Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Amelia County (Va.) Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Records, 1868 are digitized and available through Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website. Please use digital images.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Amelia County (Va.) Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Records, 1868. Local government records collection, Amelia County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

These records came to the Library of Virginia in transfer of court papers from Amelia County in an undated accession.

Processing Information

Freedmen's Bureau Apprenticeship Indentures were originally described as "Amelia County (Va.) Freedmen's Bureau Apprenticeship Indentures, 1868" but were retitled "Amelia County (Va.) Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Records, 1868" in February 2024 to help standardize description of records and increased context between various Freedmen's Bureau records.

These records have been scanned and indexed by LVA staff for the purposes of digitizing them for the digital project Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative.

Encoded by G. Crawford, 2018; updated by M. Mason, February 2024

Historical Information

Context for Record Type:

Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands

On March 3, 1865, the federal government created The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands using the Freedmen's Bureau Bill. Also known as the "Freedmen's Bureau," this agency was responsible for aiding refugees of the Civil War, especially formerly enslaved people in the areas of education, employment, and health care. Meant to last for only one year after the war, the Bureau was largely operational from June 1865 to December 1868, and officially abolished in 1872.

Freedmen's Apprenticeship Indentures

In the fall of 1865, the Freedmen's Bureau assumed responsibility as the governing body for apprenticeship indentures and oversaw the binding out of children of formerly enslaved people to indenture holders. Although these contracts were generated by the federal government, a few localities retained possession and they were filed in the courthouse as Freedmen's Bureau records. They typically contain the name of the person or institution binding out, the person to whom bound, the name of the person being indentured, the length of the apprenticeship, and the responsibilities of the person taking on the indenture.

Locality History: Amelia County was named for Amelia Sophia Eleanora, daughter of King George II. It was formed from Prince George and Brunswick Counties by an act passed in 1734 to take effect on 25 March 1735. The county court first met on 9 May 1735. The county seat is Amelia.

Scope and Content

Amelia County (Va.) Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Records, 1868, consist of Freedmen's Bureau Apprenticeship Indentures, 1868.

These Apprenticeship Indentures record the binding of emancipated Black and multiracial children to individuals for the purpose of learning a trade. They are contractual agreements between the indenture holder and agents of the Freedmen's Bureau. They stipulate the amount the indenture holder agreed to pay to the Freedmen's Bureau in exchange for the child to be bound to them by the Freedmen's Bureau; length of apprenticeship; and a statement of the obligations and responsibilities of each party. Information found in the apprenticeship indentures include names of the indenture holder and Freedmen's Bureau agents, bond amount, date of indenture, names and age of the apprentice, and name of trade.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into

Related Material

See also: Amelia County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1781-1866, undated

See also: Amelia County (Va.) Apprenticeship Indentures, 1736-1890

Records related to free and enslaved people of Amelia County (Va.) and other localities are available through the Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website.

Additional Amelia County Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm" found on the Library of Virginia's web site.

Adjunct Descriptive Data