United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education, 1865-1872

What is in This Collection?

The collection consists of images of the records of the Superintendent of Education and the Education Division of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often called the Freedmen’s Bureau). Most of the collection will consist of monthly teacher reports and monthly reports of the sub-assistant commissioner or agents. The event date is the date the report was completed either by the teacher or agent. Reports can also identify the name and location of schools as well as the society sponsoring a teacher. 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

This collection corresponds with the following NARA microfilm publications:

• Records of the Superintendent of Education for the state of:

• Alabama, M810: Rolls 1, 4-8
• Arkansas, M980: Roll 5 National Archives Pamphlet M980
• District of Columbia, M1056: Rolls 12-24 National Archives Pamphlet M1056
• Georgia, M799: Rolls 16-28 National Archives Pamphlet M799
• Louisiana, M1026: Rolls 3-12 National Archives Pamphlet M1026
• North Carolina, M844: Rolls 13-15 National Archives Pamphlet M844
• Tennessee, M1000: Rolls 6-9 National Archives Pamphlet M1000
• Texas, M822: Rolls 11-18 National Archives Pamphlet M822
• Virginia, M1053: Rolls 11-20 National Archives Pamphlet M1053
• Records of the Education Division, M803: 15-35 National Archives Pamphlet M803

• Related National Archives Collection
• Contracts for the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, March 1867–August 1870 (Department of the Treasury. Office of the Second Comptroller) RG 217, NAID 2548470

Related Publications

• C. Thurston Chase, Schoolhouses. Manual on School- Houses and Cottages for People of the South. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1868 Internet Archive
• Jonathan W. White and Lydia J. Davis, eds. My Work Among the Freedmen: The Civil War and Reconstruction Letters of Harriet Buss. University of Virginia Press, 2021.

• Semi-annual reports on schools for freedmen
• Schools and Finances of Freedmen
• January 1st, 1866, First
• July 2nd, 1866, Second
• Schools for Freedmen
• January 1st, 3rd, 1867
• July 1st, 4th, 1867
• John Watson Alvord. 1807-1880; United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Fifth semi-annual report on schools for freedmen: January 1, 1868. Washington: Government Printing Office,1868.
• July 1st, 6th, 1868
• January 1st, 7th, 1869
• July 1st, 8th, 1869
• John Watson Alvord 1807-1880. United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Ninth semi-annual report on schools for freedmen: January 1, 1870.Washington: Government Printing Office, 1870.
• July 1st, 9th, 1870

General Information about Freedmen's Bureau Records

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.

National Museum of African American History & Culture

The museum is working with the Smithsonian Transcription Center and volunteers to transcribe the records of the Bureau.

• Freedmen's Bureau Transcription Project.
• About The Freedmen's Bureau Database Records
• FREEDMEN'S BUREAU ABBREVIATIONS, STAFF ROSTERS, AND STYLE SHEETS
• Freedmen's Bureau - Browse Projects

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

To Browse This Collection

You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for United States, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education, 1865-1872.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The Bureau was created in 1865 at the end of the American Civil War to supervise relief efforts including:

These records include:

The information varies by document. You may find any of the following:

• Name of the freedman
• Name of the freedman’s former owner
• Date of the record
• Birthplace
• Residence
• Age
• Document dates

Collection Content

Sample Images

• 

  1867 Appointment Request

• 

  1867 Letter of Appointment

• 

  1866 Teacher's Monthly Report

Inventory

For a list of all the titles included in this Historical Records publication see United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education - Inventory

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

Officer's Manual

The War Department published an Officer's Manual to assist bureau personnel in the records that were required to be keep in bureau offices.

• United States, National Archives, Freedmen's Bureau, Officer's Manual

The following Wiki articles are transcriptions of portions of the manual

• US, NARA, Freedmen's Bureau, Officer's Manual - I, Book Keeping and Official Correspondence
• US, NARA, Freedmen's Bureau, Officer's Manual - IV, Medical Department
• US, NARA, Freedmen's Bureau, Officer's Manual - V, Subsistence
• US, NARA, Freedmen's Bureau, Officer's Manual - VI, Miscellaneous Provisions - Includes Reports from Assistant Commissioners