Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

This collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Arlington County (Va.) Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Records, 1866. Local government records collection, Arlington County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Arlington County (Va.) as part of an undated accession.

Processing Information

Arlington County (Va.) Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands records were originally described as part of the Arlington County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1788, 1801-1802, 1850-1860, but were removed to the present Arlington County (Va.) Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Records, 1866, record to enhance discoverability in February 2025.

These records were processed and indexed by LVA staff at an unknown date.

Encoded by C. Collins: February 2025.

Historical Information

Context for Record Type: 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. It was officially abolished in 1872.

Locality History: Arlington County was originally named Alexandria County. It was formed from a portion of Fairfax County that Virginia in 1789 ceded to the federal government for use as the site of a new national capital. In 1801 the area officially became part of the District of Columbia, although Congress named it Alexandria County. By an act of 9 July 1846, Congress returned the county to Virginia, and the General Assembly extended the commonwealth's jurisdiction over the region effective 20 March 1847. By an act of assembly passed 16 March 1920, the county's name was changed to Arlington, the name of the Custis family mansion (the home of Robert E. Lee), which is located in the county. An urban county, Arlington contains no incorporated towns or cities. The county courthouse is in the county.

Scope and Content

Arlington County (Va.) Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Records, 1866, are comprised of an order, correspondence, and a copy of a circular. The correspondence relates to a circular regarding "the discontinuance of rations to indigent Freedmen after the end of [September 1866]," and the order documents the court's response to the circular. The circular itself states that "the issue of rations be discontinued except to the sick in regularly organized hospitals, and to the orphan assylums [sic] for refugees and freedmen, already existing." It further directs that "the State officials, who may be responsible for the care of the poor, be carefully notified of this order, so that they may assume the charge of such indigent refugees and freedmen as are not embraced in the above exceptions."

Arrangement

This collection is arranged

Related Material

See also: Arlington County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1788, 1801-1802, 1850-1860

See also: Arlington County (Va.) Books of Records Containing the Marriages and Deaths That Have Occurred Within the Official Jurisdiction of Rev. A. Gladwin Together with Any Biographical or Other Reminiscences That May Be Collection, 1863-1869

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

Additional Arlington County (Va.) Court Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Adjunct Descriptive Data