Records Relating to Court Cases Involving Freedmen
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content: Records of the Assistant Commissioner for State of Virginia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1869
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAAHC.FB.M1048, Series 10
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The records of the Assistant Commissioner contain three series of records relating to court cases involving freedmen: (1) narrative reports of criminal cases involving freedmen, March 31, 1866–January 31, 1869, arranged chronologically, dealing with cases in which State authorities assumed jurisdiction (some records display the number "10" indicating that they were made in response to instructions in circular 10, March 12, 1866, issued by the Assistant Commissioner's Office to monitor the quality of justice given to freedmen by civil authorities); (2) narrative monthly and weekly reports of proceedings in the freedmen's courts, December 2, 1865–July 30, 1867, arranged chronologically, summarizing cases and legal business conducted in the freedmen's courts in various counties in Virginia; and (3) monthly reports submitted by the assistant superintendents of the districts listing civilians chosen by the citizens of various counties to serve in the freedmen's courts, December 1865–February 1866, and arranged chronologically.