An interview of Hans Namuth conducted 1971 Aug. 12-Sept. 8, by Paul Cummings, at the artist's studio in New York, N.Y., for the Archives of American Art. Namuth speaks of his youth in Germany; the effects of Nazism on him and his family; living in Paris and Spain after leaving Germany; his first involvement with photography; living in a refugee camp; moving to New York in 1941 and working as a photographer; his activities in military intelligence during World War II; meeting Jackson Pollock in 1949 and making a film about him; and working in architectural photography.
Biographical / Historical:
Hans Namuth (1915 -1990) was a photographer and a filmmaker from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hrs., 5 min.
Partially transcribed. August 12 and September 8 sessions are transcribed; September 14 session is not transcribed.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Photography -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Filmmakers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
The papers of New York-based painter, teacher and art director Anna Walinska measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1927 to 2002, with the bulk of material from 1935 to 1980. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, travel diaries, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork, sketchbooks, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York-based painter, teacher and art director Anna Walinska measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1927 to 2002, with the bulk of material from 1935 to 1980. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, travel diaries, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork, sketchbooks, and photographs.
Biographical material consists of awards, certificates, curriculum vitae, biographical outlines, exhibition lists, passports and other material. There is a partial transcript from a radio interview of Anna Walinska. Also included are limited financial records.
Correspondence includes Anna Walinska's letters to her family from her 1954-1955 trip abroad to multiple countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. There is personal and professional correspondence with friends, artists and art institutions. Notable correspondents include Milton Avery, Louise Nevelson, Beata Welsing, Bracha Hacohen, William Littlefield, and Walinska's brother Louis Walinsky.
Writings consist of Walinska's notes, notebooks, lectures, essays, and a handwritten prospectus for Guild Art Gallery. There is one folder of writings by others about Walinska at the end of the series.
There are four travel diaries that describe Walinska's trip around the world from 1954-1955, during which she traveled to many countries, and later trips to locations such as Israel and Trinidad.
Printed Material include clippings about Anna Walinska, group and solo exhibition catalogs, announcements, event invitations, and course catalogs for the Master Institute of United Art in New York City, where Walinska taught painting and drawing classes.
There are three scrapbooks: one scrapbook is about Guild Art Gallery, the second scrapbook is about the Holocaust exhibition, the third oversized scrapbook documents Walinska's career and activities overall.
Artwork consists of two bound sketchbooks as well as drawings and sketches in a variety of mediums from pencil and ink to watercolors and oils.
Photographs are of Walinska, friends, family, artists, artwork, exhibition installations, and other subjects. One album includes photos of Anna Walinska and her travels, along with images of friends and colleagues. The second album includes photographs of Walinska's solo exhibition at Sunken Meadow Gallery (1959). There is also one folder of photocopies of photos of assorted artwork by Walinska.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1927-2002 (Box 1; 11 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1949-1995 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1935-circa 1983 (Box 1; 8 folders)
Series 4: Travel Diaries, 1954-1973 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1942-2002 (Boxes 1-2; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 6: Scrapbooks, circa 1929-1980 (Boxes 2, 4; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1929-1963 (Box 3; 5 folders)
Series 8: Photographs, circa 1932-1980 (Box 3; 0.3 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Anna Walinska (1906-1997) was a New York artist, teacher and gallery director who traveled widely and is most well known for her paintings related to the subject of the Holocaust.
Anna Walinska was born in London, England in 1906 to labor organization leader Ossip Walinsky and poet Rosa Newman Walinska. She had two siblings, Emily and Louis. The family immigrated to New York City in 1914, and Anna Walinska began studying at the Art Students League in 1918. In 1926, she travelled to Paris and studied art at the Academie de Grande Chaumier with Andre L'Hote. France was her primary residence until 1930.
In 1935, Walinska and artist Margaret Lefranc co-founded the Guild Art Gallery at West 57th Street in New York and gave Arshile Gorky his first solo exhibition in the city. The gallery closed its doors in 1937. In 1939, Walinska was the Assistant Creative Director of the Contemporary Art Pavilion at the New York World's Fair. During this time, Walinska also pursued her own art and exhibited work in numerous group shows.
From 1954 to 1955, Walinska traveled around the world, visiting the capitals and major cities of many countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Places she went included Japan, Burma (now known as Myanmar), Pakistan, Greece, Italy, France and Spain. During her four month stay in Burma, she painted a portrait of Prime Minister U Nu and she later became a highly respected portrait artist who painted numerous illustrious subjects such as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, artists Louise Nevelson and Mark Rothko, and many others.
In 1957, Walinska became the artist-in-residence at the Riverside Museum where she also taught and exhibited with other artists. That same year, she had her first retrospective at the Jewish Museum in New York City.
Walinska exhibited widely and often. Holocaust: Paintings and Drawings, 1953-1978, which opened at the Museum of Religious Art at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, is probably the most well-known of her exhibitions and it traveled across the country to several other sites such as the War Memorial Building in Baltimore and Mercy College of Detroit. Works from this exhibition were acquired by multiple museums to become part of their permanent collections.
Walinkska died on December 19, 1997 at the age of 91 in New York City. In 1999, there was a retrospective of her work titled Echoes of the Holocaust: Paintings, Drawings, and Collage, 1940-1989 held at Clark University's Center for Holocaust Studies. The Onisaburo Gallery at New York's Interfaith Center also held a solo exhibition titled Portraits of Faith (2000). Her art is part of the collections at the Denver Art Museum, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Rose Art Museum, and other museums.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also has the Guild Art Gallery records, which consists of material related to the gallery that was co-founded by Anna Walinska.
Provenance:
The papers were donated by Anna Walinska in two installations in 1976 and 1981. Rosina Rubin, Anna Walinska's niece, made a third donation of material in 2017.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., research center.
Occupation:
Gallery directors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
United Nations. Office of the High Commissioner for Human RIghts. Search this
United States Catholic Conference. Migration and Refugee Services Search this
Extent:
0.6 Cubic feet (2 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Interviews
Oral histories (document genres)
Correspondence
Identity cards
Diaries
Audiotapes
Checkbooks
Date:
1953-2006
Summary:
Papers relating to Catherine Hann's life in Vietnam (1953-1981), her flight by boat to Malaysia and stay at Pulau Bidong refugee camp (February --September 1981), her immigration to the United States (September 1981), and her work in Maryland as a circuit board assembler, manicurist and esthetician.
Scope and Contents:
The Catherine Hann Papers are divided into five series: Life in Vietnam, pre-1981; Stay in Malaysia, 1981; United States, 1981-2006; Oral History Interviews, 2002, 2006; and Photographs, 1955-2005.
Series 1 consists of four documents from Hann's life in Vietnam: an official copy of Hann's 1953 birth certificate, her college student ID, her Gia Long High School student ID and her 1974 South Vietnamese identity card.
Series 2 documents Hann's stay in the Pulau Bidong refugee camp off the coast of Malaysia and her family's medical processing in Kuala Lumpur. Especially interesting is a small diary Hann kept in 1981 documenting the building of the fishing boat, the voyage in the Gulf of Thailand, the stay at Pulau Bidong and Kuala Lumpur, and the family's first few months in the United States. There is an English translation of the diary. Other materials in this series include letters sent by relatives and friends to Hann in the refugee camp, papers documenting a family member's attempt to sponsor the family in the U.S., and hand-made Certificates of Commendation awarded to Hann's husband for his work in the refugee camp. The original letter with attached photographs from the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur granting permission for the family to immigrate is included.
Series 3 describes Hann's life in the United States as she transitioned from refugee to financially successful American citizen. Uncommon pieces of ephemera are cancelled checks repaying a loan from the United States Catholic Conference for the purchase of plane tickets from Malaysia to the United States. Also included are papers from Hann's seventeen years in the electronics industry, textbooks for manicurist training, a ledger and checkbook from Hann's short-lived Nails & Beauty Spa, Inc., and daily schedules with earnings from her current job at Totally Polished.
Series 4 consists of the original audiocassettes, reference CDs and typed transcript of an oral history conducted by Susan B. Strange, associate curator, with Hann on March 7, 2006, as well as a typed transcript of a December 14, 2002, interview with Hann conducted by Daniel Ekman, a student at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland.
Original photographs in Series 5 document Hann's life in Vietnam, her husband's work in the refugee camp, the family's departure from Pulau Bidong, and Hann at work at Fairchild Space Co. Also in Series 5 is a folder with photocopies of seven photographs taken in 2005 by a Smithsonian staff member of Hann working at her manicure table. Smithsonian negative numbers are included with the photocopies; releases from the photographer, Hann, and the woman having a manicure, are in the Archives Center's control file for this collection. In the same folder are photocopies of five photographs (originals retained by Hann) showing Hann's life in Vietnam; the Archives Center scan number is printed on each photocopy. Hann granted copyright in these five photographs to the National Museum of American History on April 22, 2006; the release form is in the Archives Center's control file.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into five series with chronological arrangement.
Series 1: Life in Vietnam, 1953-1981
Series 2: Stay in Malaysia, 1981
Series 3: United States, 1981-2006
Series 4: Oral History Interviews, 2002, 2006
Series 5: Photographs, 1955-2005
Biographical / Historical:
Catherine Hann was born in Saigon, State of Vietnam, on November 14, 1953 as Huynh bach Thuy. (She changed her name to Catherine Hann when she became a naturalized American citizen on June 19, 1987.) Hann, her parents and younger siblings lived in Saigon where her father worked as an instructor at Truong Quan Y, a South Vietnamese Army medical school. In 1968 Hann's family moved further south to Rach-Gia in Kien Giang province to care for Hann's recently-widowed paternal grandmother. Hann, the eldest of twelve children, stayed behind in Saigon, living with a great-uncle, so that she could continue attending Gia Long High School, one of the most prestigious and academically challenging public schools for girls in the country.
After graduation from Gia Long in 1973, Hann attended the University of Science in Saigon where she studied to become a biologist. In 1975, Hann's father, who had worked in a South Vietnamese military hospital in Rach-Gia since his arrival there in 1968, was sent to a "re-education camp." Hann returned to Rach-Gia to be with her mother and to help support the family. She then began attending a teacher training program in Rach-Gia where she trained as a biology teacher. At the training program, Hann met Han Huu Vinh who became her husband in 1976. After graduation, Hann taught biology in a high school in Rach-Gia while her husband taught mathematics in the same school. Their son, Kinh, was born in 1977.
In addition to supplementing the family income with her teacher salary, she also purchased unprocessed rice or "rough rice," had it milled, and sold the resulting white rice. To make a little more money for the family, the hulls and other residue from the milling process were sold as hog food. The future looked bleak, and Hann and her husband decided to take their young son and flee the country.
After two failed attempts to escape by boat, the Hanns were luckier the third time. A family friend obtained permission to build a fishing boat, a small wooden craft only 11.5 meters by 2.1 meters. Hann's family, one of the initiators and organizers of the scheme to use the fishing boat as a means of escape, hired a man who had served in the South Vietnamese Navy to navigate. At 2:05 a.m. on the morning of February 14, 1981, ninety-two people left Rach-Gia on the overloaded boat and headed southwest. Three days later the fishing vessel, towing another boat found stranded after being attacked by pirates, docked at Pulau Bidong, an island off the coast of Malaysia. After five months in the United Nations refugee camp on Pulau Bidong, Hann, husband, son, brother, and husband's nephew were taken to Kuala Lumpur for processing in preparation for immigration to the United States.
Hann's husband's sister, a naturalized American living in Rockville, Maryland, was their sponsor, and on September 11, 1981, the five-member family group arrived in the United States. The five continued to live together for about four years before Hann's brother and her husband's nephew went out on their own. After being on welfare and receiving intensive English-language training, Hann and her husband gradually became self-sufficient. Hann's first job was working in the cafeteria at Montgomery College in Rockville which she left to work at Denro Labs doing electronic assembly. Hann's husband's first job was at Solarex testing solar panels.
After almost ten years in the electronic assembly field, a Vietnamese friend encouraged Hann to train as a manicurist, and in 1992 Hann graduated from the Aesthetics Institute of Cosmetology in Gaithersburg, Maryland. At first she only manicured her own nails, but a year or so later Hann began working on Saturdays at a busy nail salon while continuing to work full-time in the electronics industry. When she learned that doing facials and waxing was faster and more profitable than doing manicures, Hann obtained training and a license to become an esthetician. After her week-day employer, Orbital Science Corp., moved to Sterling, Virginia, in 2000, a long commute for Hann, she started working full-time as an esthetician and manicurist at Totally Polished in Potomac, Maryland.
Hann works six days a week at Totally Polished, and on her day off she spends the morning doing manicures and waxing for private clients in their homes. This hard work has enabled Hann and her husband to pay off the mortgage on their single-family house in Gaithersburg and purchase a rental house in Florida. Their only child, Kinh, also has done well, earning a Master's Degree from the University of Maryland and now (2006) working on his PhD in biomedical engineering. Kinh is employed by Digene Corporation; he bought a house three years ago; and, as his mother proudly states, he drives a brand new BMW. Hann's stated reason for fleeing her country was "for my son's future;" the family's hard work and sacrifices seem to have made her hopes come true.
Separated Materials:
In 2005, the Division of Work and Industry collected manicure tools and soldering test equipment from Hann; in 2006 the division collected facial and waxing-related objects from Hann. Clothing worn on the boat fleeing Vietnam was donated in 2006 to the Division of Home and Community Life, along with tweezers Hann purchased in Saigon and carried throughout her immigration experience. The wedding of Kinh Hann to Leila Poursedehi in 2008 is documented in the Archives Center Weddings Documentation Collection, collection number 1131. The Vietnamese wedding dress that Leila Poursedehi wore at their wedding dinner was donated to the costume collection in the Division of Home and Community Life in 2008.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Catherine Hann, March 18, 2006.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Huynh Bach Thuy, third from left, changed her name to Catherine Hann when she became an American citizen in 1987; photographer unidentified.
Local Numbers:
AC0921-0000011.tif (AC Scan)
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Papers, oral history, and transcripts relating to Emiliano Martinez, a Cuban immigrant.
Scope and Contents:
Papers and photographs related to the immigration experience of Cuban refugee Martinez: a story from the Washington Post, March 12, 1984; a 45-minute cassette recording of an interview (in Spanish) by Richard E. Ahlborn with Martinez; a transcription in Spanish of the interview; six photographs of the hut taken by a zoo photographer; a covering memorandum from Ahlborn; a copy of Martinez's earnings from the sale of cans; and a diagram of his hut. Ahlborn, a curator in the Division of Community Life, was assisted by Juana Martin, a social worker.
Biographical / Historical:
The story of Emiliano Martinez, a Cuban refugee, was publicized as an example of the ingenuity and survival skills of recent immigrants to this nation. Martinez fled Cuba in one of the freedom flotillas of 1980. After a year in a refugee camp at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, he arrived in Washington, D.C. in April 1981. He shared apartments with other Cuban refugees until October 1982. Using his carpentry skills, he constructed a hut on undeveloped land at the National Zoo, where he lived from December 1982 until March 1984. He then moved into a boarding house in the Adams-Morgan neighborhood. He made his livelihood by selling aluminum cans to a Safeway grocery store for an average of sixty-five dollars a month.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Emilio Martinez.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Records of the Field Offices for the State of Kentucky, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872
Extent:
133 Reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1865–1872
Summary:
This collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 133 rolls of microfilm described in the NARA publication M1904. These digital surrogates reproduced the records of the Kentucky
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 bound volumes and unbound records, containing materials that include letters sent and received, monthly reports, registers
of complaints, labor contracts, and other records relating to freedmen's claims and
bounty payments.
Records Description:
These records consist of volumes and unbound records. The volumes reproduced in this 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 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 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, registers of freedmen court cases, special orders and circulars issued, registers of claimants, registers of complaints, marriage certificates, 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; labor contracts; marriage certificates, and records relating to claims.
Some of the volumes contain more than one type of record, reflecting a common recording practice of clerks and staff officers of that period. In Series 4.6, for example, the volume of contracts for the Columbus field office also contains a register of marriages. Some other examples of additional series within volumes can be found in records of Series 4.18, 4.20, and 4.29. Researchers should read carefully the records descriptions and arrangements in the Table of Contents to make full use of these documents.
Historical Note:
[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M1904.]
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. 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 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.
THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU IN KENTUCKY
ORGANIZATION
From July 1865 until June 1866, Maj. Gen. C. B. Fisk served as Assistant Commissioner for both Kentucky and Tennessee. Fisk appointed Bvt. Brig. Gen. John Ely to serve as chief superintendent for the Bureau at Kentucky (from March to June 1866). Ely established his headquarters at Louisville, Kentucky, and divided his operations into five subdistricts: Lexington, Louisville, Northwestern, Southern, and Central. Records relating to Kentucky created prior to Ely's tenure may be included among the files of the Assistant Commissioner for Tennessee.
In June 1866, Maj. Gen. Jeff C. Davis was appointed as the first Assistant Commissioner for Kentucky. Superintendents (or subassistant commissioners) employed under Davis were generally responsible for from 3 to 11 counties, and agents (civilian and military) from 1 to 3 counties. Agents received their orders directly from superintendents, and all superintendents were required to submit monthly reports of their activities to the Assistant Commissioner. Brig. Gen. Sidney Burbank succeeded Davis in March 1867 and was replaced by Maj. Benjamin Runkle, who served from January 1869 to May 1869 as Assistant Commissioner and superintendent of education. In August 1870, when superintendents of education were withdrawn from the states, Runkle served as claims agent for Kentucky until July 1871. H. H. Ray succeeded Runkle as claims agent, and served in this capacity until December 1871. P. J. Overley became the claims agent in January 1872 and remained in this position until the Bureau's operations in Kentucky were discontinued in April. The major subordinate field offices for the Bureau at Kentucky included those with headquarters at Bowling Green, Lebanon, Lexington, Louisville, and Paducah. For a list of known Kentucky subordinate field office personnel and their dates of service, see the Appendix.
ACTIVITIES
While the Freedmen's Bureau did not begin full operations in Kentucky until June 1866, its activities in the state generally resembled those conducted in other Southern states. The Bureau supervised labor contracts between planters and freedmen, administered justice, assisted freedmen in the establishment of schools, helped freedmen legalize marriages, and worked with black soldiers and their heirs in processing claims relating to military service.
The regulation of written labor agreements between planters and freedmen was a major concern of the Freedmen's Bureau. In a circular issued on July 24, 1865 (Circular Number 2), Assistant Commissioner Fisk told his subordinates that for both Kentucky and Tennessee freedmen must be free to choose their own employers and that wages were to be based on supply and demand rather than a fixed rate. Bureau officials were to negotiate and approve labor contracts and enforce violations by either party. Compulsory unpaid labor was strictly prohibited. In some areas of Kentucky, planters refused to enter into written agreements with freedmen, and freedmen themselves were reluctant to enter into annual agreements for fear of being reduced to slavery. However, with strong reservations, Bureau officers negotiated monthly agreements for them but encouraged freedmen to sign annual contracts that offered yearlong employment. Wages for monthly contracts ranged from $8 to $10 a month for adult male field hands, well below the state's average wage of $15 a month for men. However by the summer of 1866, with the Bureau's insistence, adult laborers in the tobacco region of the state received $25 per month and laborers in the farm belt areas earned $12 per month. In some Kentucky counties, freedmen received a third of the crops rather than wages. However, because of the shortage of laborers in the state, freedmen were able to demand higher wages, and thus over time the sharecropping system became less attractive.1
The Bureau worked to protect the rights and legal status of freedmen, which, despite the ending of slavery by the 13th Amendment, were still endangered by the persistence of the old slave codes. On May 30, 1865, Commissioner Howard issued Circular Number 5, authorizing Assistant Commissioners to establish courts in states where the old codes existed and the right of blacks to testify against whites was prohibited. Gen. Fisk subsequently announced to the citizens of Kentucky that freedmen courts would operate in the state as long as freedmen weren't given the same rights as whites. By 1867, as a result of several Federal court rulings, Bureau courts ceased to operate in Kentucky. When state courts denied black testimony, the agency, under provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, took cases involving freedmen to the U. S. District Court of Kentucky. In instances where freedmen lacked resources to pursue their cases in Federal court, the Bureau provided transportation for witnesses and other forms of assistance. Despite the Bureau's efforts to safeguard rights and secure justice for freedmen in Kentucky, admitting the testimony of blacks against whites still remained an issue in 1869 when Bureau Assistant Commissioners and their subordinates were withdrawn from the states. However, in January 1872, with a change in public opinion and pressure from the courts, the Kentucky State Legislature amended state law and allowed blacks to testify.
When Gen. John Ely began his duties as chief superintendent for Kentucky under Gen. Fisk's supervision, there were 30 freedmen schools and more than 2,000 students. The schools were organized and maintained by black churches, with black clergy as instructors. Freedmen schools faced widespread violence and white opposition, and in many cases, teachers and students were forced to abandon efforts to maintain school buildings. Ely and his subordinate assisted freedmen in reopening schools that had been forced to close.2 Under Maj. Gen. Jeff C. Davis, who replaced Ely in the summer of 1866, the number of freedmen schools increased to 54, with some 67 teachers and more than 3,200 students. Excluding the schools established at Lexington and Covington under the auspices of the Cincinnati Branch of the Western Freedmen's Aid Society and the Cincinnati Branch of the American Missionary Association, the freedmen schools were taught by black teachers who were supported by subscriptions from parents and black religious institutions. The Bureau, however, rented the building for the school at Lexington. Under Brig. Gen. Sidney Burbank, who succeeded Davis in March 1867, the number of freedmen schools increased to 96, accommodating about 5,000 students aged 6 – 18. By September 1868, in spite of continued violence and opposition, the Bureau had provided support for 135 day schools and 1 night school, serving more than 6,000 students.3
On February 14, 1866, the Kentucky State Legislature passed an act legalizing marriages freedmen had entered into during slavery and authorizing black ministers to solemnize such marriages. Nearly 2 weeks later, on February 26, 1866, Assistant Commissioner Fisk issued Circular Number 5, in accordance with the Kentucky law, directing those freedmen who sought to solemnize a marriage to the county clerk for a marriage license. If the county clerk refused to issue a license, Bureau officials in the subdistricts were authorized to solemnize marriages and issue marriage certificates. Local Bureau officers were required to maintain a register of freedmen marriages and forward a report of such marriages to the Assistant Commissioner at the end of each month. Subordinate Bureau officers were also told to notify persons living as man and wife who had not legalized their marriage, to report to the Bureau to take the necessary steps to do so. Persons who failed to comply were guilty of a misdemeanor and were to be punished by a fine and imprisonment.4 This publication reproduces marriage licenses, certificates, and registers of marriages for the Kentucky subdistricts at Augusta, Bowling Green, Columbus, Cynthiana, Owensboro, Paducah, Mt. Sterling, and Winchester. A single freedmen marriage license and a marriage certificate from Kentucky, filed in the Bureau's headquarters records, has been reproduced on roll 1 of National Archives Microfilm Publication M1875, Marriage Records of the Office of the Commissioner, Washington Headquarters of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1861–1869.
In addition to assisting freedmen in solemnizing slave marriages and efforts to sustain the black family, the Bureau helped discharged soldiers, sailors, marines, 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 Bureau the sole agent for payment of claims relating to black veterans, Bureau disbursing officers assisted freedmen in the preparation and settlement of military claims. In November 1866, in spite of the difficulties in locating veterans who fled the state for fear of violence, Assistant Commissioner Davis reported that he had forwarded more than 260 black soldiers' claims for back pay and bounty payments to Commissioner Howard's office in Washington, DC. In the following year, Assistant Commissioner Burbank reported that his office had assisted nearly 500 veterans with military claims, and in the fall of 1868, for the year ending October 10, 1868, that more than 1,100 received bounty payments through his office.5
ENDNOTES
1 House Ex. Doc. 70, 39th Cong., 1st Sess., Serial Vol. 1256, p. 48. See also Victor B. Howard, Black Liberation in Kentucky: Emancipation and Freedom, 1862–1884 (Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 1983), pp. 96 – 97.
2 See report of Maj. J. C. Davis, August 23, 1866, "Synopses of Letters and Reports Relating to Conditions of Freedmen and Bureau Activities in the States, January 1866–March 1869," Vol. 135, Records of the Commissioner, Record Group 105, NARA, pp. 294 – 395.
3 Ross A. Webb, "The Past Is Never Dead, It's Not Even Past: Benjamin P. Runkle and the Freedmen's Bureau in Kentucky, 1866–1870," The Register of Kentucky Historical Society Vol. 84, No. 4 (Autumn 1986), pp. 348 – 350.
4 See Victor B. Howard, Black Liberation in Kentucky, pp. 121 – 125.
5 Senate Ex. Doc. No. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1276, p. 67; See also Annual Reports of the Assistant Commissioners, Kentucky, 1867 and 1868, Records of the Office of the Commissioner, Record Group 105, NARA.
Freedmen's Bureau Personnel in Kentucky:
This list provides the names and dates of service of chief medical officers and known Freedmen's Bureau personnel at selected subordinate field offices in Kentucky. 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.
LOUISVILLE
July 1866–Mar. 1867 -- Chief Medical Officer F. S. Town
Mar.–Nov. 1867 -- Chief Medical Officer W. R. De Witt, Jr.
Nov. 1867–June 1869 -- Chief Medical Officer R. A. Bell
BOWLING GREEN
July 1866–July 1867 -- Chief Subassistant Commissioner Charles F. Johnson
July–Dec. 1867 -- Chief Subassistant Commissioner Joseph C. Rodriguez
Jan.–Feb. 1868 -- Chief Subassistant Commissioner Louis A. Reynolds
Feb.–June 1868 -- Chief Subassistant Commissioner A. Benson Brown
BOWLING GREEN
Jan.–Mar. 1866 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner R. W. Thing (Superintendent)
Sept. 1866–July 1867 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner Joseph C. Rodriguez (Subassistant Comm.)
July–Dec. 1867 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner James A. Shepley (Subassistant Commissioner)
BRANDENBURG
Sept. 1866–June 1867 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner York A. Woodward (Superintendent)
May–June 1868 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner James A. Bolton (Subassistant Commissioner)
BURKSVILLE
Oct. 1866–July 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner George W. Kingsbury
COLUMBUS
Mar.–Apr. 1866 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner Lt. James F. Bolton (Superintendent, Paducah)
Apr. 1866–Mar. 1868 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner Lt. James F. Bolton (Superintendent)
Mar.–Apr. 1868 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner Lt. James F. Bolton (Subassistant)
Apr.–July 1868 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner Capt. Emerson H. Liscum (Subassistant)
COVINGTON
Jan. 1866–July 1868 -- Superintendent John L. Graham
DANVILLE
Jan.–May 1866 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner William Goodloe (Superintendent)
June 1866–Apr. 1867 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner W. R. Roume (Superintendent)
Apr.–Aug. 1867 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner W. R. Roume (Subassistant)
Aug.–Dec. 1867 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner A. Benson Brown (Subassistant)
Dec. 1867–Apr. 1868 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner Martin Norton (Subassistant)
Feb.–June 1868 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner H. G. Thomas (Chief Subassistant)
GREENSBURG
Oct. 1866–Nov. 1866 -- Superintendent and Chief Agent George Duff (Superintendent)
Mar. 1867–Feb. 1868 -- Superintendent and Chief Agent P. S. Reeves (Chief Agent)
HENDERSON
Feb.–May 1868 -- Chief Subassistant Commissioner James McCleery
May 1868 -- Chief Subassistant Commissioner V. H. Echorn
June–July 1868 -- Chief Subassistant Commissioner A. Benson Brown
HENDERSON
Jan.–Dec. 1866 -- Superintendent and Subassistant F. F. Cheaney (Superintendent)
Apr.–Sept. 1867 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Wells Bailey (Subassistant)
Jan.–July 1868 -- Superintendent and Subassistant V. H. Echorn (Subassistant)
LEXINGTON
Feb.–Mar. 1866 -- Chief Superintendent and Chief Subassistant John Ely (Chief)
Apr.–June 1866 -- Chief Superintendent and Chief Subassistant James H. Rice (Chief Superintendent)
June 1866–Feb. 1867 -- Chief Superintendent and Chief Subassistant R. E. Johnson (Chief Superintendent)
Aug.–Oct. 1866 -- Chief Superintendent and Chief Subassistant James H. Rice (Acting Chief Superintendent)
Oct. 1866–Apr. 1867 -- Chief Superintendent and Chief Subassistant R. E. Johnson (Acting Chief Superintendent)
Apr. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Chief Superintendent and Chief Subassistant R. E. Johnson (Chief Subassistant)
LEXINGTON
June 1866–Apr. 1867 -- Superintendent and Subassistant James H. Rice (Superintendent)
Apr.–June 1867 -- Superintendent and Subassistant James H. Rice (Subassistant)
June–July 1867 -- Superintendent and Subassistant W. R. Montmolin (Acting Subassistant)
July–Oct. 1867 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Patrick H. Flood (Subassistant)
LOUISVILLE
July–Aug. 1865 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner S. A. Porter (Superintendent)
Aug.–Nov. 1865 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner H. A. McCaleb (Superintendent)
Nov. 1865 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner E. D. Kennedy (Acting Superintendent)
Mar.–Apr. 1866 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner Walter Babcock (Superintendent)
Apr. 1866 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner A. Benson Brown (Superintendent)
Apr. 1866–June 1866 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner C. H. Frederick (Superintendent)
June 1866 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner A. Benson Brown (Acting Superintendent)
July 1866–Apr. 1867 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner C. H. Frederick (Superintendent)
July 1866–Apr. 1867 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner A. Benson Brown (Assistant Superintendent)
Apr.–July 1867 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner R. W. Roberts (Subassistant)
July 1867–July 1868 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner J. Catlin (Subassistant)
July–Dec. 1868 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner J. Catlin (Chief Subassistant)
PADUCAH
Apr.–Dec. 1866 -- Chief Superintendent and Chief Subassistant Commissioner John H. Donovan (Chief Superintendent)
Aug. 1866 -- Chief Superintendent and Chief Subassistant Commissioner John F. Smith (Acting Chief Superintendent)
Dec. 1866–Apr. 1867 -- Chief Superintendent and Chief Subassistant Commissioner W. James Kay (Chief Superintendent)
Apr.–June 1867 -- Chief Superintendent and Chief Subassistant Commissioner W. James Kay (Chief Subassistant)
June 1867–Mar. 1868 -- Chief Superintendent and Chief Subassistant Commissioner W. James Kay (Chief Subassistant)
Apr.–July 1868 -- Chief Superintendent and Chief Subassistant Commissioner P. T. Swaine (Chief Subassistant)
July–Dec. 1868 -- Chief Superintendent and Chief Subassistant Commissioner A. Benson Brown (Chief Subassistant)
PADUCAH (McCracken County)
Aug. 1865–Apr. 1866 -- Superintendent, Chief Agent, and Subassistant Commissioner A. M. York (Superintendent)
Apr.–Nov. 1866 -- Superintendent, Chief Agent, and Subassistant Commissioner John F. Smith (Superintendent)
Feb.–Apr. 1867 -- Superintendent, Chief Agent, and Subassistant Commissioner C. D. Smith (Superintendent)
Apr. 1867 -- Superintendent, Chief Agent, and Subassistant Commissioner C. D. Smith (Chief Agent)
Apr.–May 1867 -- Superintendent, Chief Agent, and Subassistant Commissioner C. D. Smith (Subassistant)
May–Nov. 1867 -- Superintendent, Chief Agent, and Subassistant Commissioner C. D. Smith (Chief Agent)
May–July 1868 -- Superintendent, Chief Agent, and Subassistant Commissioner R. S. Egelston (Subassistant)
PARIS
Mar. 1866 -- Agent Joseph A. Hilduth
Mar.–May 1866 -- Agent Thomas I. Elliott
June–July 1866 -- Agent R. W. Hutchraft
RUSSELLVILLE
Mar. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner H. A. Hunter
Apr.–June 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner M. E. Billings
SMITHLAND
Mar. 1866–Jan. 1867 -- Agent J. Bone Thompson
Mar.–June 1867 -- Agent Solomon Littlefield
WINCHESTER
Feb. and Sept. 1866 -- Superintendent H. C. Howard
Feb.–June and Sept. 1866 -- Superintendent George W. Gist
Apr. 1866 -- Superintendent R. C. Nicholas
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.
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Records of the Field Offices for the State of Georgia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872
Extent:
90 Reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1865–1872
Summary:
This collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 90 rolls of microfilm described in the NARA publication M1903. These digital surrogates reproduced the records of the Georgia 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, registers of patients, orders and circulars issued and received, and other records relating to freedmen's complaints and contracts.
Records Description:
These records consist of volumes and unbound records. The volumes reproduced in this 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 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 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, special orders and circulars issued, registers of complaints, 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, general orders and circulars received, monthly reports, and records relating to complaints, labor contracts, patients, and court papers.
Historical Note:
[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M1903.]
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 families 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. 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 Assistant Commissioner corresponded extensively with both his superior in the Washington Bureau headquarters and his subordinate officers in the subdistricts. He prepared reports that he sent to the Commissioner concerning Bureau activities in areas under his jurisdiction, based upon reports submitted to him by the subassistant commissioners and other subordinate staff officers. He 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, letters were 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 GEORGIA
ORGANIZATION
Bvt. Maj. Gen. Rufus Saxton, who had directed the "Port Royal Experiment," was appointed Assistant Commissioner for South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Saxton established his headquarters at Beaufort, SC, in June 1865, and assigned Gen. Edward A. Wild the responsibility for Bureau affairs in part of Georgia. In September 1865, after Wild was relieved from duty, the office of Assistant Commissioner for Georgia was established, and Brig. Gen. Davis Tillson was appointed as Acting Assistant Commissioner, with exclusive control of all matters concerning the Bureau in Georgia. Tillson reported to General Saxton in South Carolina until December 1865, when he was ordered to report thereafter directly to Commissioner Howard at Washington. Generally, the records pertaining to Georgia and Florida that were created during this early period are included among those of the Assistant Commissioner of South Carolina.
The organization of the Bureau in Georgia was similar to that of the Bureau headquarters in Washington. The Assistant Commissioner's staff included an assistant adjutant general, an assistant inspector general, a chief quartermaster and disbursing officer, and a superintendent of education. Three officers served as Assistant Commissioner in Georgia between 1865 and 1869 and located the Bureau offices in four different cities during that period. General Tillson first established his headquarters at Augusta in September 1865, but moved it to Savannah in October 1866. Col. Caleb C. Sibley succeeded Tillson as Assistant Commissioner in January 1867, and 2 months later he moved the headquarters from Savannah to Macon. It remained there until July 1867, when the office was transferred to Atlanta. In October 1868, Maj. John R. Lewis replaced Sibley as Assistant Commissioner. Lewis served until the office was discontinued in May 1869. From January to May 1869, Major Lewis combined the duties of Assistant Commissioner, with those of superintendent of education. After the office of the Assistant Commissioner was discontinued, Lewis continued to serve as superintendent of education until May 1870.
The major subordinate field offices for the Bureau in Georgia, for example, included those with headquarters at Albany, Americus, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, and Savannah. 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 selected Georgia subordinate field office personnel and their dates of service, see the Appendix.
ACTIVITIES
The major activities of the Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia generally resembled those conducted in other states. The Bureau issued rations and provided medical relief to both freedmen and white refugees, supervised labor contracts between planters and freedmen, administered justice, and worked with benevolent societies in the establishment of schools.
When General Davis Tillson took over as Assistant Commissioner for the Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia in September 1865, many of the major cities and towns in the state were troubled with overcrowding, disease, and poverty. In the cities of Macon, Atlanta, Augusta, and Savannah, freedmen and refugees were living in some of the most crowded and deplorable conditions, and many were in dire need of food and clothing, shelter, and medical attention.1 Convinced, however, that Federal Government relief should be temporary and solely for the needy, General Tillson issued an order on October 3, 1865, prohibiting the distribution of rations to freedmen and refugees who were able–bodied but refused work. To discourage idleness and dependency, Tillson further ordered that only those persons who were able to provide for themselves would be allowed to remain in the towns and cities. Those who desired to stay, said Tillson, "must be compelled, if necessary, to go to the country and accept places of labor found by themselves, or for them, by officers or agents of the Bureau."2
Tillson's orders were strictly enforced. One month after his pronouncement, rations issued in Savannah had been reduced from 120,000 to 60,000 per month. For the month of June of 1866, the number of rations issued for the entire State of Georgia totaled less than 20,000. However, in spite of the Bureau's "Self–Help" policy, limited resources, and the belief that local governments should play a greater role in providing relief for the destitute, the Georgia Bureau issued some 847,669 rations from June 1865 to September 1866. Although the Bureau's actions prevented wholesale starvation and untold suffering, the agency's rations–relief efforts were far less extensive than what Bureau officials had done during the same period in Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Tillson's successors, Assistant Commissioners Caleb C. Sibley (January 1867–October 1868) and John R. Lewis (October 1868–May 1869) continued to follow the policy of providing limited rations relief. During their tenures, rations were issued only in emergencies and for the most part to hospitals and asylums.3
The Georgia Bureau's policy of temporary relief for the needy also guided its approach in providing medical care and assistance for the destitute. Like its ration program, the Bureau viewed its responsibility as one of providing temporary medical relief, primarily in cases of extreme emergencies. The Bureau believed that the ultimate responsibility for providing medical care to those in need lay with Georgia civil authorities. J. W. Lawton, who served as surgeon–in–chief under General Tillson, saw the use of dispensaries as the best means of administering medical relief and the most effective approach to encourage civil officials to take on some of the cost for operating them. Lawton and his successor at various times maintained dispensaries at Albany, Americus, Brunswick, Columbus, Darien, Newton, St. Catherine's Island, St. Marys, and Stone Mountain. The Bureau's medical department also opened hospitals with the idea of eventually turning them over to state and local authorities. The Bureau maintained hospitals at Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, and Savannah. At the height of its medical operations (1866–67), however, the agency employed just 13 physicians. Nonetheless, with its limited and over burdened medical staff, the Bureau treated more than 5,000 freedmen for various aliments and vaccinated some 20,000 freedmen and refugees against smallpox from September 1, 1865, through September 20, 1866. By September 1867, the number of freedmen treated by the Bureau nearly tripled. At the end of June 1868, close to 17,000 freed men, women, and children received treatment. Despite the Bureau's efforts to treat the weak, sick, and infirm, the mortality rate among freedmen remained high. By late 1868, most of the Bureau's medical activities ceased, and care for the destitute was turned over to local authorities.4
In Georgia, as in other states under the Bureau's jurisdiction, the regulation of written labor contracts between planters and freedmen was of paramount concern. General Tillson's order of October 3, 1865 (Circular Number 2), which restricted the issuing of rations only to those in need, also instructed his subordinates to "Make Immediate and Vigorous Efforts" to secure work for unemployed freedmen "where fair compensation and kind treatment will be secured to them." Upon arrival at his post in early September 1865, Tillson found the labor system in Georgia in disarray. Able–bodied freedmen were being paid from $2 to $7 per month. Many were of the notion that the Federal Government was planning to distribute land to them at Christmas or New Year's, and thus large numbers of freedmen were refusing to sign labor contracts. Planters, on the other hand, were convinced that the Bureau was the "Champion" of the freedmen and totally insensitive to their concerns about freedmen and their unwillingness to labor, and were thus making little effort to prepare for the planting season.5
On December 22, 1865, in an effort to remove "False and Mistaken Impressions" held by the both planters and freedmen, Tillson issued wage guidelines that both parties were expected to follow. Under the new rules, freedmen had the right to choose their own employers, but those freedmen who refused to sign contracts after January 10, 1866, "where employers offer good wages and kind treatment," had to accept contracts that the Bureau made for them. In upper and middle Georgia, where the land was poor and unsuited for raising large quantities of crops, Tillson instructed his officers to secure contracts paying men $12 – $13 per month, and $8 – $10 dollars per month for women. Freedmen were to provide for their own clothing and medicines. In other parts of the state and along the coast and southwestern Georgia, where "Good Crops" could be raised, men were to be paid $15 per month, including board and lodging, and women $10 per month. In areas where planters preferred to pay a share of the crop, the order required payment of "from one–third the gross to one half the net proceeds."6
Realizing that not all planters would comply with his new wage guidelines, Tillson instructed his subordinates to call on the military to enforce his orders whenever necessary. He was aware in spite of his orders, many of the contracts being signed, even some approved by his own agents, were substandard and not in compliance with his wage schedule. He made clear to both his agents and the planters that such contracts would not be recognized. To emphasize the importance of his commitment to fair contracts and compensation for freedmen, Tillson offered transportation to freedmen to such areas as southwest Georgia and the Mississippi Valley where wages were higher. In a November 1866 report to Commissioner Howard, Tillson indicated that he had issued 381 orders for transportation for some 2,947 men and 1,013 children.7
Safeguarding rights and securing justice for freedmen was a major area of concern for 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 Howard on May 30, 1865 (Circular Number 5), Assistant Commissioners were directed to "adjudicate, either themselves or through officers of their appointment, all difficulties arising between negroes themselves, or between negroes and whites or Indians." In response to Howard's circular, General Tillson issued an order on November 15, 1865 (Circular Number 4), instructing his officers to hear and make determinations in cases involving freedmen in which the disputed sum did not exceed $50, or the punishment did not exceed $50 or 30 days' imprisonment. Agents were also told that they could "try offences committed by or against freedmen, provided the sentence imposed does not exceed one hundred and fifty dollars or imprisonment for hard labor for sixty days." Tillson further ordered that "It is preferred that all cases of any importance . . . whenever under the laws there of [the State of Georgia], or by agreement of the parties . . . [where] the testimony of Freedmen can be admitted . . . the Agent will turn them over to the civil authorities for trial." To carry out Tillson's orders, agents were to establish three member tribunals (known as freedmen's courts) consisting of a Bureau official and two citizens, one chosen by each party involved in the case.8
However, when the Georgia State Legislature passed an act conferring civil rights on "Persons of Color," approved March 17, 1866, Tillson advised his officers on April 6 (Circular Number 4) that they were no longer required to comply with Commissioner Howard's orders of May 30, 1865. While Tillson told his agents that they were to continue to follow instructions issued by him on November 6, 1865 (Circular Number 4), "all cases exceeding their jurisdiction, unless otherwise specially directed by the Department Commander, [were to] be turned over to the civil authorities of the State for adjudication." Despite the Bureau's efforts to secure justice and civil rights for freedmen in Georgia, blacks continued to complain to the agency about some of the "Most Fiendish and Diabolical Outrages" suffered by them at the hands of gangs known as "Regulators," "Jayhawkers," and the "Black–Horse Cavalry." Perpetrators of crimes against freedmen were often not apprehended or prosecuted by civil authorities. At various times, because of increased hostilities toward freedmen and the failure of civil authorities to take action in their cases, Bureau officials in Georgia were compelled to reassert their authority.9
Bureau educational activity began in Georgia in October 1865, when G. L. Eberhart was appointed as superintendent of schools (later education). In August 1867, Edward A. Ware succeeded Eberhart. In January 1869, Assistant Commissioner Maj. John R. Lewis assumed the duties of superintendent of education. Lewis served in both capacities until May 1869, when the office of Assistant Commissioner was discontinued, and remained as superintendent education until May 1870. The records of the two offices were not combined. Ware, who had been acting as assistant superintendent, remained in Georgia as acting superintendent until August 1870, when all Bureau officers except the claims agents were withdrawn from the state.
Congress's failure to provide an appropriation for the Freedmen's Bureau during it first year of operation, impacted significantly on the agency's ability to provide adequate assistance for freedmen education. With limited financial resources, the Bureau provided help when it could, and worked vigorously to encourage freedmen and Northern benevolent societies to take on the primary responsibility for providing support for black schools. G. L. Eberhart and his successors were of the opinion that "colored people who are unwilling to help educate their children do not deserve to have schools." To encourage freedmen to participate in this self–support effort, Eberhart urged them to establish educational associations. With assistance from local Bureau agents, educational associations were established in the subdistricts of Thomasville, Bainbridge, Albany, Georgetown, Cuthbert, and Americus. In early 1866, the "Pay Your Own Way" policy led to the founding of the Georgia Educational Association (initially organized as the Georgia Equal Rights Association). The Educational Association worked closely with the Bureau and Northern aid societies and became the model "to encourage the people [freedmen] to organized effort in supporting their own schools & managing their own affairs." By the end of 1866, freedmen owned 57 schoolhouses and provided support for 96 of the 127 schools in the state. By the spring of 1867, freedmen contributions sustained some 104 schools and teachers and more than 3,000 students. During the same period, the Bureau maintained some 44 schools and 50 teachers and close to 3,100 pupils. Northern aid societies provided support for 84 schools, 78 teachers, and over 7,000 students. Freedmen also defrayed the expenses for 45 schools under the control of the Bureau and the aid societies.10
With the passage of the Army Appropriations Act on July 13, 1866 (14 Stat. 90), the Bureau received its first appropriation and was able to provide greater assistance in its effort to support freedmen education. In addition to providing some $21,000 for state superintendents' salaries, the Act made available $500,000 more for the rent and repair of school buildings. In the same month, Congress overrode President Andrew Johnson's veto and extended the life of the Bureau for 2 years. In this new legislation (14 Stat. 173), the Bureau was allowed to "Seize, Hold, Use, Lease, or Sell" Confederate property for the purpose of educating freedmen. The act also required the Bureau to work closely with benevolent groups and to lease buildings to those associations that supplied teachers. By early July 1869, the Bureau had expended nearly $105,000 for the construction and repair of school buildings that provided accommodations for 4,690 students. The Bureau spent an additional $10,471 for the repair of buildings that provided part–time space for more than 3,500 pupils. By the time the Bureau withdrew from Georgia in 1870, the agency had contributed funds for the building of some 50 schools in the state.11
ENDNOTES
1 Mildred Thompson, "The Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia in 1865–66: An Instrument of Reconstruction," The Georgia Historical Quarterly V, No. 1 (March 1921): 42 – 43.
2 House Ex. Doc. 70, 39th Cong., 1st Sess., Serial Vol. 1256, p. 58.
3 House Ex. Doc. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1276, p. 57; Thompson, "The Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia in 1865–66: An Instrument of Reconstruction," pp. 42 – 43. For a detailed discussion of the Georgia Freedmen's Bureau's efforts in regards to relief, see Paul A. Cimbala, Under the Guardianship of the Nation: The Freedmen's Bureau and the Reconstruction of Georgia, 1865–1870 (Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 1997), especially pp. 80 – 98.
4 Paul Cimbala, Under the Guardianship of the Nation: The Freedmen's Bureau and the Reconstruction of Georgia, 1865–1870, pp. 98 – 104; See also Todd L. Savitt, "Politics in Medicine: The Georgia Freedmen's Bureau and the Organization of Health Care, 1865–1866," Civil War History XXVIII, No. 1 (March 1982): pp. 45 – 64.
5 "Statement in brief, of the operations of the Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia, since September last, the date of his assignment to duty," Davis Tillson, Bvt. Maj. Gen., Annual Reports of the Assistant Commissioners, GA, August 7, 1866, Records of the Office of the Commissioner, 1866–69, Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, Record Group (RG) 105, National Archives Building, Washington, DC.
6 Paul A. Cimbala, "The Talisman Power:" Davis Tillson, The Freedmen's Bureau, and Free Labor in Reconstruction Georgia, 1865–68," Civil War History XXVIII, No. 2 (June 1982): 160.
7 Ibid, 160 – 164.
8 House Ex. Doc. 70, 39th Cong., 1st Sess. Serial Vol. 1256, pp. 61 – 62.
9 Senate Ex. Doc. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1276, pp. 54 – 56.
10 Paul A. Cimbala, Under the Guardianship of the Nation: The Freedmen's Bureau and the Reconstruction of Georgia, 1865–1870, pp. 105 – 110.
11 Ibid., pp. 116 – 118.
Freedmen's Bureau Personnel in Georgia:
This list provides the names and dates of service of known Freedmen's Bureau personnel at selected subordinate field offices in Georgia. 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.
ALBANY
Feb. 1866–Oct. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner F. A. H. Gaebel (Headquarters at Cuthbert)
Oct. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner O. H. Howard (Headquarters at Albany)
Mar.–Oct. 1867 -- Agent O. H. Howard
Oct. 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Agent C. C. Hicks
Dec. 1867 -- Agent William Pierce
Jan.–Nov. 1868 -- Agent Charles Rauschenberg
AMERICUS
July 1866–Mar. 1867 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner George Wagner
Apr. 1867–Apr. 1868 -- Agent J. W. Robinson
Apr.–Nov. 1868 -- Agent A. C. Morrill
ATLANTA
Oct.–Dec. 1865 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Curkendall
Jan.–Feb. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner D. C. Poole
Feb.–June 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner George R. Walbridge
June 1866–May 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner John Leonard
May 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Fred Mosebach
AUGUSTA
July–Aug. 1865 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. F. H. Cooke
Aug.–Nov. 1865 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. E. Bryand
Nov. 1865–Apr. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner George R. Campbell
Apr.–Sept. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner William Shields
Sept. 1866–Feb. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner W. L. White
Feb.–July 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner William F. Martins
July 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner E. S. Ehlers
Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner H. Catley
Jan.–May 1869 -- Assistant Superintendent of Education E. B. Bingham
BAINBRIDGE
June 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Agent W. L. Clark
Jan.–May 1869 -- Assistant Superintendent of Education W. L. Clark
BAIRDSTOWN
July 1866–Sept. 1868 -- Agent Joseph McWhorter
BARTON
Oct. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Agent William Moffitt
BLAKELY
June–Nov. 1867 -- Agent William Genth
BRUNSWICK (Subdistrict)
July 1866–Mar. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Crabtree
Mar.–May 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner E. S. Ehlers
May 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Douglas Risley
Jan.–May 1869 -- Assistant Superintendent of Education Douglas Risley
May 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Agent S. North
BUTLER
May–Oct. 1868 -- Agent A. Pokorny
CAMPBELLTON
Feb. 1866–May 1867 -- Agent E. S. Jackson
CARNESVILLE
May–June 1867 -- Agent C. W. Beal
June–Sept. 1867 -- Agent K. Tyner
Sept. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Agent J. W. Barney
CARROLLTON
July 1867 -- Agent Edward Belcher (also at Dawson)
CARTERSVILLE
Apr. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Agent C. B. Blacher
CLARKSVILLE
June–Nov. 1867 -- Agent T. J. Herbert
COLUMBUS
Apr. 1866–Apr. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner Fred Mosebach
May–Dec.1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Wagner
Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner John Leonard
Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Harry Haskell
May 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Agent C. W. Chapman
Jan.–Mar. 1869 -- Assistant Superintendent of Education Harry L. Haskell
CRAWFORDSVILLE
Apr. 1867–Apr. 1868 -- Agent William B. Moore
May–Nov. 1868 -- Agent John H. Sullivan (also at Greensboro)
CUMMING
Apr. 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Agent W. J. Bryan
Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent W. J. Bryan (also at Marietta)
CUTHBERT
Feb. 1866–Oct. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner F. A. H. Gaebel
June 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Agent Charles Rauschenberg
Jan.–Mar. 1868 -- Agent C. C. Hicks
Mar.–May 1868 -- Agent James A. Shiels
May–Dec. 1868 -- Agent George Ballou
DAHLONEGA
July 1866–Jan. 1867 -- Agent M. P. Archer
DALTON
June 1867–Apr. 1868 -- Agent Ralph L. Finney
Apr.–Nov. 1868 -- Agent P. I. O'Rourke
DARIEN
June 1866–Apr. 1867 -- Agent Thomas Pease
DAWSON
Mar.–Apr. 1867 -- Agent Charles Rauschenbert
July 1867 -- Agent Edward Belcher (also at Carrollton)
Aug.–Sept. 1867 -- Agent Edward Belcher (also at Forsyth)
Dec. 1867 -- Agent William Pierce (also at Albany)
Dec. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Agent William Pierce (also at Smithville)
Sept.–Oct. 1868 -- Agent Andrew Clark
DORCHESTER
Jan. 1867 -- Agent A. M. McIver
EATONTON
June–Dec. 1867 -- Agent J. D. Rogers (also at Milledgeville)
ELIJAY
Sept.–Nov. 1867 -- Agent M. R. Archer
FORSYTH
Aug.–Sept. 1867 -- Agent Edward Belcher (also at Dawson)
FORT GAINES
June–Nov. 1867 -- Agent William Genth (also at Blakely)
Nov. 1867–June 1868 -- Agent William Genth
FORT VALLEY
Sept. 1867–Jan. 1868 and Oct.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent Daniel Losey
GREENSBORO
May–Nov. 1868 -- Agent John H. Sullivan (also at Crawfordsville)
GRIFFIN
July 1866–Feb. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner E. S. Ehlers
July 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner John Leonard
Jan.–Nov. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Wagner
Jan.–Sept. 1866 -- Agent J. Clarke Swayze
Sept. 1866–Mar. 1867 -- Agent James J. Boynton
HALCYONDALE
July–Dec. 1867 -- Agent Lewis Wheelock
Mar.–Apr. 1868 -- Agent Chas Sawyer
June–Dec. 1868 -- Agent A. Leers
HAWKINSVILLE
Apr. 1867–Feb. 1868 -- Agent E. A. Polloch
Mar.–Sept. 1868 -- Agent L. Lieberman
HINESVILLE
Jan. 1867 -- Agebt A. M. McIver (also at Dorchester)
Feb.–Apr. 1867 -- Agent A. M. McIver (also at Riceboro)
May 1867–Nov. 1868 -- Agent Charles Holcombe
IRVINTON
Aug.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent H. de P. Young
ISABELLA
Apr.–Aug. 1867 -- Agent William C. Carson
JACKSON
1865–67 -- Agent Wiley Goodman
JONESBORO
June 1867–Nov. 1868 -- Agent I. G. A. Waldrop
LAFAYETTE
May 1867–Mar. 1868 -- Agent D. J. Curtis
LAGARANGE
Oct. 1866–Apr. 1867 -- Agent B. C. Ferrell
May 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Agent W. E. Wiggins
Jan.–Apr. 1868 -- Agent Israel Towns
Apr.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent Harry L. Haskell
LEXINGTON
Aug. 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Agent T. J. Robinson
Nov. 1867–Oct. 1868 -- Agent Joseph McWhortor
MACON
Dec. 1865–Jan. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner Louis Lambert
Jan.–Apr. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner E. G. Locke
Apr.1866–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner N. Sellers Hill
Jan.–May 1869 -- Assist. Superintendent of Education John A. Rockwell
MCDONOUGH
Jan. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Agent George M. Nolan
MARIETTA
Dec. 1866–Jan. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner O. B. Gray
Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent W. J. Bryan (also at Cumming)
MARION
Jan. 1866–July 1868 -- Agent H. M. Layless
Aug. 1868 -- Agent H. de P. Young
MILLEDGEVILLE
Dec. 1865–May 1867 -- Agent Thomas White
June–Dec. 1867 -- Agent J. D. Rogers (also at Eatonton)
Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent M. R. Bell
MONROE
Jan. 1866–Apr.1867 -- Agent John W. Arnold
NEWMAN
Jan. 1867–Sept. 1868 -- Agent William F. Martin
NEWTON
Apr. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Agent Andrew B. Clark
PERRY
Sept. 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Agent Daniel Losey (also at Fort Valley)
Jan.–Sept. 1868 -- Agent Daniel Losey
Oct.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent Daniel Losey (Fort Valley)
QUITMAN
Apr. 1867–June 1868 -- Agent Alvin B. Clark
June–July 1868 -- Agent O. N. Lyon
RICEBORO
Feb.–Apr. 1867 -- Agent A. M. McIver
ST. MARYS
Aug. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Agent William Royal
ST. SIMON'S ISLAND
1865 -- Agent William F. Eaton
SANDERSSVILLE
1867 -- Agent Thomas Harris
May–Nov. 1868 -- Agent James R. Smith
SAVANNAH
Oct. 1865–Feb. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner Col. H. F. Sickles
Feb.–Mar. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. Hall
Mar.–June 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Crabtree
June–Oct. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. Kearny Smith
Oct.–Dec. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner F. J. Foster
Feb. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. Murray Hoag
Oct. 1870–July 1872 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. W. Brinkerhoff (Claims Agent)
SMITHVILLE
Dec. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Agent William Pierce
STOCKTON
June–Aug. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner and Agent H. F. Mills
Aug.–Dec. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner and Agent H. F. Mills (Agent)
THOMASVILLE
Nov. 1865–Mar. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner Capt. C. C. Richardson
Apr.–Dec. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner Capt. Joseph O'Neil
Feb. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Capt. W. F. White
WARRENTON
Apr. 1867–June 1868 -- Agent Thomas Holden
July–Nov. 1868 -- Agent R. C. Authery
WATKINSVILLE
Dec. 1865–Mar. 1867 -- Agent Calvin Johnson
WAYNESBORO
Dec. 1865–May 1866 -- Agent A. A. Buck
June 1866–Dec. 1867 -- Agent William Martins
Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent Max Marbach
WOODVILLE
Sept. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Agent D. A. Newson
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.
Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The papers of Chris Gjording primarily document his research and activities in Central America, particularly his research on the Guaymíes and the Cerro Colorado copper mining project in Chiriquí, Panama. Materials pertaining to Panama include Gjording's field notes (portions of which are missing due to severe insect infestation); photographs; reference materials he collected; and his writings, which include his articles, dissertation, and drafts of his dissertation revised for publication. In addition to his work in Panama are his field notes and photographs from his research on campesino communities in Guatemala and El Salvador. Gjording also kept subject files on Latin American countries, focusing on the poor and oppressed and the social and political climate. His writings on those subjects are present in the collection and include a draft of his unpublished paper on peasant uprising in El Salvador and issues of Informacciónes, the Spanish-language newsletter that Gjording published and wrote articles for in Honduras. The collection also contains correspondence and notes relating to his visits to the Guatemalan Indian refugee camps in Los Lirios and Maya Balam in Quintana Roo in Mexico. In addition, the collection contains some of his correspondence with his mentor Ricardo Falla, a Guatemalan Jesuit priest and anthropologist, whom he refers to as "RF" in his notes. The collection also contains computer disks with chapters in Spanish from Falla's book on Ixcán, possibly Masacres de la selva: Ixcán, Guatemala, 1975-1982 (1992).
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Chris Gjording primarily document his research and activities in Central America, particularly his research on the Guaymíes and the Cerro Colorado copper mining project in Chiriquí, Panama. Materials pertaining to Panama include Gjording's field notes (portions of which are missing due to severe insect infestation); photographs; reference materials he collected; and his writings, which include his articles, dissertation, and drafts of his dissertation revised for publication. In addition to his work in Panama are his field notes and photographs from his research on campesino communities in Guatemala and El Salvador. Gjording also kept subject files on Latin American countries, focusing on the poor and oppressed and the social and political climate. His writings on those subjects are present in the collection and include a draft of his unpublished paper on peasant uprising in El Salvador and issues of Informacciónes, the Spanish-language newsletter that Gjording published and wrote articles for in Honduras. The collection also contains correspondence and notes relating to his visits to the Guatemalan Indian refugee camps in Los Lirios and Maya Balam in Quintana Roo in Mexico. In addition, the collection contains some of his correspondence with his mentor Ricardo Falla, a Guatemalan Jesuit priest and anthropologist, whom he refers to as "RF" in his notes. The collection also contains computer disks with chapters in Spanish from Falla's book on Ixcán, possibly Masacres de la selva: Ixcán, Guatemala, 1975-1982 (1992).
Additional materials in the collection are copies of Gjording's curriculum vitae; his student papers; and his college and graduate school diplomas. In addition, the collection contains a letter approving Gjording's advancement to the diaconate and priesthood and his decree of dismissal from the Society of Jesus in 1991.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Arrangement:
Arranged into 7 series: (1) Correspondence, 1985-91; (2) Panama, 1977-91; (3) Latin America, 1977-90; (4) Journals, 1977-1982, 1988-1989; (5) Personal Files, 1966-1991; (6) Photographs, 1976-89; (7) Computer Disks
Biographical Note:
Chris Gjording was an anthropologist and Jesuit priest, best known for his research on the Guaymí people of Panama and how they were affected by a transnational copper mining project on their land.
Gjording was born on January 12, 1943 in Los Angeles, California. In 1960 he entered a Jesuit seminary in Sheridan, Oregon and obtained his A.B. in philosophy from Spring Hill College in 1966. After earning his M.A. in philosophy from Tulane University (1967) and his M.Div. in theology from the Toronto School of Theology (1973), he was ordained as a Jesuit priest in Spokane, Washington. He taught philosophy and liberation theology at Gonzaga University (1973-75) before continuing his education at the New School for Social Research, where he received his M.A. (1978) and Ph.D. (1985) in social and cultural anthropology.
As both a priest and anthropologist, he felt that "field research essentially involves interpersonal relationships; and [he had] no category for engaging in such relationships with nothing in view as a potential benefit for the other." (Gjording's journal, January 11, 1978) Influenced by liberation theology, Gjording consequently focused his research on the rural poor of Central America during a period of social and political turmoil.
As a graduate student in 1977, Gjording spent the summer conducting ethnographic fieldwork among campesino communities in Chinacá, Guatemala and in Chirilagua, San Miguel, El Salvador. He returned to Central America the following year to work in Chiriquí, Panama with Centro de Estudios y Acción Social (CEASPA), a Jesuit-sponsored organization, as the anthropologist on an interdisciplinary team studying the Cerro Colorado copper mining project and its impact on Panama. Gjording's research focused on the Guaymí people, who lived on the land where the mining project was to occur. His research became the subject of his dissertation, "The Cerro Colorado Copper Project: Panama, Multinational Corporations and the Guaymi Indians." A revised version of the dissertation was published by the Smithsonian Institution Press in 1991 as Conditions Not of Their Choosing: The Guaymí Indians and Mining Multinationals in Panama.
Gjording left Panama in 1982 but returned to Central America after completing his dissertation in 1985 to serve as codirector of Equipo de Reflexión, Investigación y Comunicación (E.R.I.C.), a Jesuit organization in El Progreso, Yoro, Honduras. As part of his responsibilities, he published and wrote many of the articles for Informaciones, a bimonthly newsletter in Spanish on the social, political, and economic situation in Honduras. In addition, he wrote articles for the Panamanian magazine Diálogo Social; due to the political climate in Panama, he wrote some of the articles under the pseudonym "Enrique Lobo," a name he chose in honor of the anthropologist Eric Wolf. From 1987 to 1989, he made several trips to the Guatemalan refugee camps in Quintana Roo, Mexico. He conducted informal research on the background and situation of the refugees and taught workshops that provided them guidance on whether to return to Guatemala or stay in Mexico.
Gjording returned to the United States in 1989 on a sabbatical from Central America. He left the priesthood in 1991 and obtained a position teaching anthropology and peace studies at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Gjording died of lung cancer on July 5, 1993 at the age of 50.
Sources Consulted
Gjording, Chris. 1978. [Daily Journal]. Chris Gjording Papers. National Anthropological Archives.
Roseberry, William. 1993. Chris N. Gjording. Anthropology Newsletter. 34(7): 44.
Chronology
1943 -- Born January 12 in Los Angeles, California
1966 -- Earns A.B. from Spring Hill College in Philosophy
1967 -- Earns M.A. from Tulane University in Philosophy
1973 -- Earns M.Div. from Toronto School of Theology Becomes an ordained Jesuit priest
1977 -- Spends summer in Central America conducting fieldwork in campesino communities in Guatemala and El Salvador
1978 -- Earns M.A. from the New School for Social Research in Anthropology
1978-1980 -- Conducts fieldwork in Chiriquí, Panama on the Guaymíes and the Cerro Colorado copper mining project
1985 -- Earns Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research in Anthropology
1985-1988 -- Codirector of E.R.I.C. (Equipo de Reflexión, Investigación y Comunicación), El Progreso, Yoro, Honduras
1989 -- Returns to United States
1991 -- Leaves priesthood Teaches Anthropology and Peace Studies at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina
1993 -- Dies on July 5 at the age of 50
Selected Bibliography
1979 -- Gjording, Chris N. "Nicaragua's Unfinished Revolution," America 141 (October 6, 1979): 166-171.
1980 -- Lobo, Enrique. "La Nueva Política Indigenista (o bien: Acabemos con el Indio)," Diálogo Social 123 (May 1980): 15- 18. Lobo, Enrique. "El Pueblo Guaymí y el Gobierno Panameño (o bien: Acabemos con el Guaymí)," Diálogo Social 125 (July 1980): 22-25.
1981 -- Gjording, Chris N. The Cerro Colorado Copper Project and the Guaymí Indians of Panama. Occasional Paper No. 3. Cambridge: Cultural Survival, 1981.
1983 -- Gjording, Chris N. "The Guaymí People and Cerro Colorado." In Panama in Transition: Local Reactions to Development Policies. Monographs in Anthropology 6, edited by John Bort and Mary Helms, 19-52. Columbia: Museum of Anthropology, University of Missouri, 1983.
1987 -- Gjording, Chris N. "25 Años de Reforma Agraria . . . ¿Y Que?." Informaciones 8 (May-July 1987): 9-21.
1991 -- Gjording, Chris N. Conditions Not of Their Choosing: The Guaymí Indians and Mining Multinationals in Panama. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991.
Provenance:
These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Karin Gjording.
Restrictions:
Computer disks in the collection are restricted due to preservation concerns.
This series contains Gjording's research files on countries in Latin America, with the exception of Panama. Most of Gjording's research and work focused on the poor and oppressed people in Central America and the political and social climate in those nations; however, materials on South American countries are also present in this series. The series is mostly composed of magazine and newspaper clippings, papers written by others, and Gjording's notes. Some of his writings can also be found in this series including a draft of his paper on peasant uprising in El Salvador; his article "Nicaragua's Unfinished Revolution;" and copies of Informacciónes, the Spanish-language newsletter that Gjording wrote for and published from 1985 to 1988 as co-director of Equipo de Reflexión, Investigación y Comunicación (E.R.I.C.) in Honduras. This series also contains correspondence and notes relating to his visits to the Guatemalan Indian refugee camps in Los Lirios and Maya Balam in Quintana Roo in Mexico.
Please see Series 4. Journals for more of Gjording's notes in Central America, including his field notes as a graduate student studying campesinos communities in Chinacá, Guatemala and Chirilagua, San Miguel, El Salvador. Series 7. Computer Disks contains Gjording's reflections of his time in Honduras. Files pertaining to Panama are in Series 2. Panama.
Arrangement:
This series is arranged in 8 subseries: (3.1) Latin America; (3.2) El Salvador; (3.3) Guatemala; (3.4) Honduras; (3.5) Mexico; (3.6) Nicaragua; (3.7) Peru; (3.8) Venezuela
Collection Restrictions:
Computer disks in the collection are restricted due to preservation concerns.
Collection Rights:
Contact repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Chris Gjording papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
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