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Sugar, slavery, & freedom in nineteenth-century Puerto Rico / Luis A. Figueroa

Title:
Sugar, slavery, and freedom in nineteenth-century Puerto Rico
Author:
Figueroa, Luis A (Luis Antonio)  Search this
Physical description:
290 p. ; 25 cm
Type:
Books
Place:
Puerto Rico
Guayama Region
Date:
2005
C2005
19th century
Topic:
Slavery--History  Search this
Slaves--Emancipation--History  Search this
Freed persons--History  Search this
Labor supply--History  Search this
Plantation workers--History  Search this
Sugarcane industry--History  Search this
Race relations  Search this
History  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_919709

Blacks and blackness in Central America : between race and place / edited by Lowell Gudmundson & Justin Wolfe

Author:
Gudmundson, Lowell  Search this
Wolfe, Justin 1968-  Search this
Physical description:
406 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm
Type:
Books
Place:
Central America
Date:
2010
Topic:
Black people--History  Search this
Slavery--History  Search this
Race relations  Search this
History  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_964781

Sweet water and bitter : the ships that stopped the slave trade / Siân Rees

Author:
Rees, Siân 1965-  Search this
Subject:
Great Britain Royal Navy African Squadron  Search this
Physical description:
340 p. : ill., map ; 24 cm
Type:
Books
Place:
Africa, West
Great Britain
Date:
2011
C2011
19th century
Topic:
Slavery--History  Search this
Slave trade--History  Search this
Slaves--Emancipation--History  Search this
Freed persons--Social conditions  Search this
History, Naval  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_972295

The Destruction of slavery / [edited by] Ira Berlin ... [et al.]

Author:
Berlin, Ira 1941-  Search this
Physical description:
xxxviii, 852 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Type:
Sources
Biography
Place:
United States
Date:
1985
1863-1877
Civil War, 1861-1865
Topic:
African Americans--History  Search this
Slaves--Emancipation--History  Search this
Freed persons  Search this
History  Search this
African Americans  Search this
Call number:
E185.2 .D47 1985
E185.2.D47 1985
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_295289

Forging freedom : Black women and the pursuit of liberty in antebellum Charleston / Amrita Chakrabarti Myers

Author:
Myers, Amrita Chakrabarti  Search this
Physical description:
xi, 267 p. : ill. ; 25 cm
Type:
Books
Place:
South Carolina
Charleston
United States
Charleston (S.C.)
Date:
2011
C2011
19th century
1863-1877
1775-1865
Topic:
African American women--History  Search this
African American women--Social conditions  Search this
African Americans--Legal status, laws, etc  Search this
Freed persons--History  Search this
Freed persons--Social conditions  Search this
Slaves--Emancipation--History  Search this
Antislavery movements--History  Search this
African Americans--History  Search this
History  Search this
Social conditions  Search this
Race relations  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_986614

Sick from freedom : African-American illness and suffering during the Civil War and Reconstruction / Jim Downs

Author:
Downs, Jim 1973-  Search this
Physical description:
xiv, 264 p. ; 25 cm
Type:
Books
Place:
United States
Date:
2012
C2012
Civil War, 1861-1865
Topic:
African Americans--Health and hygiene--History  Search this
Slaves--Emancipation--Health aspects  Search this
Freed persons--Diseases  Search this
History  Search this
Health aspects  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_991343

Becoming free in the cotton South / Susan Eva O'Donovan

Author:
O'Donovan, Susan E  Search this
Physical description:
xii, 364 p. : map ; 22 cm
Type:
Books
Place:
Georgia
United States
Date:
2007
19th century
Civil War, 1861-1865
1865-
Topic:
Slaves--Social conditions  Search this
Freed persons--History  Search this
Slavery--Social aspects--History  Search this
Slaves--Emancipation  Search this
Cotton growing--Social aspects--History  Search this
Plantation life--History  Search this
Social conditions  Search this
History  Search this
Race relations  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_991351

Asserting the right to be

Author:
Gomez, Michael A. 1955-  Search this
Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this
Type:
Articles
Place:
America
Date:
2005
Topic:
Slave insurrections  Search this
Maroons  Search this
Fugitive slaves  Search this
Women slaves  Search this
Antislavery movements  Search this
Freed persons  Search this
Slaves--Emancipation  Search this
Call number:
DT16.5 .G66 2005
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_819832

The Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln

Title:
Abraham Lincoln at the National Archives
Author:
United States President (1861-1865 : Lincoln)  Search this
Lincoln, Abraham 1809-1865  Search this
Subject:
United States President (1861-1865 : Lincoln) Emancipation Proclamation  Search this
Physical description:
32 pages portrait 17 cm
Type:
Books
Place:
United States
Date:
199u
1863
Topic:
Slaves--Emancipation  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1076699

The diaspora of Africans liberated from slave ships in the nineteenth century / Daniel Domingues da Silva, David Eltis, Philip Misevich, Olatunji Ojo

Author:
Dominiques da Silva, Daniel B  Search this
Eltis, David 1940-  Search this
Misevich, Philip  Search this
Ojo, Olatunji  Search this
Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this
Type:
Articles
Place:
Africa, West
America
Sierra Leone
Date:
2014
Topic:
Slave trade  Search this
Slaves--Emancipation  Search this
Freed persons  Search this
Call number:
DT1 .J858
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1079286

Transition from slavery in Zanzibar and Mauritius : a comparative history / Abdul Sheriff, Vijayalakshmi Teelock, Saada Omar Wahab, Satyendra Peerthum

Author:
Sheriff, Abdul  Search this
Teelock, Vijaya  Search this
Wahab, Saada Omar  Search this
Peerthum, Satyendra  Search this
Issuing body:
Codesria  Search this
Physical description:
xiv, 166 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Type:
Books
History
Place:
Tanzania
Zanzibar
Mauritius
Date:
2016
Topic:
Slaves--Emancipation--History  Search this
Slavery--History  Search this
Freed persons--History  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1083529

To cut the rope from one's neck? : manumission documents of slave decendents from central Malian Fulbe society / Lotte Pelckmans

Author:
Pelckmans, Lotte  Search this
Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this
Type:
Articles
Place:
Mali
Date:
2013
Topic:
Slavery and Islam  Search this
Freed persons  Search this
Stigma (Social psychology)  Search this
Social stratification  Search this
Slaves--Emancipation  Search this
Call number:
HT1331 .B58 2013
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1098737

Records of the Field Offices of the Freedmen's Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, 1872–1878

Extent:
58 Reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1872–1878
Summary:
This collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 58 rolls of microfilm described in NARA publication M2029. These digital surrogates reproduced the field office records of the Freedmen's Branch in the Office of the Adjutant General, 1872–1878. These records consist of bound volumes and unbound records, including letters sent, letters received, registers of letters received, and registers of claims.
Records Description:
These records consist of volumes and unbound records. All of the volumes of the Freedmen's Branch were at one time arbitrarily assigned numbers by the Adjutant General's Office (AGO) after the records came into its custody. In the table of contents that follows, AGO numbers are shown in parentheses to aid in identifying the volumes. In some volumes, particularly in indexes and alphabetical headings of registers, there may be blank numbered pages that have not been filmed. It appears that about 40 volumes of Freedmen's Branch records listed by a clerk in the Adjutant General's Office in 1906 were not transferred to the National Archives; however the other Freedmen's Branch records are intact.

The records of field disbursing offices operating under thee Freedmen's Branch consist of the following series: letters sent, letters received, registers of letters received, and registers of claims. These records span various periods within the years 1872–78. The records are ordered by field office just as they were arranged when transferred by the Office of the Adjutant General to the National Archives as follows: Charleston, SC; Columbia, SC (see Charleston); Fort Johnston, NC; Louisville, KY; Fort Macon, NC; Fort Leavenworth, KS; Fort Monroe, VA; Memphis, TN; Nashville, TN; Natchez, MS; New Orleans, LA; St. Louis, MO; Savannah, GA; and Vicksburg, MS.
Historical Note:
[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M2029.]

HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION

The Freedmen's Branch was established in the office of the Adjutant General in June 1872. It assumed and continued the unfinished business of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (the Freedmen's Bureau), which was ended by an act of June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366), effective June 30, 1872.

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). Under the direction of Commissioner Oliver Otis Howard, it 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. 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.

An act of Congress approved July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), ordered the Bureau to withdraw from the states in which it operated and to discontinue its work. Consequently, in early 1869, with the exception of the superintendents of education and the claims agents, the Assistant Commissioners and their subordinate officers ended their field office activities. 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 state superintendents of education ceased to operate in the states, and the headquarters staff was greatly reduced. With the closing of the Bureau on June 30, 1872, its records and remaining functions, which consisted almost exclusively of the disposition of military–related claims, were then transferred to the Freedmen's Branch in the War Department's Office of the Adjutant General.

When Assistant Adjutant General Thomas Vincent assumed office as head of the Freedmen's Branch on June 27, 1872, his charge was to supervise the transfer of the records of the unfinished business of the Freedmen's Bureau and to "look to the arrangement of the records and distribution of the duties, so that there will be the least delay in the future transaction of the business, with the view of completing and closing it." When the records of the Freedmen's Bureau began to arrive at his office, however, Vincent found them "in a state of much confusion." The records for several states and divisions were intermixed with others; some records were missing and presumed kept by Assistant Commissioner and local agents; many transactions relating to claims were never recorded, making it difficult to determine who had been paid; and there were a deficit in the amount of moneys due the some 4,858 unpaid claims and the amount transferred by the Freedmen's Bureau. These and other factors contributed to numerous complaints, accusations of fraud and embezzlement, and delays in the Freedmen's Branch's attempt to prepare and pay claims.1

Vincent established his headquarters and a chief disbursement office in Washington, DC. Capt. James McMillian served as the chief disbursing officer of the Freedmen's Branch from July 1872 to July 1877, until he was succeeded by Capt. G. G. Hunt, who served from July 1877 to February 1879. Field disbursing offices were established at Louisville, Kentucky; St. Louis; Missouri; Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee; Vicksburg and Natchez, Mississippi; and New Orleans, Louisiana. Payments to claimants in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia were made through the Washington office; in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and states where slavery had not existed, disbursing officers were temporarily assigned.

The effort to organize, arrange, and make sense of the Freedmen's Bureau's records took the Freedmen's Branch almost a year and a half. Nevertheless, in accordance with Joint Resolution Number 25, approved Mach 29, 1867, which had governed the payment of black veterans' claims by the Freedmen's Bureau, the Freedmen's Branch received, acted upon, and paid claims of black soldiers, sailors, and marines and their heirs for bounty, pension, arrears of pay, commutation of rations, and prize money. Under the provisions of the resolution, the chief disbursement officer received all checks and certificates relating to the settlement of blacks soldiers' claims, and was responsible for paying claimants in the Washington, DC, area and for the accounting and disbursements of funds to the field disbursing officers located in the Border and former Confederate States. The Washington office also paid attorneys' fees and expenses, and after satisfactory identification, the balance of the claim was paid to individual claimants, heirs or representatives. To protect black claimants from fraud and "imposition," claimants were to receive payment in currency rather than checks or drafts. The transfer or assignment of power off attorney for the balance of a claim ("or any part thereof") was not allowed. The resolution made clear that it was the duty of the Freedmen's Branch and its officers "to facilitate as far as possible the discovery, identification, and payment of claimants."2

In December 1874, the Secretary of War reported that as of July 1872, the Freedmen's Branch had paid military claims amounting to more than $1 million. He also reported that, to meet the needs of claimants in Kansas and the northwestern areas of Missouri, a field office was opened at Fort Leavenworth. The disbursing office that had been established at Nashville in 1873 was consolidated with the Memphis, TN office and the office at Fort Macon, NC and Columbia, SC, were discontinued. One of the offices at New Orleans, LA, was consolidated with that at Vicksburg, MS. While the Secretary of War reported that payments of claims by means of postal orders were alleviating delays in remote areas, Freedmen's Branch officials still found it difficult to process unpaid bounty and pension claims transferred by the Freedmen's Bureau. In many of these claims, individuals had moved from their former residences and could not be located. Some had died, leaving no representative; others for one reason or another failed to apply for payments.3

By mid–fall 1875, the disbursing office established at Fort Leavenworth, KS was consolidated with that in St. Louis, MO. Because of increasing demand for services, the office at Nashville was reopened. The offices at Fort Monroe, VA and Charleston, SC were permanent closed. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1875, the Freedmen's Branch received more than 13,000 correspondences relating to the military claims of black veterans. Disbursing officers settled more than 3,700 of these claims, at a cost of nearly $390,000. Also, through the "diligent effort" of disbursing officers, the settlement of unpaid claims had increased, although allocating some claimants still remains a problem. To protect the interests of both the Federal Government and claimants, disbursing officers worked "vigorously" to investigate contested and fraudulent claims, which had increasingly become an important part of their duties. The Freedmen's Branch also continued to pursue matters relating to embezzlement.4

By October 1876, payment of military claims had fallen off dramatically. The number of claims paid during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, and July and August 1876, totaled less than 2,500. Most claimants who remained unpaid lived in remote locations thus making payment extremely difficult. Also, some claimants had changed their place of residence after filing claims. The periodic reduction of disbursing offices and clerical staff also greatly impacted the settlement process. The offices at St. Louis, MO and Nashville, TN were permanently closed. The disbursing responsibilities formerly assigned at Natchez and Vicksburg, MS were moved to the New Orleans, LA; Memphis, TN; Louisville, KY and the chief disbursing office at Washington, DC. Nonetheless, the Freedmen's Branch continued to settle unpaid claims, address complaints, institute measures to combat fraud, and when necessary, worked to rearrange records that had been transferred by the Freedmen's Bureau.5

In accordance with an act of December 15, 1877 (20 Stat. 11), the work of the Freedmen's Branch had to be completed by January 1, 1879. If not, the Freedmen's Branch would be closed and all of its papers would be turned over the Paymaster General. However, when the Freedmen's Branch was finally closed on June 30, 1879, its work relating to the claims of black veterans was assigned to the Colored Troops Division in the Office of the Adjutant General.

ENDNOTES

1 House Ex. Doc. 109, 42nd Cong., 3rd Sess., Serial Vol. 1566, pp. 1 – 4; see also George R. Bentley, A History of the Freedmen's Bureau (New York: Octagon Books, 1974), pp. 212 – 213.

2 House Ex. Doc. 109, Serial Vol. 1566, pp. 6 – 7.

3 House Ex. Doc. No. 59, 43rd Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1645, pp. 1 – 2.

4. See Annual Report of the Adjutant General on the Operations of the Freedmen's Branch, October 9, 1875, pp. 1 – 14, Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, Record Group (RG) 105, National Archives Building (NAB), Washington, DC.

5 See Annual Report of the Adjutant–General on the Operations of the Freedmen's Branch, October 10, 1876, pp. 1 – 7, RG 105, NAB.
Freedmen's Bureau Personnel in Office of the Adjutant General:
This list provides the names and dates of service of known Adjutant General's Office personnel at selected field offices of the Freedmen's Branch. Additional information regarding persons assigned to various field offices might be found among the Freedmen's Branch's Washington Office Register of Employees, July 1872–June 1879.

CHARLESTON, SC

Dec. 1872–Jan. 1874 -- Disbursing Officer J. H. Counselman

Jan.–June 1874 and July 1874–Apr. 1875 -- Disbursing Officer J. K. Hyer, at Columbia (See Savannah, GA)

FORT JOHNSTON, NC

June 1872–May 1874 -- Disbursing Officer W. S. Starring

LOUISVILLE, KY

Oct. 1872–June 1876 -- Disbursing Officer A. P. Howe

June 1876–July 1878 -- Disbursing Officer Maj. H. S. Hawkins

FORT MACON, NC

Dec. 1872–Apr.1874 -- Disbursing Officer Edgar Dudley

FORT LEAVENWORTH, KS

Jan.–Mar. 1874 -- Disbursing Officer Quentin Campbell

Mar. 1874–May 1875 -- Disbursing Officer Capt. D. H. Brotherton

FORT MONROE, VA

Dec. 1872–Apr. 1875 -- Disbursing Officer James Curry

MEMPHIS, TN

Sept. 1872–June 1876 -- Disbursing Officer Maj. George Gibson

July 1876–June 1877 -- Disbursing Officer Maj. G. G. Hunt

NASHVILLE, TN

Sept. 1872–June 1874 -- Disbursing Officer R. G. LaMotte

June 1874–Apr. 1875 -- Disbursing Officer Maj. George Gibson

Apr. 1875–July 1876 -- Disbursing Officer Maj. H. S. Hawkins

NATCHEZ, MS

Oct. 1872–June 1874 -- Disbursing Officer Maj. G. G. Hunt (also, New Orleans, LA)

June 1874–June 1876 -- Disbursing Officer Maj. G. G. Hunt, at Vicksburg (also, New Orleans, LA)

NEW ORLEANS, LA

Sept. 1872–July 1878 -- Disbursing Officer A. K. Arnold

ST. LOUIS, MO

Sept. 1872–June 1876 -- Disbursing Officer P. T. Swain

SAVANNAH, GA

Nov. 1872–June 1874 -- Disbursing Officer J. W. Dillenback

July–Nov. 1874 -- Disbursing Officer J. W. Dillenback, at Charleston, SC

Nov. 1874–Apr.1875 -- Disbursing Officer E. H. Totten, at Charleston, SC

VICKSBURG, MS

Sept. 1872–Apr.1873 -- Disbursing Officer E. F. Townsend

Apr.1873–June 1874 -- Disbursing Officer Th. Anderson

June 1874–June 1876 -- Disbursing Officer (See Natchez, MS)
Related Materials:
See also Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection
Provenance:
Acquired from FamilySearch International in 2015.
Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Topic:
American South  Search this
Freedmen's Bureau  Search this
Reconstruction, U.S. history, 1865-1877  Search this
Slaves -- Emancipation  Search this
Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M2029
See more items in:
Records of the Field Offices of the Freedmen's Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, 1872–1878
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io30b2a3d27-b072-4098-ad24-f90eba21196a
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmaahc-fb-m2029
Online Media:

Registers and Letters Received by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872

Extent:
74 Reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1865–1872
Summary:
This collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 74 rolls of microfilm described in NARA publication M752. These digital surrogates reproduced 33 volumes of registers and indexes and the related unbound letters received by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872.
Historical Note:
[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M752.]

HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, often referred to as the Freedmen's Bureau, was established in the War Department by an act of Congress approved March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507). Congress assigned to the Bureau responsibilities previously shared by the military commanders and the agents of the Treasury Department, which included the supervision of all matters relating to the refugees and freedmen and the custody of all abandoned or confiscated lands and property. The act also provided that the Bureau was to be headed by a Commissioner, appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

In May 1865 the President appointed Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard to be Commissioner of the Bureau. Howard, who served until the Bureau was discontinued in 1872, established his headquarters in Washington, D. C. Although the size and organization of the central office varied from time to time, Howard's staff consisted primarily of an Assistant Adjutant General, an Assistant Inspector General, a Chief Medical Officer, a Chief Quartermaster, a Chief Disbursing Officer, and officers in charge of the Claim Division, the Education Division, and the Land Division.

Assistant Commissioners supervised the work of the Bureau in the States. The Bureau's operations were mainly confined to the former Confederate States, the border states, and the District of Columbia. Assistant Commissioners had staff offices comparable to those of the Commissioner and performed all functions of the Bureau under the direction of the central office in Washington. Officers subordinate to the Assistant Commissioner carried out the Bureau's policies and programs within the districts.

During the years of its greatest activity, the operations of the Freedmen's Bureau resembled the work of later Federal welfare agencies. In addition to supervising the disposition of abandoned and confiscated lands, Bureau officers issued rations, clothing, and medicine to destitute refugees and freedmen. They established hospitals and dispensaries and supervised tenements and camps for the homeless. Bureau officers and members of philanthropic organizations cooperated in establishing schools, operating employment offices, and dispensing relief.

The main concern of the Bureau was the freedman. Bureau officers supervised the writing of labor contracts and terms of indenture, registered marriages, listened to complaints, and generally were concerned with improving the life of the freedman. In March 1866 the Bureau assumed the function of helping colored soldiers and sailors to file and collect claims for bounties, pensions, and pay in arrears.

On July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), Congress ordered the Commissioner to withdraw Bureau officers from the States by January 1, 1869, and to discontinue Bureau activities except those relating to education and to the collection and payment of claims. The Bureau was abolished by an Act of Congress approved June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366), and effective June 30, 1872. All unfinished work, which by this time related chiefly to the collection and payment of claims, was transferred to the Freedmen's Branch that was established in the Office of the Adjutant General.

The records reproduced in this microcopy include the registers of letters received, the indexes to the registers, and the letters themselves. According to recordkeeping practices of the time, incoming letters were entered in registers of letters received. The registers include such information as the name or office of the correspondent, the date of the letter, the place from which the letter was sent, the date of receipt, and an abstract of its contents.

Before 1871, letters were entered in registers alphabetically by the initial letter of the surname or office of the writer and thereunder by date of receipt. Each entry was numbered according to a separate numerical sequence used for each letter of the alphabet, and the clerks usually began new sequences each January. Registers 2 and 3, which cover the period from October 1865 to February 1866, are an exception because separate numerical sequences were begun in October 1865 and in January 1866. Consequently, two numerical sequences exist under each alphabetical division in these two registers. In January 1871, the Freedmen's Bureau began to enter letters chronologically by date of receipt and to number them consecutively within each year. For this reason, register 18 (1871–1872) has two separate numerical sequences.

There are some variations in the order in which letters were entered in the registers. In registers with alphabetical divisions, letters of recommendation were entered under the name of either the person recommended, the person making the recommendation, or the person transmitting the recommendation to the Commissioner. Particularly in register 1, letters were not always entered upon receipt, and letters of application were entered at the end of each alphabetical division without regard to the date of receipt. In register 1 a few letters referred from other Government agencies antedate the establishment of the Bureau.

There are numerous breaks in the alphabetical sequences within the registers. These breaks occur because the number of pages allotted to each letter of the alphabet often proved to be insufficient, making it necessary to continue the entries elsewhere in the register. In each case, the National Archives has filmed the register in correct order so that these breaks do not appear on the microfilm. There are also breaks in the pagination of some registers because blank numbered pages were not filmed.

From time to time the clerks in the Commissioner's Office made errors in entering letters received in the registers. Some numbers in the sequences of assigned numbers were inadvertently omitted; consequently, there are no letters bearing such numbers. Occasionally registry numbers were repeated, giving two different letters the same file designation. The clerks usually added "1/2" to the second designation; but in cases where this correction was not made, the National Archives has added in brackets, "No. 1" and "No. 2," respectively.

Many symbols, cross–references, and abbreviations were entered in the registers by the Commissioner's Office and by the National Archives. The latter has stamped an asterisk (-"-) near the entry number for letters that are still in the series of letters received. The notation "F/W" before a cross–reference indicates that the letter received is filed with a related letter. There are some references to other series of records in the Commissioner's Office. The notations "LB" and "PLB" refer to the letter book and press letter book series of outgoing letters, and "EB" and "SO" refer to endorsement books and special orders, respectively.

Although a separate series of Endorsement Books was kept by Commissioner Howard's office, the endorsements from October 1865 to August 1866 were copied into the registers of letters received and are reproduced in this microcopy.

Two consolidated indexes, a general name index and a general subject index, are filmed on roll 1 of this microcopy. The general name index covers registers 1 – 12 and "A – H" of register 13; the general subject index covers registers 1 – 13. In the latter index the subject is entered alphabetically by initial letter. The entry identifies the letter received pertaining to a specific subject by giving either the number of the register and the file citation of the letter, or the register number and page number in the register on which the letter is entered.

Also reproduced are separate name and subject indexes to many of the registers. Neither kind of index exists for entries A – M in registers 4 and 5. Some of the indexes are bound in the registers; others are bound as separate volumes. On each roll the index has been filmed before the register to which it relates.

The registers reproduced in this microcopy were arranged in rough chronological order and numbered in sequence, but no volume numbers were assigned to the index books. Later all volumes were arbitrarily assigned numbers, which appear in parentheses in this microfilm publication and which are useful in identifying the volume.

The letters reproduced are arranged by order of their entry in the registers. According to the custom of other War Department offices, the Freedmen's Bureau generally filed correspondence under the name of the office of origin rather than the name of the writer. Letters from local agents and superintendents of Baton Rouge, for example, were forwarded through the Office of the Assistant Commissioner of Louisiana, and upon receipt in the central office at Washington they were entered in the register under "L" for Louisiana.

The file citation that appears on the back of registered letters is taken from the entry number in the register. In a citation such as "S 204 BRF&AL Vol. 9 1867," "S" is the initial letter of the correspondent's name or office; the number "204" indicates that it is the 204th letter recorded under "S"; "BRF&AL," that it was received by the Commissioner's Office; "Vol. 9," the register in which the letter was entered; and "1867," the year in which the letter was written.

Enclosures such as reports, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, and printed publications were often registered and filed with their letters of transmittal. When the Commissioner's Office received a letter accompanied by enclosures, the clerks usually mentioned them in the register and on the back of the letter and indicated the number of enclosures.

Some letters, reports, and enclosures originally filed with the letters received are no longer in this series. Each of the Commissioner's staff offices maintained its own series of registers and letters received. Correspondence and reports received by Commissioner Howard were occasionally referred to staff offices and became part of their permanent records. Not all enclosures are filed with their letters of transmittal. Enclosures containing information that the central office wanted to keep together, such as reports on schools, lands, rations, and operations, were sometimes separated from their letters of transmittal and filed elsewhere in separate series. For this reason some of the reports that are registered as letters received and bear the file citation of the Office of the Commissioner are not among the series filmed in this microcopy.

Because the registers frequently were used to record the disposition of documents, they are useful in tracing documents that have been removed from the file. By 1871 the Commissioner's Office had added an "action" column to the register for this purpose, but even the earlier registers include such information as the name of the official or office to which a letter was referred, a cross–reference to indicate consolidation with other letters, and the disposition of enclosures.

A few letters received that were not registered and a few unidentified enclosures that were separated from their letters of transmittal have been arranged by year and are filmed on the last roll of this microcopy.

In the same record group as the documents described above are related records. Letters sent, endorsements sent, circulars issued, and special orders issued by the Commissioner are in Selected Series of Records Issued by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872 (Microcopy 742). There also are several series of reports and returns received by the Commissioner and records of staff and field offices.
Related Materials:
See also Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection
Provenance:
Acquired from FamilySearch International in 2015.
Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Topic:
Freedmen's Bureau  Search this
Reconstruction, U.S. history, 1865-1877  Search this
Slaves -- Emancipation  Search this
American South  Search this
Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M752
See more items in:
Registers and Letters Received by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io3bc51bd30-2e20-4849-9cb2-d71ccaed9894
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmaahc-fb-m752
Online Media:

Records of the Education Division of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1871

Extent:
35 Reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1865–1871
Summary:
The collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 35 rolls of microfilm described in the NARA publication M803. These digital surrogates reproduced the 23 volumes and the unbound records of the Education Division of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–71. The records consist mainly of letters sent, letters received, and reports of schools by the State superintendents of education on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
Historical Note:
[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M803.]

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was established in the War Department by an act of Congress approved March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507). The legislation provided that the Freedmen's Bureau, as it was often called, would be headed by a Commissioner appointed by the President with the approval of the Senate. Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard was appointed as Commissioner in May 1865 and served in the Bureau Headquarters in Washington, D. C., until the activities of the Bureau were terminated in 1872. With minor variations in size and organization, General Howard's staff consisted of an Assistant Adjutant General, an Assistant Inspector General, a Chief Medical Officer, a Chief Quartermaster, a Chief Disbursing Officer, and officers in charge of the Claim Division, the Education Division, and the Land Division.

The Bureau confined its operations to the District of Columbia and to the area of the former Confederate and border states. Assistant Commissioners supervised the work of the Bureau in the districts into which the States were divided. The initial legislation provided for only 10 Assistant Commissioners, necessitating some of the districts to encompass more than one State. The number of Assistant Commissioners was increased later to 14.

During the years of its greatest activity the operations of the Freedmen's Bureau resembled, in many ways, the work of later Federal social agencies. In addition to supervising the disposition of abandoned or confiscated lands, Bureau officers issued rations, clothing, and medicine to destitute refugees and freedmen; established hospitals and dispensaries; and supervised camps and settlements for the homeless. Bureau officers worked with members of benevolent and philanthropic organizations in dispensing relief, operating employment offices, and establishing schools. The schools were of four types: day schools for instruction of young children; night schools for older children and parents; industrial schools for practical instruction in such skills as sewing; and Sunday or Sabbath schools for religious instruction.

Although the establishment of schools was an important aspect of improving the lives of the newly freed slaves, there was no organized department concerned with matters of education when the Bureau began operations in 1865. The educational activities of the Bureau and the organization for supervising these activities grew as the educational needs of the freedmen increased.

During the early months of the Bureau's existence there was no apparent attempt by the Government to finance freedmen's schools on a large scale. This inactivity on the part of the Bureau was due primarily to the fact that benevolent societies in the North maintained schools in many parts of the South, and a few in some of the Northern States, and continued to do so for some months after the establishment of the Bureau. In July 1865 Commissioner Howard directed the Assistant Commissioners in the States to appoint general superintendents of schools to assist them in making reports on educational matters.

In October 1865 Rev. John W. Alvord was appointed Inspector of Finances and Schools. In the months after his appointment the educational needs of the freedmen grew rapidly and many benevolent societies learned that their financial resources were inadequate to meet the demand for educational development. By an act of July 13, 1866 (14 Stat. 92), Congress authorized funds for the salaries of State superintendents of education and for the repair and rental of school buildings. The appropriation aided in establishing the Education Division as a separate entity within the Freedmen's Bureau. Reverend Alvord was relieved of his responsibilities for the inspection of the Bureau's finances in January 1867 when he was appointed as General Superintendent of Education. He retained the new position until his resignation in late 1870.

Throughout its existence the Bureau maintained close ties with the benevolent societies who retained control of such administrative matters as the selection and the specific school assignments of teachers. In many instances when the philanthropic societies had to curtail their financial support, the Bureau provided funds that were channeled through the societies.

The period from late 1866 until far into 1868 was one of great activity for the Education Division. Enrollment in Bureau financed schools grew rapidly, new school buildings were constructed in many communities, and the curriculum was expanded. But by late 1868 much of the work in other divisions of the Freedmen's Bureau was coming to an end.

An act of July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), provided that on January 1, 1869, the Commissioner was to withdraw the Assistant Commissioners and most Bureau officers from the States and to discontinue the functions of the Bureau except those relating to education and to the collection and payment of claims. Although educational activities were to continue for an unspecified period, by late 1870 most offices of the State superintendents of education had closed, and on November 30, 1870, Reverend Alvord resigned as General Superintendent of Education.

The work of the Education Division was greatly reduced after Reverend Alvord's resignation, but school reports and correspondence continued to arrive during the next several months and some clerical functions were continued. Because no further appropriations were made by Congress the educational activities of the Freedmen's Bureau terminated in March 1871.

The volumes reproduced in this microcopy were originally arranged by type of record and thereunder in numerical sequence, with no numbers assigned to index books or to series consisting of single volumes. Later all the volumes were arbitrarily assigned numbers. In this microfilm publication the last set of numbers assigned are in parentheses and are useful as an aid in identifying the volumes.
Related Materials:
See also Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection
Provenance:
Acquired from FamilySearch International in 2015.
Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Topic:
American South  Search this
Freedmen's Bureau  Search this
Reconstruction, U.S. history, 1865-1877  Search this
Slaves -- Emancipation  Search this
Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M803
See more items in:
Records of the Education Division of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1871
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io3aed566e3-6926-4691-8858-d99ef51b0e52
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmaahc-fb-m803
Online Media:

Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Arkansas Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1869

Extent:
52 Reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1865–1869
Summary:
The collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 52 rolls of microfilm described in the NARA publication M979. These digital surrogates reproduced the records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Arkansas, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–69. The records consist of 24 volumes and some unbound documents. The volumes include letters, telegrams, and endorsements sent; circulars and special orders issued; registers of letters and telegrams received; bound letters sent and received; a register of abandoned and confiscated lands in the State of Arkansas; and a station book of officers and civilians employed by the Bureau. The unbound documents consist primarily of letters and reports received.
Historical Note:
[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M979.]

HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION

The Freedmen's Bureau, as the Bureau was commonly known, was established in the War Department by an act of March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507), and extended twice by acts of July 16, 1866 (14 Stat. 173), and July 6, 1868 (15 Stat. 83). Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard, appointed Commissioner by the President in May 1865, served in that position throughout the life of the Bureau. In January 1869, in accordance with an act of July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), its operations in the States were terminated except for educational functions and collection of claims. These activities were terminated June 30, 1872, as required by an act of June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366).

Although the Bureau was part of the War Department, its work was primarily social and economic in nature. It cooperated with benevolent societies in issuing supplies to destitute persons and in maintaining freedmen's schools; supervised labor contracts between black employees and white employers; helped black soldiers and sailors collect bounty claims, pensions, and backpay; and attended to the disposition of confiscated or abandoned lands and other property. In Arkansas, the Bureau had a difficult time in protecting freedmen from persecution, intimidation, and physical violence at the hands of whites or other freedmen.

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 States. In Arkansas, operations began in May 1865 when Brig. Gen. John W. Sprague took command as Assistant Commissioner and 1 month later established headquarters at St. Louis, Mo. Bvt. Maj. Gen. Edward O. C. Ord relieved Sprague in October 1866 and was succeeded by Bvt. Maj. Gen. Charles H. Smith in March 1867.

When Sprague arrived in St. Louis, his jurisdiction encompassed areas outside Arkansas including Missouri, Indian Territory, and parts of Kansas (around Fort Leavenworth and Fort Scott) and Illinois (around Quincy and Cairo). Commissioner Howard felt by September 1865 that the laws of Missouri afforded enough protection to freedmen for the Bureau's activities to cease there. Therefore, on October 16, 1865, Sprague received orders from Commissioner Howard to transfer headquarters from St. Louis to Little Rock, Ark., and the operations of the Bureau were withdrawn from Missouri. The headquarters remained in Little Rock until the Bureau's activities were terminated.

The organization of the Bureau's staff in Arkansas was similar to that of the Bureau's headquarters in Washington, D. C. The Assistant Commissioner's staff consisted at various times of a Superintendent of Education, an Assistant Adjutant General, a Surgeon–in–Chief, a Chief Quartermaster, a Disbursing Officer, and an Assistant Superintendent of Education. Subordinate to these officers were the general superintendents or superintendents who commanded the subdistricts. The more important subdistricts in Arkansas included those with headquarters at Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Monticello, Washington, Jacksonport, Helena, and Fort Smith. Under direct supervision of the general superintendents or superintendents were the civilian and military agents. Occasionally military officers would be retained by the Bureau in a civilian capacity after the termination of their military service. Ultimately, Bureau personnel were stationed in 24 different counties.

GENERAL RECORDKEEPING PRACTICES

The correspondence of the Assistant Commissioner was handled in accordance with typical 19th–century recordkeeping practices. The letters sent are either fair or press copies. The fair copies are handwritten duplicates of the originals. They are clear and easy to read. The press copies were obtained by wetting a piece of thin paper and pressing it on the original letter through the use of a press–copying machine that caused the image to be transferred to the moistened paper. Because of the relative crudeness of this method, many of the press copies are difficult to read and some are virtually illegible. Because fair copies were not made of all the letters sent, some press copies are reproduced in this microfilm publication. Replies to incoming letters frequently were written on the letters themselves or on specially prepared wrappers. The replies, known as endorsements, were then copied into endorsement books, and the endorsed letter was returned to the sender or forwarded to another office. Endorsement books usually included a summary of the incoming letter and sometimes previous endorsements that were recorded on it. Incoming correspondence was frequently entered in the registers of letters received. In addition to a summary of the contents of the incoming letters, the registers usually included such identifying information as the name, and sometimes the office, of the writer; the date of receipt; the date of the communication; the place of origin; and the entry number assigned at the time of receipt.

The letters, telegrams, and endorsements sent; registers of letters and telegrams received; registered letters and telegrams received; and special orders, which are reproduced in this microfilm publication, are cross–referenced to each other by the use of various symbols. Letters sent (both fair and press copies) are designated "L. S.," or "L. B.," or "L. S. B.," followed by the page and sometimes by the volume number. Endorsement books are designated "E." or "E. & M." Registers of letters received are referenced as "L. R." or "L. R. B.," followed by the appropriate file number and sometimes the volume number. Special orders issued by the Assistant Commissioner are referred to by the symbol "S. O." followed by the number of the order.

The Assistant Commissioner utilized various types of issuances to convey information to staff and subordinate officers. Circulars and circular letters related to matters of general interest, including implementation of Bureau policies throughout the State, duties of subordinate personnel, administrative procedures to be followed, relevant acts of Congress or issuances from Bureau headquarters, and the appointment or relief of staff officers. In other States, the assistant commissioners may have issued these directives as general orders. Special orders were used to communicate information of less general interest such as duty assignments of individual field officers; however, in Arkansas, many pertained to the transfer of abandoned lands to their former owners.

There are name indexes in the volumes of letters and telegrams sent, endorsements, registers of letters and telegrams received, and issuances. The indexes provide references mainly to personal names but also include a few citations to places, groups, and titles of organizations. The names in the indexes for the volumes of letters and telegrams sent, registers of letters received, and special orders are followed by black and red numbers. The black numbers refer to letters and endorsements sent in which the names are addressees and to registers of letters received in which the names are correspondents. The red numbers refer to names contained in the body of the letter or endorsement. In order to make the distinction between the red and black numbers observable on microfilm, the National Archives and Records Service (NARS) has underlined the black numbers.

The volumes of letters and telegrams sent, registers of letters and telegrams received, and special orders for 1867 are divided into two parts. The letters, telegrams, and issuances were numbered consecutively for January through March 1867 and were entitled "General Ord's Series." Beginning in April 1867, they were numbered consecutively in a second series entitled "General Smith's Series." The volumes reproduced in this microfilm publication were originally arranged by type of record and thereunder in sequence by volume number. Originally, no numbers were assigned to series consisting of single volumes; later, all volumes were arbitrarily assigned numbers by the Adjutant General's Office of the War Department after the records passed into its custody. In this microfilm publication, the last set of numbers assigned are shown in parentheses and are used as an aid in identifying the volumes. Numbered blank pages have not been filmed.
Related Materials:
See also Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection
Provenance:
Acquired from FamilySearch International in 2015.
Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Topic:
American South  Search this
Freedmen's Bureau  Search this
Reconstruction, U.S. history, 1865-1877  Search this
Slaves -- Emancipation  Search this
Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M979
See more items in:
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Arkansas Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1869
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io334f208c1-38d8-4e55-a234-30c120894d8d
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmaahc-fb-m979
Online Media:

Registers of Signatures of Depositors in Branches of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865–1874

Extent:
27 Reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1865–1874
Summary:
The collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 27 rolls of microfilm described in the NARA publication M816. These digital surrogates reproduced 55 volumes containing signatures of and personal identification data about depositors in 29 branch offices of the Freedman's Saving and Trust Company, 1865–1874.
Historical Note:
[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M816.]

The Company was incorporated by an act of Congress approved March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 510), as a banking institution established in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, for the benefit of freed slaves. The military savings banks at Norfolk, VA, and Beaufort, SC, were transferred to the Company soon after it was founded. From 1865 through 1870 a total of 33 branches were established, including an office that was opened in New York, NY, in 1866.

In 1874 the Company failed and by the terms of an act of Congress approved June 20, 1874 (18 Stat. 132), the trustees were authorized to select, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, three commissioners to take charge of the effects of the Company and to report on its financial state to the Secretary of the Treasury. The arrangement was altered by an act of Congress approved February 21, 1881 (21 Stat. 327), whereby the Secretary of the Treasury was authorized and directed to appoint the Comptroller of the Currency to administer the affairs of the Company. The Comptroller was made commissioner ex officio and he submitted annual reports to Congress. The final report on the trust company was submitted in 1920.

The information contained in many of the registers is as follow: account number, name of depositor, date of entry, place born, place brought up, residence, age, complexion, name of employer or occupation, wife or husband, children, father, mother, brothers and sisters, remarks, and signature. The early books sometimes also contain the name of the former master or mistress and the name of the plantation. In many entries not all the requested data are given. Copies of death certificates have been pinned to some of the entries. In each case the certificate has been filmed immediately after the page that shows the registration of the person's signature.

The registers are arranged alphabetically by name of State. The entries are arranged alphabetically by name of city where the bank was located, there under chronologically by date when the account was established, and there under numerically by account number. Many numbers are missing, a few are out of numerical order, and in some cases blocks of numbers were not used. Many registers seem to be missing. The volume for Philadelphia, PA, dated January 7, 1870, to June 26, 1874 contains signatures of officers of societies.

Filmed after these introductory remarks is an index that gives the location and the date of organization of the branch. The first part also gives the account numbers and the numbers of the rolls of microfilm on which the registers are filmed. There are no account numbers or registers available for the branches listed in the second part.

The records reproduced in this microfilm publication are part of the records in the National Archives designated as Record Group 101, Records of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Closely related records in the same record group include indexes to deposit ledgers (42 vols.). The ledgers are arranged alphabetically by name of State, there under by name of city, and there under by name of depositor. As the indexes to the deposit ledgers include the depositor's account number they can serve as a finding aid to the registers of signatures reproduced in this microcopy, which is not indexed. Other related records include loan and real estate ledgers and journals, 1870–1916, arranged roughly in chronological order; inspectors' reports, minutes of meetings of committees and a journal of the board of trustees, 1865–1874; dividend payment records, 1882–1889, arranged alphabetically by name of city and there under by depositor's account number; and letters received by the commissioners of the Company and by the Comptroller of the Currency as ex officio commissioner, 1870–1914. Interspersed among their records are legal papers, canceled checks, payrolls, expense checks, and passbooks.

Other record groups containing related documents are Record Group 105, Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freemen, and Abandoned Lands, and Record Group 94, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's–1917.

The records reproduced in this microcopy were prepared for filing by Lockwood Wright, who also wrote these introductory remarks and provided the other editorial material.
Related Materials:
See also Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection
Provenance:
Acquired from FamilySearch International in 2015.
Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Topic:
Freedmen's Bureau  Search this
Reconstruction, U.S. history, 1865-1877  Search this
Slaves -- Emancipation  Search this
American South  Search this
Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M816
See more items in:
Registers of Signatures of Depositors in Branches of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865–1874
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io3372cb18a-6043-40a3-84a8-c66948bfdafd
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmaahc-fb-m816
Online Media:

Records of the Superintendent of Education for the State of Arkansas Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1871

Extent:
5 Reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1865–1871
Summary:
The collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the five rolls of microfilm described in the NARA publication M980. These digital surrogates reproduced the records of the Superintendent of Education for the State of Arkansas, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–71. The records consist of 10 volumes and some unbound documents. The volumes include letters and endorsements sent and registers of letters received. The unbound documents consist primarily of letters and reports received.
Historical Note:
[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M980.]

HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION

The Freedmen's Bureau, as the Bureau was commonly known, was established in the War Department by an act of March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507), and extended twice by acts of July 16, 1866 (14 Stat. 173), and July 6, 1868 (15 Stat. 83). Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard, appointed Commissioner by the President in May 1865, served in that position throughout the life of the Bureau. In January 1869, in accordance with an act of July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), its operations in the States were terminated except for educational functions and collection of claims. These activities were terminated June 30, 1872, as required by an act of June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366).

Although the Bureau was part of the War Department, its work was primarily social and economic in nature. It cooperated with benevolent societies in issuing supplies to destitute persons and in maintaining freedmen's schools; supervised labor contracts between black employees and white employers; helped black soldiers and sailors collect bounty claims, pensions, and backpay; and attended to the disposition of confiscated or abandoned lands and other property. In Arkansas, the Bureau had a difficult time in protecting freedmen from persecution, intimidation, and physical violence at hands of whites or other freedmen.

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 States. In Arkansas, operations began in May 1865 when Brig. Gen. John W. Sprague took command as Assistant Commissioner and 1 month later established headquarters at St. Louis, Mo. Bvt. Maj. Gen. Edward O.C. Ord relieved Sprague in October 1866 and was succeeded by Bvt. Maj. Gen. Charles H. Smith in March 1867.

In a circular issued by Commissioner Howard on July 12, 1865, the assistant commissioners were instructed to designate an 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 some centralized control was established over the educational activities of the Bureau in the States with the appointment of Rev. John W. Alvord as Inspector of Finances and Schools. In January 1867 Alvord was divested of the financial responsibilities and was redesignated General Superintendent of Education.

The educational activity of the Bureau in Arkansas was under the control of Brig. Gen. John W. Sprague until the appointment of William M. Colby as Superintendent of Schools (later Education) on March 1, 1866. Colby, a former lieutenant and agent under Sprague's command, served as the Bureau's Superintendent of Education until January 1, 1869. At the time, Bvt. Maj. Gen. Charles H. Smith reorganized the education branch. He divided the State into three districts, with an Assistant Superintendent for each, for the purpose of cooperating with State officials in the transfer of the Bureau schools to the State system. William M. Colby, David C. Casey, and James T. Watson were appointed to these new positions. General Smith held the position of Chief Superintendent of Education. The Assistant Commissioner Howard reappointed Colby as the Superintendent of Education, May 1, 1869. Colby held that position until July 1870. By that time the Bureau had turned over most of the schools to the State Board of Education.

The Superintendent of Education served under the Assistant Commissioner as a staff officer. Subordinate to both the Assistant Commissioner and the Superintendent of Education were the general superintendents, superintendents, or agents who commanded the local field offices into which the State was divided for administrative purposes. These superintendents supervised all Bureau activities, including education, in their respective areas and reported on educational matters to both the Superintendent of Education and the Assistant Commissioner. After December 1868 the superintendents were withdrawn from Arkansas in accordance with the act of July 25, 1868. The teachers, who had reported to the superintendents for their subdistricts before 1869, then reported directly to the Superintendent of Education.

The schools maintained by the Bureau in Arkansas included day schools for children, night schools for adults, and Sabbath (Sunday) schools for both groups. Reading, writing, and arithmetic were studies of greatest of importance to freedmen, and these subjects received the greatest emphasis in most Bureau schools in Arkansas. Teachers were recruited from the local white population, from among the freedmen themselves, and from the North by freedmen's aid societies, such as the Western Department of the American's Aid Commission, the American Missionary Association, and the Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends.

The Bureau's responsibility for education included the establishment and maintenance of schools and the examination and appointment of teachers. Bureau funds were used to pay for the construction and repair of school buildings, for rent of properties used for educational purposes, and for providing the teachers with transportation. Private organizations and individuals also helped in establishing and financing freedmen's schools in Arkansas. A number of schools were established upon the initiative of local whites and freedmen, although subsequently they were given direction and support by the Bureau. The American Missionary Association and the Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends provided some of the pay for the teachers they recruited, and salaries were partially subsidized by contributions from the freedmen. Bureau policy dictated that, whenever possible, subscriptions be solicited from freedmen for the establishment of schools and that tuition be charged for each student attending. However, most freedmen plantation laborers were paid yearly and consequently had difficulty in making regular tuition payments. Many of the schools established on plantations, therefore, foundered because teachers failed to receive funds to meet monthly expenses.

GENERAL RECORDKEEPING PRACTICES

The correspondence of the Superintendent of Education was handled in accordance with typical 19th–century recordkeeping practices. The letters are either fair or press copies. The fair copies are handwritten duplicates of the originals. They are clear and easy to read. The press copies were obtained by writing a piece of thin paper and pressing it on the original letter through the use of a press–copying machine, which caused the image to be transferred to the moistened paper. Because of the relative crudeness of this method, many of the press copies are difficult to read and some are virtually illegible. Because fair copies were not made of all the letters sent, some press copies are reproduced in this microfilm publication. Replies to incoming letters were frequently written on the letters themselves or on specially prepared wrappers. The replies, known as endorsements, were then copied into endorsement books, and the endorsed letter was returned to the sender or forwarded to another office. Endorsement books usually included a summary of the incoming letter and sometimes previous endorsements that were recorded on it. Incoming correspondence was frequently entered in the registers of letters received. In addition to a summary of the contents of the incoming letters, the registers usually included such identifying information as the name, and sometimes the office, of the writer; the date of receipt; the date of the communication; the place of origin; and the entry number assigned at the time of the receipt.

There are name indexes in the volumes of letters sent, endorsements, and registers of letters received. The indexes provide references mainly to personal names but also include a few citations to places, groups, and titles of organizations. The names in the indexes are followed by black and red numbers. The black numbers refer to the letters and endorsements in which the names are addressees and to registers of letters received in which the names are correspondents. The red numbers refer to the letters to make the distinction between the red and black numbers observers on microfilm, the National Archives and Records Service (NARS) has underlined the black numbers.

The volumes reproduced in this microfilm publication were originally arranged by type of record and thereunder in sequence by volume number. Originally, no numbers were assigned to series consisting of single volumes; later, all volumes were arbitrarily assigned numbers by the Adjunct General's Office of the War Department after the records passed into its custody. In this microfilm publication, the last set of numbers assigned are shown in parentheses and are used as an aid in identifying the volumes. Numbered blank pages have not been filmed.
Related Materials:
See also Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection
Provenance:
Acquired from FamilySearch International in 2015.
Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Topic:
American South  Search this
Freedmen's Bureau  Search this
Reconstruction, U.S. history, 1865-1877  Search this
Slaves -- Emancipation  Search this
Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M980
See more items in:
Records of the Superintendent of Education for the State of Arkansas Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1871
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io3252824bc-00a0-4d4f-94c6-75df2c8950a9
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmaahc-fb-m980
Online Media:

Records of the New Orleans Field Offices, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1869

Extent:
10 Reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1865–1869
Summary:
The collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 10 rolls of microfilm described in the NARA publication M1483. These digital surrogates reproduced the records of the New Orleans area field offices of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands for Iberville, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and West Baton Rouge Parishes, together with those of the Freedmen's Hospital, 1865–69. These records, consist of 38 bound volumes and approximately 6.5 linear feet of unbound records. The volumes include letters and endorsements sent, registers of letters received, circulars and special orders, journals, registers of patients, reports of occupancy and conditions in the Freedmen's Hospital, and abstracts of internments in the Freedmen's Cemetery. The unbound documents consist primarily of letters received, morning reports of sick and wounded in the Freedmen's Hospital, and various field office reports. There is also a register of patients in the Corps d'Afrique General Hospital, 1863–1865.
Records Description:
When the Freedmen's Bureau was abolished, its records were sent to the Office of the Adjutant General. Here clerks arranged the state–level records by administrative unit and the local records alphabetically by the location of the office that created them, and then numbered the bound volumes from each state in a single numerical sequence, beginning with the office of the assistant commissioner and then working down to the offices of the assistant subassistant commissioners. In these notes and the table of contents, the Adjutant General's Office numbers appear in parentheses as an aid in identifying the volumes. In general, documents in this microfilm publication have been filmed in the order imposed by the Adjutant General's Office Occasionally, clerks arranged volumes incorrectly and assigned numbers that do not reflect the sequence in which the volumes were actually created. For example, Volume 412 should precede Volume 405, and Volume 419 should follow Volume 420.

There is considerable variation in the remaining records from individual Freedmen's Bureau field offices. Some offices retained reference copies of reports they submitted to state headquarters; others did not. Some records were evidently removed or destroyed.

Nonetheless there are fundamental similarities between the records of local offices and the following remarks are generally applicable to all the records reproduced on this microfilm publication.

The letters received and copies of the letters sent constitute much of the surviving documentation of the bureau's field operations. Reflecting the scope of the bureau's responsibilities, correspondence between its local officers and other government officials and private citizens dealt with labor contracts between freedmen and planters, legal cases, child custody questions, locating and transporting freedmen, reducing illness and destitution among freedmen, and such matters as the finances, personnel, equipment, and procedures of Freedmen's Bureau offices.

In addition to the letters sent and received, another important series of local office records are the various reports submitted to higher headquarters. The trimonthly reports, mandated by Circular No. 36 (Dec. 30, 1865), which were due on the 10th, 20th, and final day of each month, concern the economic, psychological, and moral state of freedmen; plantation labor contracts and crops; actions taken on various problems referred to the local Freedmen's Bureau official; distribution of rations; freedmen's schools; and race relations in general.

The Freedmen's Bureau also used several types of issuances to disseminate information. General orders and circulars (or circular letters) related to matters of general interest, including implementation of bureau policies throughout the state, duties of subordinate personnel, administrative procedures, issuances of the bureau's national headquarters, acts of Congress, and the appointment or relief of staff officers. Special orders were used to communicate information of less general interest, such as duty assignments of individual officers.

Local Louisiana Freedmen's Bureau offices maintained files in accordance with characteristic 19th–century record–keeping practices. Fair copies of outgoing letters were transcribed in letter books. Replies to incoming letters were frequently written on the letters themselves or on specially prepared wrappers. These replies, known as endorsements, were subsequently copied into endorsement books. The endorsed letter was either filed, returned to the sender, or forwarded to another office. Endorsement books usually included a summary of the incoming letter and sometimes a summary of previous endorsements inscribed on it. A summary of an incoming communication was normally entered in a register of letters received. In addition to a summary of the contents of the incoming letter, these register entries usually indicated the name (and sometimes the office) of the writer, the date of the letter and date of receipt, its place of origin, and the entry number assigned it by the receiving office. The incoming letters were folded for filing, usually in three segments; information recorded in the registers was transcribed on the outside flap of the letter.

Freedmen's Bureau clerks used abbreviations such as "L. R." (letters received), "L. S." (letters sent), and "E. B." (endorsement book). Since the application of these abbreviations varied from office to office, explanations of indexing and cross–referencing practices are given in the series listings in connection with the records to which they pertain.
Historical Note:
[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M1483.]

HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION

The Freedmen's Bureau, as the bureau was commonly known, was established in the War Department by an act of March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507), and extended twice by acts of July 16, 1866 (14 Stat. 173), and July 6, 1868 (15 Stat. 83). Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard, appointed commissioner by the President in May 1865, 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). Although the bureau was a part of the War Department, its work was primarily social and economic in nature. Bureau officials cooperated with benevolent societies in issuing supplies to the destitute and in maintaining freedmen's" schools; supervised labor contracts between black employees and white employers; helped black soldiers and sailors collect bounty claims, pension, and backpay; and attended to the disposition of confiscated or abandoned lands and property.

The act of March 3, 1865, also authorized the appointment of assistant commissioners to aid the commissioner in supervising the work of the bureau in the southern states. In Louisiana, operations began in June 1865 when Assistant Commissioner Thomas W. Conway established his headquarters in New Orleans. The names and terms of the other assistant commissioners or acting assistant commissioners in Louisiana we're: Gen. James S. Fullerton, October 4 – 18, 1865; Gen. Absalom Baird, October 19, 1865–September 7, 1866; Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, October 5–November 27, 1866; Gen. Joseph A. Mower, November 28, 1866–December 4, 1867; Lt. Col. William H. Wood, December 5, 1867–January 2, 1868; Gen. Robert C. Buchanan, January 3–August 24, 1868; and Gen. Edward Hatch, August 25, 1868–January 1, 1869. In accordance with an act of July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), bureau operations within the states were terminated on January 1, 1869, except for educational functions and the collection of claims.

Under Thomas W. Conway, the Freedmen's Bureau in Louisiana operated regional offices in Alexandria, Opelousas, and Shreveport. In August 1865 Louisiana was divided into 33 districts. An assistant superintendent of freedmen was appointed to supervise each district. Until these appointments were made, the appropriate provost marshal acted as the assistant superintendent. District assistant superintendents were later called agents.

In April 1867 administration of the Louisiana Freedmen's Bureau was reorganized. The state was divided into seven subdistricts, each under the direction of a subassistant commissioner. The first subdistrict consisted of the parishes of Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Helena, Livingston, Washington, and St. Tammany. The second subdistrict comprised the parishes of Iberville, East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Pointe Coupee, East Feliciana, and West Feliciana. Subordinate to the subassistant commissioners were the assistant subassistant commissioners, whose local administrative unit was usually the parish but occasionally included several parishes.

At the parish level, bureau officials were responsible for protecting the rights of freedmen, safeguarding freedmen's schools, and investigating difficulties between freedmen and their employers or other white men. They were ordered to make frequent inspections of the territory under their supervision, to examine and approve labor contracts between freedmen and employers, and to ensure that all terms of such contracts were fully understood by both parties. Parish–level officials periodically reported to state headquarters on such matters as the attitude, conduct, and requirements of freedmen; the type and condition of plantation crops; and the status of local freedmen's schools. In time, these officials acquired new tasks, such as the distribution of rations to indigent and destitute persons.

The New Orleans Freedmen's Hospital, which operated under the supervision of a surgeon–in–chief, the principal medical official of the Louisiana Freedmen's Bureau, was a continuation of a wartime institution. After Union troops captured New Orleans in 1862, federal authorities created several black military organizations to support the northern war effort. The largest of these was the "Corps d'Afrique." But the hospital that took its name from this organization was not primarily a soldiers' hospital, but rather a general hospital for the local black population. The Freedmen's Bureau took charge of most patients in this facility in July 1865, although the Corps d'Afrique hospital remained in operation as a special smallpox ward until its patients and those of the new Freedmen's Hospital were moved into the vacant Marine Hospital that December. The Refugees Home, which had formerly occupied several local hotels, was also moved into the Marine Hospital at this time and became known as the Dependents Home Branch of the Freedmen's Hospital. In April 1866 an orphan asylum, previously operated in New Orleans by a private citizen, was transferred to share the quarters of the Freedmen's Hospital, and the hospital's medical staff subsequently made daily inspections of this orphanage. Difficulties in transferring patients to other facilities delayed the closing of the New Orleans Freedmen's Hospital, which continued operations until June 1869.
Freedmen's Bureau Personnel in Louisiana:
This list provides the names and dates of services of known Freedmen's Bureau personnel at selected subordinate field offices for Louisiana. 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.

ORLEANS PARISH LEFT BANK

May 1867 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner A. N. Murtagh

June–Aug. 1867 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner L. Jolissaint

Sept. 1867 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner W. H. Cornelius

Oct. 1867 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner John T. White

Nov. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner L. Jolissaint

NEW ORLEANS FREEDMEN'S HOSPITAL

Aug. 1865 -- Surgeon–in–Charge Samuel Angel

Aug.-Sept. 1865 -- Surgeon–in–Charge E. H. Harris

Sept. 1865-June 1866 -- Surgeon–in–Charge C. W. Brink

July-Oct. 1866 -- Surgeon–in–Charge E. H. Harris

Oct.-Nov. 1866 -- Surgeon–in–Charge David Hershey

Nov. 1866-Mar. 1867 -- Surgeon–in–Charge E. H. Harris

Mar.-May 1867 -- Surgeon–in–Charge David Hershey

June 1867 -- Surgeon–in–Charge David MacKay

June-Aug. 1867 -- Surgeon–in–Charge Henry L. Downs

Aug.-Oct. 1867 -- Surgeon–in–Charge David MacKay

Oct. 1867–May 1868 -- Surgeon–in–Charge William H. Gray

May–June 1868 -- Surgeon–in–Charge David Hershey

June–Dec. 1868 -- Surgeon–in–Charge William H. Gray

Dec. 1868–May 1869 -- Surgeon–in–Charge A. C. Swartzwelder

ST. BERNARD AND PLAQUEMINES PARISHES

Apr.–Dec. 1867 -- Agent and Subassistant Commissioner Ira D. M. McClary

Jan. 1868 -- Agent and Subassistant Commissioner Oscar A. Rice

Jan.–June 1868 -- Agent and Subassistant Commissioner P. J. Smalley

June–Dec. 1868 -- Agent and Subassistant Commissioner H. M. Whittemore

IBERVILLE AND WEST BATON ROUGE PARISHES

Jan. 1865 -- Freedmen's Bureau Officer and Provost Marshal M. Masicot

Feb.–Oct. 1865 -- Freedmen's Bureau Officer and Provost Marshal Nelson Kenyon

Oct. 1865 -- Freedmen's Bureau Officer and Provost Marshal James M. Eddy

Dec. 1865 -- Freedmen's Bureau Officer and Agent A. R. Houston

Feb.–Apr. 1866 -- Freedmen's Bureau Officer and Agent J. C. Stiromell

May 1866–Apr. 1867 -- Freedmen's Bureau Officer and Agent F. A. Osbourn

Apr.–Dec. 1867 -- Freedmen's Bureau Officer and Assistant Subassistant Commissioner F. A. Osbourn

Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Freedmen's Bureau Officer and Assistant Subassistant Commissioner E. Charles Merrill
Related Materials:
See also Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection
Provenance:
Acquired from FamilySearch International in 2015.
Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Topic:
American South  Search this
Freedmen's Bureau  Search this
Reconstruction, U.S. history, 1865-1877  Search this
Slaves -- Emancipation  Search this
Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M1483
See more items in:
Records of the New Orleans Field Offices, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1869
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io3176dca7e-7f25-4e44-be5d-ee0df5b58466
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmaahc-fb-m1483
Online Media:

Selected Series of Records Issued by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872

Extent:
7 Reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1865–1872
Summary:
This collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 7 rolls of microfilm described in NARA publication M742. These digital surrogates reproduced the records of the Selected Series of Records Issued by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872. This collection contains seven volumes of letters sent, six volumes of endorsements sent, one volume of circulars issued, and one volume of special orders issued by the Commissioner. Also included are fourteen volumes of indexes. These records relate to the general operation of the Bureau.
Historical Note:
[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M742.]

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands often referred to as the Freedmen's Bureau , was established in the War Department by an act of Congress approved March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507). Congress assigned to the Bureau responsibilities previously shared by the military commanders and the agents of the Treasury Department, which included the supervision of all affairs relating to refugees and freedmen and the custody of all abandoned or confiscated lands and property. The act also provided that the Bureau was to be headed by a Commissioner, appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

In May 1865 the President appointed Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard as Commissioner. Howard, who served until the Bureau was discontinued in 1872, established his headquarters in Washington, D. C. Although the size and organization of the Bureau headquarters varied from time to time, Howard's staff consist primarily of an Assistant Adjutant General, an Assistant Inspector General, a Chief Medical Officer, a Chief Quartermaster, a Chief Disbursing Officer, and officers in charge of the Claim Division, the Education Division, and the Land Division.

The Bureau's operations were confined principally to the former Confederate States, the border states, and the District of Columbia. Assistant Commissioners supervised the work of the Bureau in the districts into which the States were divided. Officers subordinate to the Assistant Commissioners carried out the policies of the Bureau within the districts.

During the years of its greatest activity, the operations of the Freedmen's Bureau resembled, in many ways, the work of later Federal social agencies. In addition to supervising the disposition of the abandoned or confiscated lands, Bureau officers issued rations, clothing, and medicine to destitute refugees and freedmen. They established hospitals and dispensaries and supervised tenement and camps for the homeless. Bureau officers and members of philanthropic organizations cooperated in establishing schools, operating employment offices, and dispensing relief.

The main concern of the Bureau was the freedman. Bureau officers supervised the writing of labor contracts and terms of indenture, registered marriages, listened to complaints, and generally concerned themselves with improving almost all aspects of the freedman's life. In March 1866 the Bureau assumed the function of helping colored soldiers and sailors to file and collect claims for bounties, pensions, and pay arrearages.

By the beginning of 1869 most of the work of the Freedmen's Bureau had come to an end. An act of Congress approved on July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), provided that on January 1, 1869, the Commissioner was to withdraw the Bureau officers from the States and discontinue the functions of the Bureau except those relating to education and to the collection and payment of claims, effective June 30, 1872 (17 Stat. 366). All unfinished work, which by this time related chiefly to the collection and payment of claims, was transferred to the Freedmen's Branch that was established in the Office of the Adjutant General.

The volumes reproduced in the microcopy were originally arranged by type of record and thereunder in numerical sequence, with no numbers assigned to index books or to series consisting of single volumes. Later all the volumes were arbitrarily assigned numbers. In this microfilm publication the last set of numbers assigned are in parentheses and are useful only as an aid in identifying the volume.
Related Materials:
See also Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection
Provenance:
Acquired from FamilySearch International in 2015.
Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Topic:
Freedmen's Bureau  Search this
Reconstruction, U.S. history, 1865-1877  Search this
Slaves -- Emancipation  Search this
American South  Search this
Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Identifier:
NMAAHC.FB.M742
See more items in:
Selected Series of Records Issued by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872
Archival Repository:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io35bf596dc-b2cd-4323-89ea-f715a1e537ab
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmaahc-fb-m742
Online Media:

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