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U.S. - Freedman Bureau Records (1865-1874)
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About the Data
This data set is an index to Freedman's Savings and Trust Company's registers of signatures of depositors. Some information that may be found in this index includes:
Information contained in the index includes given name, surname, age, gender, ethnicity, nationality or last country of permanent residence, destination, arrival date, port of arrival, port of departure, ship name, and microfilm roll and page number. If a name of a friend or relative whom the individual was going to join with, or a place of nativity was provided, that information is included in the index as well.
· Name of depositor
· Date of application/deposit
· Name of employer
· Name of plantation
· Age
· Height
· Complexion
· Name of father and/or mother
· Whether married
· Place of birth
· Residence
· Occupation
· Names of children
· Names of brothers and sisters
Freedman's Bank Records is a great source for genealogists researching their African American heritage because of the amount of personal information recorded for each individual in it.
Field Example:
This data set contains the following fields. Please note that not all fields are available for each record.
Name - The name of the depositor
Date - Date of account, application, or deposit
Employer - Name of the depositor's employer
Plantation - Name of the plantation on which the depositor worked
Age - Age of depositor at time of application or deposit
Height - Height of the depositor; part of the depositor's physical description
Complexion - Complexion or color of skin of the depositor; part of the depositor's physical description
Parents - Name(s) of father and/or mother of the depositor
Birthplace - County and/or state of depositor's birth
Residence - Town and/or County and/or state of depositor
Occupation - Occupation or profession of depositor
Children - Names of the depositor's children
Siblings - Names of the brothers and sisters of the depositor
More About this Data
About Freedman's Savings and Trust Company
The Freedman's Savings and Trust Company was incorporated in 1865 by an act signed by President Abraham Lincoln. The purpose of the company was to create an institution where former slaves and their dependents could place and save their money. The original bank was first headquartered in New York and later moved to Washington, D.C. Shortly thereafter branch offices opened in other cities, primarily in ones in the south where there was a larger population of African Americans. Eventually there were 37 branch offices in 17 states with approximately 70,000 depositors (over the banks lifetime) and deposits of more than $57 million. In 1874, as a result of mismanagement, fraud, and other events and situations, Freedman's Bank closed.
About the Registers of Signatures of Depositors
Twenty-nine of the thirty-seven branches of the bank had records that have survived and been microfilmed. The registers of signatures of depositors collection contains forms required by the bank for each individual making a deposit to fill out. These forms asked questions regarding personal information and identification as well as required a signature. The exact questions asked on each form varied between years and branches.
Thirteen of the seventeen states with branch offices are represented in this data set. These states are:
· Alabama
· Arkansas
· Washington, D.C.
· Georgia
· Kentucky
· Louisiana
· Maryland
· Missouri
· Mississippi
· North Carolina
· New York
· Pennsylvania
· South Carolina
Some of the above information taken from The Freedman's Savings and Trust Company and African American Genealogical Research by Reginald Washington.
Source Information
Registers of Signatures of Depositors in Branches of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865-1874. Micropublication M816, 27 rolls. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
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