Letters and Telegrams Sent
setName: label: See more items in
content: Records of the Superintendent of Education for the State of Louisiana, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1864-1869.
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content: Records of the Superintendent of Education for the State of Louisiana, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1864-1869. / Series 1: General Correspondence
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAAHC.FB.M1026, Subseries 1.1
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The records are comprised of three volumes of press copies (vols. 1, 2, and 4) and one volume of fair copies (vol. 3) of letters and telegrams sent. Press copies were obtained by wetting a piece of thin paper and pressing it on the original letter through the use of a press copying machine that caused the image to be transferred to the moistened paper. Because of the relative crudeness of this method, many of the press copies are difficult to read and some are virtually impossible. Fair copies are handwritten duplicates of the originals, usually clear and legible. 

The four volumes of letters and telegrams sent, April 1, 1864-February 28, 1867, are arranged by time period. Entries in each volume are arranged generally chronologically. Entries in volume 3 are numbered chronologically within each year. The date spaces of all four volumes overlap, but none of the correspondence is duplicated. 

Although the volumes consist of copies primarily of letters and telegrams, they also contain copies of orders, instructions, circulars, and reports. Most of the correspondence relates to the acquisition and maintenance of school property, the assignment or dismissal of teachers and other officials, the inspection of schools, the investigation of complaints against schools or teachers, and the organization of new schools. Correspondence concerning specific schools frequently includes detailed descriptions of the curriculum, disciplinary problems, and community reactions to the school. Copies of general reports in the series contain statistics on the total number of schools, teachers, and pupils in the state. 

Volumes 1, 2, and 4 contain name indexed that are arranges alphabetically by intial letter of correspondent's surname. The number following each name is the page number on which a copy of a communication to that person may be found. Circulars are listed in the index under the letter "C"; general orders and general instructions, under "G"; and telegrams under "T." Some of the indexes have sections labeled "Names Not Deciphered," a result of practically illegible press copies. The name index for volume 3, prepared by NARA staff, is arranged alphabetically by correspondent's surname. The number following each name refers to the page on which a copy of a communication to that person may be found.