During the Reconstruction Era, the United States government created the Freedmen Bureau to help emancipated slaves be accumulated into society. Prior to the Great Comprise of betrayal in 1877 Freedmen were making gains and some even where able to secure the land that was promise to them (See Below Chart of Land Promised to US Freedmen). The “Freedmen” were Black, the “Refugees” were white, and the “Abandoned Lands” once owned by the landowners were eventually re-settled, after oaths of allegiance from former secessionists were taken. For assistance with negotiating wages and insuring that former enslaved people would be paid and no longer exploited for their labor, Labor Contracts are part of the Bureau records and are now available to examine. For assistance in settling disputes countless letters and reports tell much of that story. And for the first opportunity to have marriages performed officially, the chaplains of the bureau were there and producing marriage records, which are also a part of that collection.

 Below links are very resourceful in helping US Freedmen to unlocking their past and connecting the dots. Click on the below link for more information also to help trace your lineage.