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United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872

Images of records of the Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often called the Freedmen’s Bureau). The bureau was created in 1865 at the end of the American Civil War 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. This collection corresponds with the following NARA microfilm publications, Alabama, M809; Arkansas, M979; District of Columbia, M1055; Florida, M1869; Georgia, M798; Louisiana, M1027; Mississippi, M826; South Carolina, M869; Tennessee, M999; Texas, M821; Virginia, M1048.

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United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner

Source: https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/United_States,_Freedmen%27s_Bureau,_Records_of_the_Assistant_Commissioner_-_FamilySearch_Historical_Records

What is in This Collection?

The collection consists of images of records of the Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often called the Freedmen’s Bureau) which 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 legal and financial matters including the distributing of food and clothing; operating temporary medical facilities; acquiring military benefits such as 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 intent of the Bureau was to help people to become self-sufficient.

Administrative Histories: Office of the Assistant Commissioner - National Archives


Related Sources

Assistant Commissioner records National Archive microfilm publications' included in this publication

Tennessee Assistant Commissioner

Publication Notes

  • Tennessee: Roll 7, DGS 7677357 Browse Images 907-919 Registers of letters received, H-L, 1865. Images 1-13 is a census of freedmen at Tunnel Hill, dated August 1865. Includes name, age, residence, former masters name. Click this link to go to the first image of the census.

Florida Field Office Records

Florida Field Office records were filmed with the records of the Florida Assistant Commissioner Records. See United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner (Florida) for details.

Records with Freedmen and Refugee Names

  • Reports: Roll 9, Monthly Reports of Abandoned or Confiscated Lands
  • Reports: Roll 10, Unregistered Monthly Reports of Homesteads Located by Bureau Agents
  • Other Records, Rolls Records Relating to Restoration of Property
  • Other Records, Roll 11, Applications of Freedmen for Rations, Acre-Owens
  • Other Records, Roll 12, Applications of Freedmen for Rations, Page-Young
  • Claims Agent, Roll 14, Register of Bounty Claimants
  • Jacksonville, Roll 14, Register of Freedmen Issued Rations
  • Quincy, Roll 15, Register of Freedmen Issued Rations
  • Tallahassee, Roll 15, Records Relating to Court Trials; Register of Freedmen Issued Rations

Subordinate Field Offices

Field Office Location Name Position Dates Served
Barancas L. L. Zalousky Subassistant Commissioner January - August 1866
Fernandina Thomas Leddy Subassistant Commissioner January - August 1866
Fernandina A. A. Cole Subassistant Commissioner August 1866 - July 1867
Fernandina D. A. Hammond (Subassistant Commissioner
and Post Commander)		 July 1867 - December 1868
Jacksonville Subassistant Commissioner and Agent
Key West J. B. Rawles Subassistant Commissioner December 1867 - January 1869
Monticello A. B. Grumwell Subassistant Commissioner May 1866 - May 1868
Ocala J. A. Remley Subassistant Commissioner June 1866 - November 1868
Pensacola F. M. Cole Subassistant Commissioner February - August 1866
Pensacola J. R. Brinckle Subassistant Commissioner October 1866 - January 1867
Quincy Subassistant Commissioner
Tallahassee Subassistant Commissioner

Related Collections

FamilySearch Catalog

  • Florida Secretary of State, Voter registration rolls, 1867-1905
  • "Census" Department for the South, November 1864, for Jacksonville, Fernandina and St. Augustine, Florida : ordered by the Department of the South, Hilton Head, South Carolina. Florida State Genealogical Society. FS Library 975.91 X2f
  • Delbra D. McGriff, comp. The Black experience : a guide to Afro-American resources in the Florida State Archives Tallahassee, Florida : Florida Department of State Division of Library and Information Services, 1991 FS Library 975.9 A1 no. 122
  • Letters sent by the Department of Florida and successor commands, 1861-1869, NARA M1096DGS 8768001

DGS 8768002


FamilySearch Historical Records

General Information about Freedmen's Bureau Records

The United States Freedmen's Bureau, records of the Office of the Assistant Commissioner identifies African Americans 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. 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

The Bureau functioned as an agency of the War Department from approximately June 1865 until December 1868, and 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. In 1872, the functions of the Bureau were transferred to the Freedmen’s Branch of the Adjutant General’s Office.

These records include, letters and registers of letters sent and received, reports, endorsements, telegrams, issuances, 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.

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.

For additional information about the Freedman's Bureau and the microfilm publications included in this collection visit the African American Records: Freedmen's Bureau page of the NARA African American Heritage Collection.

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, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872.
You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for North Carolina, Freedmen's Bureau Assistant Commissioner Records, 1862-1870.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The records usually include:

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

Collection Contents

Sample Images

  • 1865 Will (page 1)

    1865 Will (page 1)

  • 1865 Will (page 2)

    1865 Will (page 2)

  • 1865 Oath of Amnesty

    1865 Oath of Amnesty

  • 1865 Stores (Supplies) Received

    1865 Stores (Supplies) Received

  • 1865 Letter

    1865 Letter

  • Account Statement

    Account Statement

Inventory

For a list of all the titles included in this Historical Records publication see United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner - 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

Officers 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.

The following Wiki articles are transcriptions of portions of the manual

Collection Details

Record Type: Military
392,161 Images

Location of Original Records

National Archives and Records Administration

Cite This Collection

"United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872." Images. FamilySearch. https://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2024. Citing multiple NARA microfilm publications. Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1861 - 1880, RG 105. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1969-1980.

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