District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Why Should I Look at This Collection?
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was established in the War Department in March of 1865. It was commonly called the Freedman’s Bureau and was responsible for the management and supervision of matters relating to refuges, freedmen, and abandoned lands. The Bureau assisted disenfranchised Americans, primarily African Americans, with temporal, legal and financial matters, with the intent of helping people to become self-sufficient. Matters handled included the distributing of food and clothing; operating temporary medical facilities; acquiring back pay, bounty payments, and pensions; facilitating the creation of schools, including the founding of Howard University; reuniting family members; handling marriages; and providing banking services. Banking services were provided by the establishment of the Freedman’s Saving and Trust Company, or Freedman’s Bank.

The Bureau functioned as an agency of the War Department from approximately June 1865 until December 1868. In 1872, the functions of the Bureau were transferred to the Freedmen’s Branch of the Adjutant General’s Office. The Bureau assisted over one million African Americans, including many of the nearly four million emancipated slaves, which was over 25% of the population of former slaves in America.The records identify those who sought help from the Bureau at the end of the Civil War. Most supplicants were freed slaves, some of which were military veterans. In addition, a few veterans who were not African Americans also sought help from the Bureau. Freedmen’s Bureau records are usually reliable, because the records were supplied through first-person correspondence or the recording of a marriage.

 Related Articles 
 * Sharon Batiste Gillins.A Window into the lives of black and white ancestors: Freedmen's Bureau field office records. NGS Magazine 39 #1 (January-March 2013): 34-38.
 * Lindsey Bestebreurtje. Beyond the Plantation:Freedmen,Social Experimentation, and African American Community in Freedmen's Village, 1863-1900. Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 126 #3 (2018): 334-365.

Related Sources 
 * National Archives Historical Sketch of the Freedmen's Village, 1863-1865
 * National Archives Historical Sketch of the Freedmen's Village, 1872-1900
 * Freedmen's Hospital 1870 Census Subdivision East of 1st Street pages 12-18 Patients and Staff
 * Records of the Freedmen's Hospital, 1872-1910. National Archives C148

What is in This Collection?
This collection consists of scanned images of records from National Archives microfilm publication M1902,Records of the Field Offices for the District of Columbia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands which is part of Record Group 105 Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands.

The images are generally arranged in the order the records were microfilmed with the records of the Assistant Commissioner who oversaw Bureau operations in the state and state level staff officers; Commissary of Subsistence, Inspector General and Disbursing Officer, Quartermaster and Disbursing Officer, and Surgeon first then the local field office records are arranged alphabetically by location and by NARA roll number.

Sample Images

 * NARA select Images from Freedmen's Bureau Records

Record Types
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often called the Freedmen’s Bureau) created many different record types necessary to supervise relief efforts including education, health care, food and clothing, refugee camps, legalization of marriages, employment, labor contracts, and securing back pay, bounty payments and pensions. These records include letters and endorsements sent and received, account books, applications for rations, applications for relief, court records, labor contracts, registers of bounty claimants, registers of complaints, registers of contracts, registers of disbursements, registers of freedmen issued rations, registers of patients, reports, rosters of officers and employees, special and general orders and circulars received, special orders and circulars issued, records relating to claims, court trials, property restoration, and homesteads.


 * The following link will provide a description of the record types found in this and other Freedmen’s Bureau collections.Freedmen's Bureau Record Types
 * Officers' Manuel. Washington, 1866

Collection Inventory Table
The inventory will include for each individual collection the National Archives Identifier Number (NAID) and preliminary inventory entry number.
 * Inventory

Records with Freedmen and Refugee Names
 * Freedmen's Village: Roll 21, Register of people arriving at Freedmen's Village, Jan 1, 1867-June 27, 1868. NAID 5686335
 * Washington and Georgetown: Roll 19, Register of freedmen departing Mason's Island, VA, May 18, 1864-Jul 18, 1865
 * Superintendent of Marriages: Roll 12, Register of Marriages,Nov 1866-Jul 1867
 * Washington and Georgetown: Roll 18, Employment registers, Wisewell and East Capital Street Barracks, 1866-1868

For details about the contents of these records, their history, and help using them, see the wiki article: United States Freedmen’s Bureau Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the individual
 * The approximate age of the individual
 * The place where the individual lived

The Freedmen’s Bureau records are a major source of genealogical information about post Civil War African Americans. The records are also a good source to quickly identify a family group and residence.

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the 
 * 1) Select the Freedmen's Bureau Office or Subordinate Field Office Location
 * 2) Select the NARA Roll Number-Contents to view the images.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Copy the citation below, in case you need to find this record again later
 * Use the age or estimated birth date to find church and vital records such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death
 * Use the information found in the record to find land, probate and immigration records
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in censuses
 * Determine if the slave owner kept plantation or account records listing information about their slaves

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county
 * Former slaves may have used multiple names or changed their names until they decided upon one particular name. Search all possible names along with variations or spellings of their known names
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of District of Columbia.
 * District of Columbia Guided Research
 * District of Columbia Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Related Wiki Articles

 * African American Introduction
 * Researching African American Genealogy
 * Quick Guide to African American Records
 * African American Research
 * African American Freedmen's Bureau Records
 * African American Resources for District of Columbia

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying you sources helps others find the records you used.