Freedmen's Bureau Search Portal Training

This workshop is an introduction to the Freedmen’s Bureau Search Portal created by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The United States Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, commonly known as the Freedmen's Bureau, was created by Congress in 1865 to assist in the political and social reconstruction of post-war Southern states and to help formerly enslaved people make the transition from slavery to freedom and citizenship. In the process, the Bureau created millions of records that contain the names of hundreds of thousands of formerly enslaved people and Southern white refugees.

Community members will learn how to research their ancestors in the Freedmen’s Bureau records and be able to conduct searches in real time. This comprehensive search platform is designed to help family historians and genealogists find their ancestors and to assist scholars and students in researching various topics found in more than 1.7 million pages of Freedmen’s Bureau records.

This event will be held offsite at the Merriweather Branch Library, 1324 Jefferson Ave, Buffalo, NY 14208.