Search United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages
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Discover marriages from the Reconstruction Era documented by the Freedmen's Bureau, including those which occurred during slavery that went unrecognized and those occurring immediately after Emancipation.
Learn about these records
What can these records tell me?
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Formally, The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandon Lands, existed to help transition and offer aid to the now 4,000,000 freed African Americans across the country after the abolition of slavery. This agency is known commonly as “The Freedmen’s Bureau” in the United States and existed from 1865-1872.
The records consist of marriage registers, marriage certificates, marriage licenses and other proofs of marriages. While the amount of information varies, you will commonly find the following information in the marriage records:
- Names of the couple
- Date of marriage
- Location of marriage
- Ages of the couple
- Names of witnesses
Locations included in these records
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The following states are included, along with the District of Columbia:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- Florida
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Virginia
Copyright statement
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The records are part of the records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, part of National Archives Record Group 105.
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