Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Climbing The Brick Wall


 Freedmen


In black African American genealogy,  family history prior to 1870 is  hard to find. The lack of family surnames and documentation has been called one of the brick walls.    

Just before the end of the Civil War in 1865,  the Freedmen ’s Bureau (Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands) was established to aid former slaves and whites in needed assistance for survival.  Attempts were made to provide food, clothing, educate, reunite families, legalize marriages, provide employment, and aid the black military.  This was an ambitious undertaking to provide all these services.  A paper trail however was established which lead the road to finding some of my ancestors.
In the search, I looked for the former slaves with the Brumfield surname in Washington Parish Louisiana, and Pike County Mississippi in Freedman Bureau records. There is voluminous amount of information to review.    I realize that my ancestors may have come from other areas and possibly different surnames.  The homestead records however lead me to believe that these geographic areas must have been considered home.  Home is defined as a place where a person has knowledge, history, and familiarity.  
During my investigation, I looked for names of ancestors in locations where they may have lived.   I looked at Freedman labor contracts.  Labor contracts were established to assist in the employment of former slaves now Freemen.  Terms of employment were established.  In the contract, the name of the former slave was given sometimes with a surname along with the name of the planter.  

 In records of the Bureau of Refugees   Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, Louisiana 1865-1872 I found the following:



 
Charlotte 48(infirm), Harriet 28(good hand), Margaret 16(daughter), Sarah 23, Mary 8 (child of Sarah) Ophelia 4, Sam 2 Grandchildren of Charlotte; Wade 10, Charlotte 8, Keziah 4 signed September 18, 1865 with Wily G. Collins
 
      These are my people!  Charlotte was married to Isham Brumfield and Harriet was married to Gale Brumfield.   Sarah was married to Eli Brumfield (son of Isham).   I have been able locate their  one of their children Keziah granddaughter of Charlotte.

                                                                              -------- The Tree Gardener

4 comments:

Unknown said...

hi! i have a question..do you know anything about margaret brumfield? possibly who she married (if anyone..)

Tree Gardener said...

I have been looking for Margaret Brumfield. She possibly married or died. If you have any information let me know.

Unknown said...

Tree Gardner,
I came to your blog from Google and will read more but simply wanted to introduce myself. I too am a Brumfield and am on a quest to find more about my family then my Grandfather and his sibling know or are able to remember. My family still resides in both Pike and Wathal County (Tylertown and McComb) and has done a decent amount of research without really uncovering much. If you have found anything that might be of any help in my quest to locate my history I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

Kevin E. Brumfield II
MrKevinBrumfield@Gmail.com

Unknown said...
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