Database of Freed Slaves

With the FamilySearch.org and the Freedmen’s Bureau there is available online a database of records for the freed slaves after the Emancipation in the 1860s. The Freedmen’s Bureau was established in 1865 to help transition former slaves from slavery to citizenship, providing food, housing, education, and medical care. This was the first time in U.S. history, the names of those individuals were systematically recorded and preserved for future generations.

Other preservation groups such as the National Archives and Records Administration, the Smithsonian Museum, the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society and the California African American Museum have also been a part of the preservation of the records for the freed slaves.

There are about 2 million individual records in the collection.

As you scroll down the web page site you see ‘Discover Your Roots’. Here you can place the name of a known ancestor and see what is in the vast FamilySearch.org databases. Remember to try several different family members’ names. You might locate ancestors that date back to 1900, or 1880s or to those who were Emancipated in the 1860s. You do have to take that first step in your research.

Make notes of names and dates even if you are not sure, something could come up later that ties that person to your family lineage.

Photos: Schooling for all freed slaves; voting; and families.

Related Familytree.com Blogs:

Slaves and African-American Documents

Slave Holders

Locating Ancestral Lineage