed apprenticeship disputes and complaints, assisted benevolent societies in the establishment of schools, helped freedmen in legalizing marriages entered into during slavery, and provided transportation to refugees and freedmen who were attempting to reunite with their family or relocate to other parts of the country. The Bureau also helped black soldiers, sailors, and their heirs collect bounty claims, pensions, and back pay.

The act of March 3, 1865, authorized the appointment of Assistant Commissioners to aid the Commissioner in supervising the work of the Bureau in the former Confederate states, the border states, and the District of Columbia. In the District of Columbia, field office operations began in June 1865, when Col. John Eaton, Jr., was appointed Assistant Commissioner with headquarters in the city of Washington. Brig. Gen. J. C. Fullerton succeeded Eaton in December 1865 and served until February 7, 1866. Brig. Gen. Charles H. Howard, brother of Commissioner Howard, then served as the Assistant Commissioner until the position was discontinued in December 1868. Bvt. Maj. David G. Swaim then supervised operations until October 1869, when virtually all Bureau functions, except education, were terminated.

The Assistant Commissioner for the District of Columbia was responsible for Bureau affairs in the District, the Freedmen's Village in Virginia and the farms south of the Potomac, and the Government farms in St. Mary's County, Maryland. In September 1865, Alexandria, Fairfax, and Loudoun Counties, Virginia, were added to his jurisdiction. In August 1866, Loudoun was transferred to the Assistant Commissioner for Virginia, and Alexandria and Fairfax Counties were transferred similarly in March 1867. In the same month, West Virginia was placed under the jurisdiction of the Assistant Commissioner for the District of Columbia. He was also responsible for Bureau affairs in Montgomery, Prince Georges, Anne Arundel, Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary's Counties in Maryland. In January 1868, Washington and Allegheny Counties, Maryland, were added, and in August 1868, the remaining counties of Maryland and the State of Delaware were added to his jurisdiction. Although the officers in the neighboring Maryland and Virginia counties reported to the Assistant Commissioner of the District of Columbia, their records are among those of the subordinate officers for Maryland or Virginia.

While the work performed by Assistant Commissioners in each state and the District of Columbia was similar, the organizational structure of staff officers varied from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In the District of Columbia, the Assistant Commissioner's staff consisted of a superintendent of education, an assistant inspector general (from time to time he served as the assistant adjutant general), an assistant quartermaster and disbursing officer, a superintendent of marriages, and a surgeon in chief. Subordinate to these officers were the assistant superintendents, or subassistant commissioners as they later became known, who commanded the subdistricts. For administrative purposes, agents were assigned to the various counties of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. Within the District of Columbia, a subassistant commissioner was appointed to supervise Bureau activities for the communities of Georgetown and Washington. In 1868 Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties were added to his jurisdiction. A subassistant commissioner was also assigned to Alexandria County in January 1866; he reported to the Assistant Commissioner until responsibility for the supervision of the county was transferred to Virginia authorities. In addition to county agents and subassistant commissioners, local superintendents were appointed to supervise such Government projects as Barry Farm, located south of the Anacostia River, and the Sothron Farm in St. Mary's County, Maryland. These farms were purchased with Bureau funds to aid freedmen in buying farmland. Other local superintendents were assigned to administer Freedmen's Village and schools and hospitals. Occasionally, the Bureau retained military officers in a civilian capacity after the termination of their military service. For a list of known District of Columbia subordinate field office personnel and their dates of service, see the Appendix.

The Assistant Commissioner corresponded extensively with both his superior in the Washington Bureau headquarters and his subordinate officers in the subdistricts. Based upon reports submitted to him by the subassistant commissioners and other subordinate staff officers, he prepared reports that he sent to the Commissioner concerning Bureau activities in areas under his jurisdiction. The Assistant Commissioner also received letters from freedmen, local white citizens, state officials, and other non–Bureau personnel. These letters varied in nature from complaints to applications for jobs in the Bureau. Because the assistant adjutant general handled much of the mail for the Assistant Commissioner's office, it was often addressed to him instead of to the Assistant Commissioner.

In a circular issued by Commissioner Howard in July 1865, the Assistant Commissioners were instructed to designate one officer in each state to serve as "General Superintendents of Schools." These officials were to "take cognizance of all that is being done to educate refugees and freedmen, secure proper protection to schools and teachers, promote method and efficiency, correspond with the benevolent agencies which are supplying his field, and aid the Assistant Commissioner in making his required reports." In October 1865, a degree of centralized control was established over Bureau educational activities in the states when Rev. John W. Alvord was appointed Inspector of Finances and Schools. In January 1867, Alvord was divested of his financial responsibilities, and he was appointed General Superintendent of Education. In August 1865, Rev. John Kimball was appointed superintendent of education for the District of Columbia and served until replaced by Maj. D. G. Swaim in October 1869. Maj. W. L. VanDerlip succeeded Swaim in December 1869 and remained in the position until August 1870, when educational activities in the District of Columbia were discontinued.

Because the jurisdiction of the superintendent of education for the District of Columbia included areas other than the District itself, his records include reports and correspondence relating to schools in Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware, and parts of Virginia.

An act of Congress, approved July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), ordered that the Commissioner of the Bureau "shall, on the first day of January next, cause the said bureau to be withdrawn from the several States within which said bureau has acted and its operation shall be discontinued." Consequently, in early 1869, with the exception of the superintendents of education and the claims agents, the Assistant Commissioners and their subordinate officers were withdrawn from the states and the District of Columbia.

For the next year and a half the Bureau continued to pursue its education work and to process claims. In the summer of 1870, the superintendents of education were withdrawn from the states, and the headquarters staff was greatly reduced. From that time until the Bureau was abolished by an act of Congress approved June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366), effective June 30, 1872, the Bureau's functions related almost exclusively to the disposition of claims. The Bureau's records and remaining functions were then transferred to the Freedmen's Branch in the office of the Adjutant General. The records of this branch are among the Bureau's files.

Constrained by limited resources, Southern opposition, and the politics of Reconstruction, the Bureau faced an enormous challenge in its efforts to assist the freedmen and refugees. Its relief efforts, without question, saved thousands of southerners from starvation. Its attempts to assist freedmen to become self–sufficient, to provide public education, administer justice, and, to a lesser degree, to provide land, all worked with varying degrees of success to lessen the difficulties during the transition from slavery to freedom. One of the Bureau's greatest legacies is the body of records it created and received during the course of its operations. These records are arguably some of the most important documents available for the study of the Federal Government's policies, efforts to reconstruct the South, and Southern social history and genealogy.

THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

The major activities of the Freedmen's Bureau field office in the District of Columbia generally resembled those conducted in other states. The Bureau provided relief from poverty and destitution, provided transportation and employment for needy freedmen, worked with benevolent societies in the establishment of schools, provided assistance in legalizing slave marriages and various legal matters, and worked with black soldiers and sailors in obtaining back pay, bounty payments, and pensions.

To relieve problems of destitution and poverty and to aid the aged, orphans, and infirm in the District of Columbia and Virginia, the Bureau offered various forms of assistance. The Bureau established an asylum at the Freedmen's Village in Arlington, Virginia, for destitute men, women, and children. It was located across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, on the estate formerly owned by Robert E. Lee. It originated with the War Department in 1863 as a "Model Community" for the freedmen in the Washington area and was continued by the Freedmen's Bureau for destitute freedmen. Also, under the auspices of a women's campaign, "National Appreciation of the Relief of Destitute Colored Women and Children," the Bureau constructed a building for the Colored Orphans Home of Washington, DC. In addition, the Brooklyn Home for Children of Freedmen, under the direction of the African Civilization Society, received aid from the Bureau to allow temporary relief for freedwomen to look for employment. When "The Farm School for Colored Boys" in the District of Columbia ceased its operations on June 14, 1867, the Bureau provided homes for inmates, and assisted others who returned to their parents.1

As a part of its ongoing relief efforts, the Bureau also issued rations to both the Freedmen's Hospital in the District of Columbia and Abbott Hospital at Freedmen's Village. Up to a 3–day supply of rations was given to freedmen who sought employment outside the city, and rations were given to those destitute refugees and freedmen who weren't considered permanent residents of Washington. In 1866 Congress authorized a special relief appropriation of $25,000 for the poor in the District of Columbia, and an additional expenditure of $15,000 in 1867. A Special Relief Commission headed by Robert Reyburn, surgeon in chief of the District of Columbia, was established by Assistant Commissioner Howard to administer the appropriations. The Commission provided food, clothing, and other essentials to both blacks and whites in the city. The Commission maintained registers of applicants who applied for relief and forwarded weekly reports of its operations to the Assistant Commissioner. The Assistant Commissioner also received additional reports relating to rations, clothing, and medicine issued by other Bureau officials.2

One of the major challenges facing Freedmen's Bureau officials in the Washington, DC, field office was to reduce the number of freedmen in the city who depended on the Bureau for assistance. When the Civil War began, thousands of freedmen flocked to the capital city from the surrounding areas of Maryland and Virginia. After Congress abolished slavery in the District of Columbia in 1862, thousands more migrated to the city, causing overcrowding, destitution, and significant increases in unemployment. A census taken by the Bureau in the winter and spring of 1866 revealed a black population of more than 31,000 in Washington and Georgetown, many of whom were unable to find work. To relieve the Government of the burden of providing support for these individuals and to encourage independence, Assistant Commissioner Charles Howard solicited the help of Northern aid societies in Philadelphia, PA; Boston, MA; New York; and Providence, RI. Howard believed that if large numbers of freedmen in the District of Columbia could secure employment in other parts of country, conditions would improve for those who remained. To carry out his plan, Howard established employment offices in both the District of Columbia and Northern cities and provided rations and free transportation for interested freedmen to prospective employers. Employment offices (A. K. A., "Intelligence Offices") were established in various parts of the capital, and the Bureau hired several employment agents and paid the rent of employment offices in New Jersey; Providence, RI; Hartford, CT; and Boston, MA. In many instances, employment agents traveled with freedmen to the North and took them to the employment office or the employer. Officials in charge of employment offices in Washington; Alexandria, VA; and northern employment offices forwarded trimonthly and monthly reports of their operations to the Assistant Commissioner. The Assistant Commissioner also received reports from local agents regarding destitute freedmen.3

By October 1867, the Bureau had provided resettlement transportation for more than 9,000 freedmen from the District of Columbia. Many others received help finding homes in Maryland and Virginia, to where transportation was not required. However, in spite of the Bureau's claims of reducing the dependency of the black population in the District of Columbia, poverty and unemployment remained an issue. In a circular issued October 5, 1867 (Circular Number 6), Howard, probably realizing the shortcomings of the employment program, limited transportation to orphans and women with small children, thus gradually closing employment offices in and around the city.4

To further deal with the continued problem of poverty and unemployment, and to remove freedmen from some of the most deplorable living conditions in the District of Columbia and Alexandria, Virginia, the Bureau set aside certain buildings under its control as tenements. Several barracks in and around Washington were provided for some 350 families, and in Alexandria accommodations were made for more than 100 families. Families were charged a moderate rent, amounting to nearly a third of what they had paid to their former landlords for filthy shanties and huts. For those who could not find work at an adequate wage to support their families, Assistant Commissioner Howard ordered Bvt. Col. S. P. Lee, superintendent of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Loudoun Counties, to rent some 550 acres of land at Camp Distribution (near Alexandria) for tenements. Land was sub–rented to heads of families in lots from 5 to 40 acres, at a cost to the Government of $800 per year. Small lots were also rented to freedmen in Arlington and St. Mary's County, Maryland.

Superintendents of the barracks forwarded monthly reports of occupying tenants to the Assistant Commissioner. The reports provided the name and occupation of the head of the family, the number in the family, the number of rooms occupied, the rate of rent per month, the amount(s) of rent paid, and the amount of rent in arrears.5

In an effort to assist freedmen in securing land, the Bureau provided funds for the purchase of 375 acres of property south of the Anacostia River known as the "Barry Farm." Portions of the land were sold to freedmen in 1–acre lots. Freedmen were required to make monthly payments for 2 years before they received full ownership of the property. The Bureau cleared the roads leading to the lots and provided lumber and assistance in the construction of houses. By the fall of 1867, the Bureau reported that at least 180 lots had been sold and some 90 houses were either complete or under construction. With the help of the Bureau, freedmen at the "Barry Farm" project built a school on one of the lots.6

The educational efforts of the District of Columbia field office were similar to Bureau operations in other states. The Bureau, by and large, assisted with construction, rental, and repair of school buildings, while benevolent societies provided teachers and paid their salaries. The Bureau also provided free transportation for teachers and assisted them in getting government rations at cost. The superintendent of education, Rev. John Kimball, forwarded monthly school reports to Bureau headquarters and received monthly school reports from subordinate officers and from superintendents of schools sponsored by benevolent societies. In the District of Columbia, the Bureau worked closely with the board of trustees appointed by an act of Congress on May 21, 1862 (12 Stat. 407), to "aid in the support of the colored race." The Trustees provided lots upon which the Bureau erected several school buildings. In 1866 the Assistant Commissioner reported that in his district there were more than 70 schools and over 6,000 students being taught by 132 teachers. There were 15 night schools and 20 Sabbath schools with slightly more than 3,000 students. There were 45 day schools (including industrial schools) conducted in buildings provided and furnished by the Bureau.7

The educational efforts of the Bureau's field office in its Maryland areas of jurisdiction were hampered by a system of illegal apprenticeship of school–age children. In direct conflict with the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (14 Stat. 27), black children were being bound to their former owners for indefinite periods of time with the help of Maryland government officials. An estimated 10,000 black children were bound out as apprentices between 1864 and 1867. The Bureau, however, through writs of habeas corpus and other court actions, fought vigorously to have these children released. By 1868, the intense efforts of the Bureau had largely ended the apprenticeship system in Maryland.8

Although the illegal apprenticeship system hindered the Bureau's educational activities in Maryland, the agency still managed to provide assistance with the construction and repair of school buildings and protection of and transportation for teachers. To increase the Bureau's visibility and to gauge the interest of freedmen in the establishment of schools, Superintendent Kimball traveled to various counties in Maryland, holding meetings on the benefits of education and the Bureau's intention to provide aid for schools. In addition, the Bureau worked hand in hand with private benevolent societies, such as the Baltimore Association, the American Missionary Association, and the Freedmen's Union Association, to sustain freedmen schools during a period when white opposition to black schools in Maryland was intense and support for such schools was nonexistent. From October 1867 to October 1868, the Bureau provided aid and assistance to 80 schools in Maryland.9

West Virginia maintained a system of free education, but whites controlled funds for schools and the employment of teachers, and schools for blacks and whites were required by law to be separate. Bureau officials worked closely with the West Virginia superintendent of free schools in the establishment of schools for freedmen. As in Maryland, Bureau officials traveled throughout West Virginia counties, advising freedmen of its support and plans for building freedmen schools. Similar to other areas under its jurisdiction, the Bureau supplied funds for buildings, and teachers were generally paid from public funds, contributions from blacks, and aid from benevolent societies. By 1868, with cooperation mostly from freedmen themselves, the Bureau was able to establish 9 schools in West Virginia. Although there were no laws in Delaware by October 1868 for the support of black schools, the Delaware Association, with assistance from Northern societies, sustained some 23 schools in various parts of the state. The Freedmen's Bureau provided assistance in the construction of 12 of the school buildings.10

Safeguarding rights and securing justice for freedmen was of paramount concern to the Freedmen's Bureau. Following the Civil War, several Southern states enacted a series of laws commonly known as "Black Codes," which restricted the rights and legal status of freedmen. Freedmen were often given harsh sentences for petty crimes and in some instances were unable to get their cases heard in state courts. In a circular issued by Commissioner Oliver Otis Howard on May 30, 1865, Assistant Commissioners were authorized, in places where civil law had been interrupted and blacks' rights to justice were being denied, to adjudicate cases between blacks themselves and between blacks and whites. In the District of Columbia and Maryland, the civil process of law had not been interrupted, and unlike many areas of the South under the Bureau's jurisdiction, no freedmen's or provost courts were in operation. The Bureau did however, provide legal assistance to freedmen in civil and criminal cases in the both the District of Columbia and Maryland. This was done especially in instances where freedmen lacked counsel and in cases where Bureau officials felt that freedmen were wrongly convicted or imprisoned. Court cases involving freedmen in Alexandria, VA, were handled by provost courts until June 10, 1866, when the Virginia legislature abolished laws that did not allow blacks to sue or be a party to a suit, or testify in cases in which they were involved. In 1868, the Assistant Commissioner reported that nearly 900 cases had been attended to by the Bureau. A large percentage of the cases involved incidents in Maryland.11

The Freedmen Bureau's field office in the District of Columbia made a special effort to assist freed men and women in legalizing marriages that they had entered into during their enslavement. Continuing a practice that had been started by Northern missionaries and Army clergy, Rev. John Kimball, who served as the superintendent of marriages for the District of Columbia, advised freedmen of the act of Congress of July 25, 1866 (14 Stat. 236), relating to slave marriages. The act stipulated that all persons who recognized each other as man and wife prior to the act were now legally married. Superintendent Kimball and his assistants issued marriage licenses and certificates and forwarded them along with marriage reports to the Office of the Commissioner. During the year, Kimball issued more than 1,000 marriage certificates. Nearly half of the couples who received certificates had lived in slavery without any form of marriage ceremony. Kimball also registered couples and forwarded ministers' reports of marriages that were retained by the Assistant Commissioner. In addition to the reports received from Kimball, the Assistant Commissioner also received reports from other officers regarding laws relating to marriage in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. A March 22, 1867, act of the Maryland General Assembly validated freedmen marriages in Maryland. In Virginia, two February 27, 1866, acts of the Virginia General Assembly made provisions for issuing marriage licenses and the registration and legalization of marriage relations entered into by former slave couples.12

In addition to assisting freedmen in solemnizing slave marriages, the Bureau helped discharged soldiers and their heirs in claims for back pay, bounty payments, and pensions. In accordance with a law passed by Congress on March 29, 1867 (15 Stat. 26), making the Freedmen's Bureau the sole agent for payment of claims of black veterans, Bureau disbursing officers assisted veterans in the preparation and settlement of claims. While many of the subdistricts under the jurisdiction of the District of Columbia field office were involved in veterans' claims, most of the activities of the Bureau were centered in Baltimore, MD, where two full–time disbursing officers were assigned to settle and pay veterans claims. In 1868 Bureau agents disbursed more than $100,000 for military claims.13

ENDNOTES

1 These Bureau relief projects are explained in Annual Reports of the Assistant Commissioners, District of Columbia, October 10, 1867, [pp. 27 – 30], Records of the Commissioner, Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, Record Group (RG) 105, National Archives Building (NAB).

2 Ibid., [pp. 30 – 31]. See also Register of Ration Requests and Weekly Reports of Operations of the Special Relief Commission, Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the District of Columbia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1869 (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1055, Roll 16).

3 Senate Ex. Doc. No. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1276, p. 39; Annual Reports of the Assistant Commissioners, District of Columbia, October 10, 1867, [pp. 23 – 26]; William H. Williams, The Negro in the District of Columbia during Reconstruction, Howard University Studies in History, No. 5 (Washington, DC: 1924), pp. 33 – 37.

4 Annual Reports of the Assistant Commissioners, District of Columbia, October 10, 1867, [pp. 25 – 26].

5 Senate Ex. Doc. No. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1276, pp. 36, 37. See also Monthly Reports of Bureau Tenants, M1055, Rolls 20 and 21.

6 Annual Reports of the Assistant Commissioners, District of Columbia, October 10, 1867, [pp. 19 – 21].

7 Monthly Reports of the superintendent of education, superintendents of aid society sponsored schools, and subassistant commissioners or agents in Maryland and West Virginia, Records of the Superintendent of Education for the District of Columbia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872 (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1056, Rolls 12 and 13), RG 105; Senate Ex. Doc. No. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1276, p. 38. See also William H. Williams, The Negro in the District of Columbia during Reconstruction, especially pp. 25 – 30.

8 Annual Reports of the Assistant Commissioners, District of Columbia, October 10, 1867, [pp. 3 – 9]; W. A. Low, "The Freedmen's Bureau in the Border States," in Radicalism, Racism, and Party Realignment: The Border States during Reconstruction, ed. Richard O. Curry, (Baltimore: John Hopkins Press, 1969), p. 247.

9 W. A. Low, "The Freedmen's Bureau in the Border States," pp. 247 – 49. Annual Reports of the Assistant Commissioners, District of Columbia, October 10, 1868, [pp. 11 – 13, 15 – 24].

10 Annual Reports of the Assistant Commissioners, District of Columbia, October 10, 1868, [pp. 26 – 30]. See also W. A. Low, "The Freedmen's Bureau in the Border States," p. 257.

11 Senate Ex. Doc. No. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1276, p. 34; Annual Reports, Assistant Commissioner for the District of Columbia, October 10, 1867, [p. 3], and October 10, 1868, [pp. 5 – 11].

12 Annual Reports of the Assistant Commissioners, District of Columbia, October 10, 1867, [pp. 11 – 13]; Marriage Records of the Office of the Commissioner, Washington Headquarters of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1861–1869 (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1875, Roll 1), RG 105. See also Miscellaneous Reports and Lists, M1055, Roll 21.

13 Annual Reports of the Assistant Commissioners, District of Columbia, October 10, 1867, [pp. 10 – 11], and October 10, 1868, [pp. 13 – 15].
Freedmen's Bureau Personnel in District of Columbia:
This list provides the names and dates of service of known Freedmen's Bureau personnel at selected staff offices and subordinate field offices in the District of Columbia. Additional information regarding persons assigned to various field offices might be found among the Bureau's Washington headquarters station books and rosters of military officers and civilians on duty in the states and other appointment–related records.

OFFICE OF STAFF OFFICERS

June 1864–Aug. 1869 -- Assistant Quartermaster Disbursing Officer Joseph M. Brown

Nov. 1866–July 1867 -- Superintendent of Marriages John Kimball

Nov. 1866–Mar. 1867 -- Assistant Superintendent of Marriages J. L. Roberts

Mar.–July 1867 -- Assistant Superintendent of Marriages M. V. Wright

Feb. 1867–Apr. 1869 -- Surgeon in Chief Robert Reyburn

Apr. 1869–Mar. 1870 -- Surgeon in Chief Patrick Gennan (Freedmen's Hospital)

Mar.–Aug. 1870 -- Surgeon in Chief Patrick Gennan (Chief Medical Officer)

SUBORDINATE FIELD OFFICES

July 1865–Oct. 1866 -- Washington and Georgetown Local Superintendent W. F. Spurgin

Oct.–Nov. 1866 -- Washington and Georgetown Local Superintendent J. V. W. Vandenburgh

Nov. 1866–July 1867 -- Washington and Georgetown Local Superintendent W. B. Beebe

July 1867–Sept. 1868 -- Washington and Georgetown Local Superintendent J. V. W. Vandenburgh

Sept. 1867–Feb. 1868 -- Subdistrict 1 (Washington Georgetown, and Counties of Montgomery and Prince Georges Maryland, 1868) William A. Coulter

Feb.–Sept. 1868 -- Subdistrict 1 (Washington Georgetown, and Counties of Montgomery and Prince Georges Maryland, 1868) J. V. W. Vandenburgh

May–Dec. 1865 -- Freedmen's Village George B. Carse

Dec. 1865–June 1866 -- Freedmen's Village A. U. Lomas

June 1866–Jan. 1867 -- Freedmen's Village A. A. Lawrence

Jan.–July 1867 -- Freedmen's Village E. B. Gates

July 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Freedmen's Village H. N. Howard
Related Archival Materials note:
See also Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection
Provenance:
Acquired from FamilySearch International in 2015.
Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commerical use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Topic:
Reconstruction, U.S. history, 1865-1877  Search this
Slaves -- Emancipation  Search this
Freedmen's Bureau  Search this
American South  Search this
Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M1902
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Records of the Field Offices for the District of Columbia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
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https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io3ce2ba48e-58ab-457e-abcf-3bfa6a49bb03
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ead_collection:sova-nmaahc-fb-m1902
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Other Records

Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1865–67
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M869, Subseries 14.7
See more items in:
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870 / Series 14: Records Relating to Transportation
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
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https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io336f7b715-ce1f-4e87-acaf-1c3773f16adf
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A – G

Type:
Archival materials
Date:
Oct. 1865–Dec. 1866
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M869, File 4.2.1
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Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870 / Series 4: Registered Letters Received / 4.2: Entered in Register 3
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National Museum of African American History and Culture
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L – Z

Type:
Archival materials
Date:
July 1865–Oct. 1868
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M869, File 6.3.2
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Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870 / Series 6: Records Relating to Restoration of Property / 6.3: Unregistered Applications for Restoration of Property
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National Museum of African American History and Culture
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Tennessee: American Association for the State and Local History; Chattanooga Public Library; Papers of Andrew Jackson; Papers of Andrew Johnson; Joint University Libraries; Public Library of Knoxville and Knox County; Ladies Hermitage Association; Linc...

Container:
Box 6 of 7
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 15-217, Joseph Henry Papers Project, Depository Files
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Depository Files
Depository Files / Box 6
Archival Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
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ead_component:sova-sia-fa15-217-refidd1e1945

Records of the Assistant Commissioner and Subordinate Field Offices for the State of Florida, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872

Extent:
15 Reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1865–1872
Summary:
The collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 15 rolls of microfilm described in the NARA publication M1869. These digital surrogates reproduced the records of the Florida headquarters for the Assistant Commissioner and his staff officers and the subordinate field offices of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872. These records consist of 25 bound volumes and approximately 12 linear feet of unbound records, containing materials that include letters and endorsements sent and received, monthly reports, applications of freedmen for rations, and other records relating to freedmen's claims and homesteads.
Records Description:
When Assistant Commissioner Gile became superintendent of education in 1869, he failed to separate completely the records of the new office from those of the old. Consequently, some of his records created in his capacity as superintendent of education are among the records of the Assistant Commissioner.

The volumes reproduced in this microfilm publication were originally arranged by type of record and thereunder by volume number. No numbers were assigned to series consisting of single volumes; later, all volumes were arbitrarily assigned numbers by the Adjutant General's Office (AGO) of the War Department after the records came into its custody. In this microfilm publication, AGO numbers are shown in parentheses to aid in identifying the volumes. The National Archives assigned the volume numbers that do not appear in parentheses.

The volumes consist of letters and endorsements sent and received, press copies of letters sent, registers of letters received, letters and orders received, registers of freedmen issued rations, special orders and circulars issued, register of bounty claimants, and monthly reports forwarded to the assistant commissioner. The unbound documents consist of letters and orders received, unregistered letters and narrative reports received, special orders and circulars issued, and general orders and circulars received. The unbound records also contain monthly reports; oaths of office; applications of freedmen for rations; and records relating to claims, court trials, property restoration, and homesteads.
Historical Note:
[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M1869.]

HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, also known as the Freedmen's Bureau, was established in the War Department by an act of Congress on March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507). The life of the Bureau was extended twice by acts of July 16, 1866 (14 Stat. 173), and July 6, 1868 (15 Stat. 83). The Bureau was responsible for the supervision and management of all matters relating to refugees and freedmen, and of lands abandoned or seized during the Civil War. In May 1865, President Andrew Johnson appointed Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard as Commissioner of the Bureau, and Howard served in that position until June 30, 1872, when activities of the Bureau were terminated in accordance with an act of June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366). While a major part of the Bureau's early activities involved the supervision of abandoned and confiscated property, its mission was to provide relief and help freedmen become self-sufficient. Bureau officials issued rations and clothing, operated hospitals and refugee camps, and supervised labor contracts. In addition, the Bureau managed apprenticeship disputes and complaints, assisted benevolent societies in the establishment of schools, helped freedmen in legalizing marriages entered into during slavery, and provided transportation to refugees and freedmen who were attempting to reunite with their family or relocate to other parts of the country. The Bureau also helped black soldiers, sailors, and their heirs collect bounty claims, pensions, and back pay.

The act of March 3, 1865, authorized the appointment of Assistant Commissioners to aid the Commissioner in supervising the work of the Bureau in the former Confederate states, the border states, and the District of Columbia. In June 1865, Bvt. Maj. Gen. Rufus Saxton was appointed Assistant Commissioner for South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Several months after Saxton assumed his duties, however, Howard appointed Bvt. Col. T. W. Osborn as the first Assistant Commissioner of Florida. Osborn established his headquarters at Tallahassee in September 1865. In May 1867, the headquarters moved to Jacksonville, where it remained until it was relocated to St. Augustine in August 1868. It moved back to Jacksonville in November 1868, and remained there until July 1870. Records relating to Florida that were created during Saxton's tenure may be included among the files of the Assistant Commissioner of South Carolina.

Several military officers succeeded Osborn as either Assistant Commissioner or Acting Assistant Commissioner for the State of Florida. Maj. Gen. J. G. Foster served as Assistant Commissioner and Commander of the Department of Florida from June through December 1866. He was replaced in December by Bvt. Brig. Gen. John T. Sprague, who served as both Assistant Commissioner and Commander of the District of Florida until November 1868, when he was replaced by Bvt. Lt. Col. George W. Gile. Beginning in January 1869, Gile served as both Assistant Commissioner and superintendent of education.

While the work performed by Assistant Commissioners in each state was similar, the organizational structure of staff officers varied from state to state. At various times, the staff could consist of a superintendent of education, an assistant adjutant general, an assistant inspector general, a disbursing officer, a chief officer, a chief quartermaster, and a commissary of subsistence. Subordinate to these officers were the assistant superintendents, or subassistant commissioners as they later became known, who commanded the subdistricts. The major subordinate field offices for the Bureau at Florida, for example, included those with headquarters at Barancas, Fernandina, Jacksonville, Key West, Monticello, Ocala, Pensacola, Quincy, and Tallahassee. Under the direct supervision of the subassistant commissioners were the civilian and military agents. Occasionally, the Bureau retained military officers in a civilian capacity after the termination of their military service. For a list of known Florida subordinate field office personnel and their dates of service, see the Appendix.

The Assistant Commissioner corresponded extensively with both his superior in the Washington Bureau headquarters and his subordinate officers in the subdistricts. Based upon reports submitted to him by the subassistant commissioners and other subordinate staff officers, he prepared reports that he sent to the Commissioner concerning Bureau activities in areas under his jurisdiction. The Assistant Commissioner also received letters from freedmen, local white citizens, state officials, and other non-Bureau personnel. These letters varied in nature from complaints to applications for jobs in the Bureau. Because the assistant adjutant general handled much of the mail for the Assistant Commissioner's office, it was often addressed to him instead of to the Assistant Commissioner.

In a circular issued by Commissioner Howard in July 1865, the Assistant Commissioners were instructed to designate one officer in each state to serve as "general Superintendents of Schools." These officials were to "take cognizance of all that is being done to educate refugees and freedmen, secure proper protection to schools and teachers, promote method and efficiency, correspond with the benevolent agencies which are supplying his field, and aid the Assistant Commissioner in making his required reports." In October 1865, a degree of centralized control was established over Bureau educational activities in the states when Rev. John W. Alvord was appointed Inspector of Finances and Schools. In January 1867, Alvord was divested of his financial responsibilities, and he was appointed General Superintendent of Education.

An act of Congress, approved July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), ordered that the Commissioner of the Bureau "shall, on the first day of January next, cause the said bureau to be withdrawn from the several States within which said bureau has acted and its operation shall be discontinued." Consequently, in early 1869, with the exception of the superintendents of education and the claims agents, the Assistant Commissioners and their subordinate officers were withdrawn from the states.

For the next year and a half the Bureau continued to pursue its education work and to process claims. In the summer of 1870 the superintendents of education were withdrawn from the states, and the headquarters staff was greatly reduced. From that time until the Bureau was abolished by an act of Congress approved June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366), effective June 30, 1872, the Bureau's functions related almost exclusively to the disposition of claims. The Bureau's records and remaining functions were then transferred to the Freedmen's Branch in the office of the Adjutant General. The records of this branch are among the Bureau's files.

Constrained by limited resources, Southern opposition, and the politics of Reconstruction, the Bureau faced an enormous challenge in its efforts to assist the freedmen and refugees. Its relief efforts, without question, saved thousands of southerners from starvation. Its attempts to assist freedmen to become self-sufficient, to provide public education, administer justice, and, to a lesser degree, to provide land, all worked with varying degrees of success to lessen the difficulties during the transition from slavery to freedom. One of the Bureau's greatest legacies is the body of records it created and received during the course of its operations. These records are arguably some of the most important documents available for the study of the Federal Government's policies, efforts to reconstruct the South, and Southern social history and genealogy.

THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU IN FLORIDA

The Freedmen's Bureau activities in Florida generally resembled those conducted in other states. The Bureau issued rations to both freedmen and white refugees, supervised labor contracts between planters and freedmen, administered justice, worked with benevolent societies in the establishment of schools, and assisted freedmen in locating land. This last service contributed to an important, distinctive success in the Florida Bureau's program: more freedmen secured homesteads there than in any other Southern public–land state.

The Florida Bureau regularly assessed the need for services in the state. The resulting reports appear in these records and are valuable for learning about social conditions. In November 1865, for example, Asst. Comm. Osborn sent Capt. George Thompson on an inspection tour of southern Florida. During the following 4 months, Thompson toured the lower part of the state. His 47–page report includes living conditions of the populace, agricultural possibilities, and geographical information. He discusses how the Bureau can assist freedmen in education and land ownership.1

To prevent widespread starvation and destitution, the Florida Bureau issued more than 25,000 rations in its first year to some 22,000 blacks and nearly 4,000 whites.2 By December 1868, the Bureau had issued more than 760,000 rations, at a cost of $102,669.45.3 In addition to its general distribution of rations to those in dire need, the Florida Bureau also utilized a relief system similar to one in use in Louisiana and South Carolina that provided planters with food for their laborers. Under this system, blacks who rented and cultivated at least 10 acres of land on a crop–sharing basis were issued rations. This allowed planters to produce a crop without having to feed their workers during growing season.

Of genealogical interest are the applications of freedmen for rations. These printed documents give the number of acres of rented land. They list the first and last name and age of the freedman renting the property, of family members, and of any others who will live and work the named property. Included in the information are the location of the property and the name of the owner. In some cases the relationship of those living with the freedman is given (e.g., stepson or nephew).4

The regulation of written labor contracts between planters and freedmen was a major part of the Bureau's operation in Florida. Between 1865 and 1868 thousands of freedmen entered into contract agreements for either wages or a share of the crops in virtually every part of the state. Contracts generally stipulated the hours and days of work, types of rations to be provided, and the amount of wage or crop to be paid. Nearly half of the freedmen on plantations in Florida worked for a third of the crop plus rations. Those who worked for wages also received rations and were paid at a rate of $12 per month for men, $9 for women, and $5 for children. Bureau officials generally witnessed the contracts and were paid a small fee by the planter.

Safeguarding the rights and securing justice for freedmen was of great concern to the Freedmen's Bureau as well. Following the Civil War, several Southern states enacted a series of laws commonly known as "black codes," which restricted the rights and legal status of freedmen. Freedmen were often given harsh sentences for petty crimes and in some instances were unable to get their cases heard in state courts. In a circular issued by Commissioner Howard in May 1865, Assistant Commissioners were directed to adjudicate all difficulties occurring between blacks and whites in places where the civil courts were interrupted or where blacks were not allowed to testify.5 On November 15, 1865, in response to Howard's order, Florida Assistant Commissioner Osborn issued a circular ordering that freedmen be allowed to testify in court and that corporal punishment be restricted and personal violence be reported to military commanders.6 In Florida, Bureau officials, for the most part, supervised state courts until a new government was established under the military reconstruction act of March 2, 1867 (14 Stat. 428).

Bureau educational activity in Florida officially began with the appointment of E. B. Duncan as inspector and superintendent of schools in November 1866. Duncan served until June 1867, when he was replaced by C. T. Chase. Chase, who served from June 1867 to March 1868, was succeeded by Charles Foster, formerly Assistant Commissioner, who served from March through December 1868. In January 1869, in accordance with an act of July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), Bureau operations in Florida, as in other states, were terminated except for the educational functions and the collection of claims. George W. Gile, who was the Assistant Commissioner at the time, became the superintendent of education and served in that capacity until August 1870, when the remaining Bureau activities in Florida were also terminated.

The schools maintained by the Bureau in Florida included day schools for children, night schools for adults, and Sabbath schools. Rudimentary education including reading, writing, arithmetic, and geography received primary emphasis in most Bureau schools. Teachers were recruited from the local white population, from among the freedmen themselves, and from the North by freedmen's aid societies. No single policy of assigning responsibilities in the maintenance of the schools was followed consistently. The Bureau generally supplied buildings for schools and transportation for teachers and relied on the aid societies and freedmen to pay for textbooks and teachers' salaries, although at times teachers were paid from Bureau funds.

The Freedmen's Bureau in Florida sought, with a mixed degree of success, to secure land for African Americans. The Southern Homestead Act, approved by Congress on June 21, 1866, made available for public settlement 46 million acres of public lands in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Nineteen million acres of this Federal land was located in Florida. Because the Act specified that persons who applied could not be discriminated against because of race, it offered an opportunity for many Florida freedmen to become landowners. The land office opened on August 25, 1866. The Freedmen's Bureau, through "locating agents," assisted interested freedmen in finding plots, and provided them with 1–month subsistence, free transportation to their prospective tracts of land, and seeds for the initial planting.7 By October 1866, in spite of the poor quality of much of the land, the absence of basic necessities, and white opposition, freedmen had made land entry transactions ("entered") for 32,000 acres of public land. One year later, they had secured more than 2,000 homesteads, totaling 160,960 acres, and by 1868 freedmen entered over 3,000 homesteads, more than in any other Southern public land state.8

ENDNOTES

1 See Microfilm Roll 15, Subordinate Field Offices, Tallahassee, Letters Received, Apr. 1866–Feb. 1868.

2 House Ex. Doc. 1, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., p. 740.

3 Joe M. Richardson, "An Evaluation of the Freedmen's Bureau in Florida," The Florida Historical Quarterly XLI, No. 3 (January 1963): 224.

4 See Microfilm Rolls 11 and 12, Office of Assistant Commissioner, Other Records, "Applications of Freedmen for Rations."

5 Richardson, "An Evaluation of the Freedmen's Bureau in Florida," pp. 228 – 229; House Ex. Doc. No. 11, 39th Cong., 1st Sess., p. 45.

6 House Ex. Doc. 70, 39th Cong., 1st Sess., p. 87; Richardson, "An Evaluation of the Freedmen's Bureau in Florida," p. 228.

7 Paul A. Cimbala and Randall M. Miller, The Freedmen's Bureau and Reconstruction: Reconsiderations (1999), pp. 67 – 83.

8 Richardson, "An Evaluation of the Freedmen's Bureau in Florida," pp. 230 – 231. In spite of these entries, only 1,073 freedmen are listed on the 1870 Federal census as landowners.
Freedmen's Bureau Personnel in Florida:
This list provides the names and dates of service of known Freedmen's Bureau personnel at selected subordinate field offices in Florida. Additional information regarding persons assigned to various field offices might be found among the Bureau's Washington headquarters station books and rosters of military officers and civilians on duty in the states and other appointment–related records.

BARANCAS

unknown -- Subassistant Commissioner L. L. Zalousky

FERNANDINA

January–August 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner Thomas Leddy

August 1866–July 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner A. A. Cole

July 1867–December 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner D. A. Hammond (Subassistant Commissioner and Post Commander)

KEY WEST

December 1867–Janurary 1869 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. B. Rawles

MONTICELLO

May 1866–May 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner A. B. Grumwell

OCALA

June 1866–November 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. A. Remley

PENSACOLA

February–August 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner F. M. Cole

October 1866–January 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. R. Brinckle
Related Materials:
See also Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection
Provenance:
Acquired from FamilySearch International in 2015.
Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Topic:
American South  Search this
Freedmen's Bureau  Search this
Reconstruction, U.S. history, 1865-1877  Search this
Slaves -- Emancipation  Search this
Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M1869
See more items in:
Records of the Assistant Commissioner and Subordinate Field Offices for the State of Florida, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io3f6d531ac-fa29-4e7f-9a84-f25b3d97b183
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmaahc-fb-m1869
Online Media:

Records of the Field Offices for the State of Alabama, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872

Extent:
34 Reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1865–1872
Summary:
This collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 34 rolls of microfilm described in the NARA publication M1900. These digital surrogates reproduced the records of the Alabama Office of the Assistant Commissioner, his staff offices, and subordinate field offices of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872. These records consist of bound volumes and unbound records, containing materials that include letters and endorsements sent and received, monthly reports, applications of freedmen for rations, and other records relating to freedmen's claims and homesteads.
Records Description:
The volumes reproduced in this microfilm publication were originally arranged by type of record and thereunder by volume number. No numbers were assigned to series consisting of single volumes. Years later, all volumes were arbitrarily assigned numbers by the Adjutant General's Office (AGO) of the War Department after the records came into its custody. In this microfilm publication, AGO numbers are shown in parentheses to aid in identifying the volumes. The National Archives assigned the volume numbers that are not in parentheses. In some volumes, particularly in indexes and alphabetical headings of registers, there are a number of blank numbered pages that have not been filmed.

The volumes consist of letters and endorsements sent and received, press copies of letters sent, registers of letters received, fair copies of letters received, letters and orders received, registers of freedmen issued rations, special orders and circulars issued, registers of bounty claimants, reports, registers of contracts, registers of complaints, registers of patients, registers of disbursements, account books, miscellaneous records, and monthly reports forwarded to the Assistant Commissioner. The unbound documents consist of letters sent and received and endorsements sent, reports, applications for relief, labor contracts, rosters of officers and employees, court records, special and general orders and circulars received, and miscellaneous records. The unbound records also contain monthly reports; oaths of office; applications of freedmen for rations; and records relating to claims, court trials, property restoration, and homesteads.

From June 1866 to January 1868, Assistant Commissioner Swayne also served as the military commander of Alabama. He therefore created and received records in both capacities. The dual function of the Assistant Commissioner resulted in a succession of changes in the official headings used on correspondence and issuances. The title "Office of the Assistant Commissioner" was changed in June 1866 to "Headquarters, District of Alabama," and in August 1866 to "Headquarters, Subdistrict of Alabama." The heading "District of Alabama" was used again from March 1867 until superseded by "State of Alabama" in February 1868. The dual function of the office is also reflected in the recordkeeping practices for that period. Although the Assistant Commissioner generally maintained separate records for each of his capacities, in the case of letters and endorsements sent the records were frequently combined. Wherever they were separable, the records created by the Assistant Commissioner in his military capacity were placed with the Records of United States Army Continental Commands, 1821–1920, RG 393.
Historical Note:
[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M1900.]

HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, also known as the Freedmen's Bureau, was established in the War Department by an act of Congress on March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507). The life of the Bureau was extended twice by acts of July 16, 1866 (14 Stat. 173), and July 6, 1868 (15 Stat. 83). The Bureau was responsible for the supervision and management of all matters relating to refugees and freedmen, and of lands abandoned or seized during the Civil War. In May 1865, President Andrew Johnson appointed Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard as Commissioner of the Bureau, and Howard served in that position until June 30, 1872, when activities of the Bureau were terminated in accordance with an act of June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366). While a major part of the Bureau's early activities involved the supervision of abandoned and confiscated property, its mission was to provide relief and help freedmen become self–sufficient. Bureau officials issued rations and clothing, operated hospitals and refugee camps, and supervised labor contracts. In addition, the Bureau managed apprenticeship disputes and complaints, assisted benevolent societies in the establishment of schools, helped freedmen in legalizing marriages entered into during slavery, and provided transportation to refugees and freedmen who were attempting to reunite with their family or relocate to other parts of the country. The Bureau also helped black soldiers, sailors, and their heirs collect bounty claims, pensions, and back pay.

The act of March 3, 1865, authorized the appointment of Assistant Commissioners to aid the Commissioner in supervising the work of the Bureau in the former Confederate states, the border states, and the District of Columbia. In Alabama, operations began in July 1865 when Brig. Gen. Wager Swayne took command as Assistant Commissioner. Bvt. Brig. Julius Hayden succeeded Swayne and served from January to March 1868. Col. Oliver L. Shepherd served from March to August 1868, and Col. T. H. Ruger held the position of Assistant Commissioner for only a few days in August before the arrival of Bvt. Lt. Col. Edwin Beecher later in that month. In January 1869, in accordance with an act of July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), Bureau operations in Alabama were terminated except for the educational functions and the collection of claims. Colonel Beecher remained in Alabama as superintendent of education and held that position until the office was closed in July 1870. The majority of Bureau officers and agents in Alabama were active duty military officers, and for the first two years of the Bureau's existence in Alabama, the agency doubled as the military command for the district. Brig. Gen. Swayne, for example, served as Assistant Commissioner and District Military Commander for Alabama from 1866 to 1868. As a consequence of the wide use of military officers to staff the Bureau, the agency constantly struggled with issues of continuity as well as a lack of personnel to staff the various field offices. At one point at the end of 1866, the Bureau could only staff eight stations in Alabama due to a critical shortage of qualified personnel.

While the work performed by Assistant Commissioners in each state was similar, the organizational structure of staff officers varied from state to state. At various times, the staff could consist of a superintendent of education, an assistant adjutant general, an assistant inspector general, a disbursing officer, a chief medical officer, a chief quartermaster, and a commissary of subsistence. Subordinate to these officers were the assistant superintendents, or subassistant commissioners as they later became known, who commanded the subdistricts. The major subordinate field offices for the Bureau at Alabama included headquarters at Demopolis, Eufaula, Garland, Greenville, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, Opelika, Selma, Talladega, Tuscaloosa, and Tuskegee. Under the direct supervision of the subassistant commissioners were the civilian and military agents. Occasionally, the Bureau retained military officers in a civilian capacity after the termination of their military service. For a list of known Alabama subordinate field office personnel and their dates of service, see the Appendix.

The Assistant Commissioner corresponded extensively with both his superior in the Washington Bureau headquarters and his subordinate officers in the subdistricts. Based upon reports submitted to him by the subassistant commissioners and other subordinate staff officers, he prepared reports that he sent to the Commissioner concerning Bureau activities in areas under his jurisdiction. The Assistant Commissioner also received letters from freedmen, local white citizens, state officials, and other non–Bureau personnel. These letters varied in nature from complaints to applications for jobs in the Bureau. Because the assistant adjutant general handled much of the mail for the Assistant Commissioner's office, it was often addressed to him instead of to the Assistant Commissioner.

In a circular issued by Commissioner Howard in July 1865, the Assistant Commissioners were instructed to designate one officer in each state to serve as "General Superintendents of Schools." These officials were to "take cognizance of all that is being done to educate refugees and freedmen, secure proper protection to schools and teachers, promote method and efficiency, correspond with the benevolent agencies which are supplying his field, and aid the Assistant Commissioner in making his required reports." In October 1865, a degree of centralized control was established over Bureau educational activities in the states when Rev. John W. Alvord was appointed Inspector of Finances and Schools. In January 1867, Alvord was divested of his financial responsibilities, and he was appointed General Superintendent of Education.

An act of Congress, approved July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), ordered that the Commissioner of the Bureau "shall, on the first day of January next, cause the said bureau to be withdrawn from the several States within which said bureau has acted and its operation shall be discontinued." Consequently, in early 1869, with the exception of the superintendents of education and the claims agents, the Assistant Commissioners and their subordinate officers were withdrawn from the states.

For the next year and a half, the Bureau continued to pursue its education work and to process claims. In the summer of 1870, the superintendents of education were withdrawn from the states, and the headquarters staff was greatly reduced. From that time until the Bureau was abolished by an act of Congress approved June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366), effective June 30, 1872, the Bureau's functions related almost exclusively to the disposition of claims. The Bureau's records and remaining functions were then transferred to the Freedmen's Branch in the office of the Adjutant General. The records of this branch are among the Bureau's files.

Constrained by limited resources, Southern opposition, and the politics of Reconstruction, the Bureau faced an enormous challenge in its efforts to assist the freedmen and refugees. Its relief efforts, without question, saved thousands of southerners from starvation. Its attempts to assist freedmen to become self–sufficient, to provide public education, administer justice, and, to a lesser degree, to provide land, all worked with varying degrees of success to lessen the difficulties during the transition from slavery to freedom. One of the Bureau's greatest legacies is the body of records it created and received during the course of its operations. These records are arguably some of the most important documents available for the study of the Federal Government's policies, efforts to reconstruct the South, and Southern social history and genealogy.

THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU IN ALABAMA

The Freedmen's Bureau's major activities in Alabama generally resembled those conducted in other states. The Bureau issued rations to both freedmen and white refugees, supervised labor contracts between planters and freedmen, administered justice, worked with benevolent societies in the establishment of schools, and assisted freedmen in locating land.

Shortly after accepting the position of Assistant Commissioner in Alabama, Brig. Gen. Swayne requested permission from the Freedmen's Bureau headquarters in Washington, DC, to set aside 1,225 acres of land on the Broward Plantation near Montgomery for freedmen. The plantation had been abandoned shortly before the end of the war and was confiscated by Federal authorities. Montgomery Home Colony, established on some of this land, became the largest of several "home colonies" set aside to provide services for the freedmen. Home colonies were also established at Talladega, Mobile, Garland, Butler County, Montgomery, Selma, Demopolis, and Huntsville. The colonies were not self–sufficient communities of freedmen like those found in South Carolina or Louisiana. Instead, the colonies were distribution centers where the Bureau disseminated rations, clothes, seeds, and tools; processed claims; provided medical care; and organized services for the infirm, orphans, and the elderly. The central functions of these colonies were organized around a freedmen's hospital. The freedmen's hospital at Montgomery offered services to all races. From November 1866 to August 1867, it treated 168 refugees (whites), five of whom died. During the same period, the hospital treated 6,058 freedmen, of whom 162 died.

From 1865 to 1867, Alabama suffered repeated and massive crop failures due to drought or frost conditions. During the same period, the state was swept by a series of epidemics, with smallpox proving the most deadly disease affecting the freedmen. In addition to medical care, one of the most important duties for the Bureau in Alabama was the issuance of rations to refugees and freedmen to stave off malnutrition and starvation.

The Alabama Bureau also expended great resources and energy mitigating contract disputes between freedmen and white landowners as well as attempting to overturn draconian "black codes" enacted by the Alabama State Legislature and signed by the Governor. In his 1866 annual report to the Washington, DC, headquarters of the Bureau, Swayne complained that white landowners rampantly defrauded freedmen of benefits spelled out in their labor contracts.1 However, Swayne complained most extensively in this report about a particular set of "black codes" passed by the Legislature late in 1865 as vagrancy laws. These codes were passed shortly before Christmas after widespread complaints by white landowners that freedmen refused to work during the Christmas week. Apparently, freedmen expected to continue the tradition of time off from work at Christmas dating back to the antebellum years. Brig. Gen. Swayne charged that these laws returned freedmen to a state of slavery. First, he pointed to the authorized use of chain gangs in which freedmen worked with no compensation for even the most minor offenses. Second, the newly established probate courts often worked against freedmen. They were responsible for settling contract disputes between freedmen and white landowners. However, one component of the law passed by the Legislature stipulated that freedmen were not allowed to testify against whites or serve on juries. In cases where the courts found in favor of the white landowners, the presiding judge had the option of forcing freedmen into uncompensated labor for the white landowners or impressing freedmen's children as free laborers for the litigant. The black codes also authorized county officials to impress orphaned children as laborers on local plantations. Swayne was able to convince the Alabama Legislature to eventually overturn most of these codes. In districts where he could not force the probate courts to fairly enforce the law, he set up special freedmen's courts to hear complaints.

However, Swayne was unable to convince the Legislature to overturn provisions of the vagrancy laws that allowed widespread arrests of freedmen. The code authorized local and state law enforcement officials to summarily arrest those freedmen without contract papers who were allegedly causing "disturbances" in public places and roads. The normal punishment under this penal code was forced labor on nearby plantations. Finally, in March 1867, the Bureau saw this law overturned through the Military Reconstruction Bill for the District of Alabama (14 Stat. 429).

The Freedmen's Bureau in Alabama had a major impact in providing education for freedmen from 1866 to 1869. Due to its limited budget and resources, the Bureau was unable to directly establish and operate the great number of freedmen schools needed. However, the successive Assistant Commissioners proved very adept at finding other means for establishing these schools. They successfully implemented a three–way partnership program in which a wide variety of Northern relief societies flooded the state with resources to build schools, money for books and teachers, or volunteer members who instructed the freedmen for no fee. The freedmen were often responsible for actual maintenance of facilities as well as contributions of money and resources for upkeep of the local schools. Bureau agents oversaw the education program and provided land and protection for the schools. The results of this program were impressive. At the beginning of the school year in October 1866, there were 3,100 freedmen in classes taught by 68 teachers. By June 1867, these figures had grown to just under 10,000 students instructed by 150 teachers.

ENDNOTES

1 Annual Report of the Assistant Commissioner, Montgomery, AL, October 31, 1866, Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Alabama, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870 (National Archives Microfilm Publication M809, Roll 2), Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, Record Group (RG) 105, National Archives Building, Washington, DC.
Freedmen's Bureau Personnel in Alabama:
This list provides the names and dates of service of known Freedmen's Bureau personnel at selected subordinate field offices in Alabama. Additional information regarding persons assigned to various field offices might be found among the Bureau's Washington headquarters station books and rosters of military officers and civilians on duty in the states and other appointment–related records.

DEMOPOLIS

Aug.–Dec. 1865 -- Subassistant Commissioner Capt. A. C. Haltonstall

Jan. 1866–Feb. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Bvt Maj. C. W. Pierce

Feb.–May 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Lt. A. J. Bennett

June 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner C. L. Drake

July–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner R. A. Wilson

GREENVILLE

Sept.–Nov. 1865 -- Subassistant Commissioner A. L. Brown

Nov. 1865–ca. June 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner T. W. Mostyn

ca. June 1866–Feb. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. F. McGogy

Feb.–June 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner Samuel Gardner

June–Sept. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner William H. Peck

Sept.–Nov. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner Samuel Gardner

Nov.–Dec. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. A. Hart

Dec. 1867–July 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Samuel Gardner

Aug.–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. F. McGogy

HUNTSVILLE

Sept. 1865–Jan. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner T. M. Goodfellow

Jan. 1866–Jan. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. B. Callis

Jan.–Feb. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Robert Harrison

Mar.–Nov. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner D. C. Rugg

HUNTSVILLE AND ATHENS

Apr.–Sept. 1868 -- Claims Agent J. W. Wilis

Sept. 1868–Jan. 1872 -- Claims Agent John Wager

JACKSONVILLE

May–Aug. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner and Agent Robert Harrison

Aug. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner and Agent William McKibbin (Agent)

MOBILE

Apr.–Aug. 1865 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Harmount

Oct. 1865–Apr. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Robinson

Apr.–May 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner G. A. Washbum

May–Aug. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner L. J. Whiting

Sept.–Oct. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner Joseph Logan

Nov. 1866–Sept. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Tracy

Sept. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner James Gillette

Aug.–Sept. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner John Hyde

Sept.–Nov. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner E. H. Weirman

Nov.–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Frank Towle

MONTGOMERY

Oct. 1865–Dec. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner George A. Harmount

Dec. 1866–Aug. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner L. J. Whiting

Aug. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. C. Hendrix

OPELIKA

June 1867–June 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner R. T. Smith

July–Aug. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner John Bannister

Aug.–Sept. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner D. B. Smith

Sept.–Oct. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner G. W. Kingsbury

Oct.–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner D. B. Smith

SELMA

Mar.–June 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner Samuel S. Gardner

June–July 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner F. D. Ogilby

July–Aug. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner Samuel S. Gardner

Aug. 1866–Jan. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Shorkley

Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Charles C. Bartlett

TALLADEGA

Oct.–Nov. 1865 -- Subassistant Commissioner D. P. Cilley

Dec. 1865–Apr. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner T. Humphrey

Apr. 1866–Feb. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner R. Tlieune

Feb. 1867–June 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. F. McGogy

June–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner George P. Sherwood

TUSCALOOSA

Jan.–Apr. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner Jesse W. Cogswell

Apr. 1866–Apr. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner W. H. Peck

Apr. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Robert Blair

TUSCUMBIA

May–June 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Henry Sweeney

June–Aug. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner W. H. Heilman

Aug. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner John Raines

TUSKEGEE

Sept.–Nov. 1865 -- Assistant Superintendent Andrew Geddes

Nov. 1865–Apr. 1866 -- Assistant Superintendent Spencer Smith
Related Materials:
See also Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection
Provenance:
Acquired from FamilySearch International in 2015.
Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Topic:
American South  Search this
Freedmen's Bureau  Search this
Reconstruction, U.S. history, 1865-1877  Search this
Slaves -- Emancipation  Search this
Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M1900
See more items in:
Records of the Field Offices for the State of Alabama, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io3e518fa96-d656-47ba-801f-70d6960b66cd
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmaahc-fb-m1900
Online Media:

First Ladies, Biographical Information: Andrew Johnson Administration, NGS, 1975

Collection Creator::
Klapthor, Margaret Brown  Search this
Container:
Box 3 of 5
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7466, Margaret B. Klapthor Papers
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Margaret B. Klapthor Papers
Margaret B. Klapthor Papers / Box 3
Archival Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
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ead_component:sova-sia-faru7466-refidd1e1918

First Ladies Cookbook, Andrew Johnson

Collection Creator::
Klapthor, Margaret Brown  Search this
Container:
Box 2 of 5
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7466, Margaret B. Klapthor Papers
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Margaret B. Klapthor Papers
Margaret B. Klapthor Papers / Box 2
Archival Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-sia-faru7466-refidd1e1250

Vol. 1 (15)

Type:
Archival materials
Date:
July 11, 1865–Sept. 20, 1866
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M843, Subseries 2.3
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Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of North Carolina Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of North Carolina Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870 / Series 2: Endorsements Sent
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io30bdd1015-1d85-4231-a93b-e108a415dace
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmaahc-fb-m843-ref13
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General Orders Received

Type:
Archival materials
Date:
Mar. 1865–July 1868
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M843, Subseries 8.3
See more items in:
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of North Carolina Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of North Carolina Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870 / Series 8: Issuances
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io3de386735-9d74-4466-83c8-e4187e7a337c
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmaahc-fb-m843-ref58
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Online Media:

1 – 999

Type:
Archival materials
Date:
Dec. 1867–Apr. 1868
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M798, File 4.4.1
See more items in:
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Georgia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1869
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Georgia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1869 / Series 4: Letters Received / 4.4: Entered in Register 4
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io3b173f1a8-240d-4082-a46b-93201aaa30d8
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ead_component:sova-nmaahc-fb-m798-ref37
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Freedmen's Labor Contracts

Type:
Archival materials
Date:
Jan. 1865–Oct. 1868
Scope and Contents:
As part of the Bureau's function the officers and agents were responsible for the protection of the legal rights of freedmen, which included assistance in drawing up contracts for labor. There is a series of contracts, January 1865–October 1868, which is arranged chronologically. These agreements between freedmen laborers and employers stated such terms of employment as pay, clothing, and medical care due the freedmen, the part of the crop retained by freedmen, and sometimes whether a plot of ground for growing subsistence crops was to be provided for the freedman.
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M843, Series 18
See more items in:
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of North Carolina Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io30bc97506-b72a-418d-b33f-cfa9e0133506
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmaahc-fb-m843-ref110
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A – E

Type:
Archival materials
Date:
Nov. 1866–Feb. 1868
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M843, File 4.2.1
See more items in:
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of North Carolina Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of North Carolina Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870 / Series 4: Letters Received / 4.2: Entered in Register 2
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io3f56fc39f-5948-4ede-ba30-54e990f3f76b
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ead_component:sova-nmaahc-fb-m843-ref33
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Volume 1 (1)

Type:
Archival materials
Date:
Oct. 1865–Nov. 1866
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M798, Subseries 3.1
See more items in:
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Georgia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1869
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Georgia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1869 / Series 3: Registers of Letters Received
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io320843df3-3851-4d38-b985-2805f21478f2
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmaahc-fb-m798-ref19
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