Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Arlington County (Va.) Book 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 Collected, 1863-1869, are digitized and available through Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection as part of "Freedmen's Bureau" Records on the Library of Virginia website. Please use digital images.

Use Restrictions

There are no use restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Arlington County (Va.) Book 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 Collected, 1863-1869. Arlington County (Va.) Reel 269, Local government records collection, Arlington County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Arlington County under an undated accession.

Alternative Form Available

This volume is available as microfilm, Arlington County (Va.) Reel 269.

Processing Information

This volume was processed in 2008 by Sarah Nerney and then microfilmed. The volume was later conserved and digitized in 2014 as part of a loan to the City of Alexandria for the purposes of the Dedication ceremony of the Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial.

Encoded by S. Nerney, 2008; Updated by M. Mason, February 2025

Historical Information

Context for Record:

Reverend Albert Gladwin of Connecticut was appointed the first Superintendent of Contrabands by the military governor of Alexandria in 1862 to help deal with the influx of escaped slaves who had flooded the city after the beginning of the Civil War. Two of his duties were to record the deaths of freedmen and to assist poor and destitute people with coffins, headstones, and burial. Gladwin was removed from his position in 1865 after he insisted on burying deceased United States Colored Troops in the Freedmen's Cemetery instead of in the newly established soldiers' cemetery at Arlington.

The Freedmen's Cemetery was established in 1864 on land seized by the military government of Alexandria from Francis L. Smith. Located on south Washington Street just outside of the then city limits, it was established as a burial ground for contrabands and placed under the charge of the Superintendent of Contrabands.

Locality History:

Arlington County was formed in 1789 from Fairfax County and was at that time named Alexandria County. The county was ceded to the federal government in 1801 and was part of the District of Columbia until 1846 when it was returned to the state of Virginia. Alexandria County changed its name in 1920 to Arlington County.

Scope and Content

Arlington County (Va.) Book 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 Collected, 1863-1869, is a marriage and death register kept first by Reverend Albert Gladwin, Superintendent of Contrabands in Alexandria (Va.), and Eliphalet Owen, Gladwin's clerk; Gladwin's successor in the position; and then by agents of the Freedmen's Bureau who kept up the register until the closing of the "Freedmen's Cemetery" in 1869. The book records death, burial, and marriage information about free Black and Multiracial individuals in the Alexandria area. The book is often referred to as the "Gladwin Record."

The volume consists of the following sections:

"Monthly reporting" on the number of deaths from 1862 May through 1865 December (pg. 2).

"Personal Record of Deaths" which include the date of death (year, month, day), name of the individual, age (year, months, and days), and remarks. The remarks column, something called "Residences, etc.," contains varying information. When labeled remarks, the information such as location of death, name of who performed the service, and military service information. When labeled, Residences, the information is generally just related to the street or neighborhood where the deceased lived at the time of their death. Some deceased are noted as being white. The remarks column is not always filled in. (pg. 3-23 and 51-79).

"Record of Deaths in the New Freedmen's Hospitals, Etc." which includes the date of death (year, month, day), name of the individual, age (year, months, and days), and remarks. The remarks column records which hospital the death occurred in and sometimes other notes about the place of burial, the funeral, and military service. A great number of the deceased were members of the United States Colored Troops. Hospitals frequently mentioned in remarks include Commissary Hospital, New General Hospital, Quarter Master Hospital, L'Ouverture Hospital, and Bartlott's Division Hospital. Some of the deceased soldiers were buried in the Freedmen's Cemetery but most are interred at Arlington National Cemetery (pg. 25-39).

"1866 Record of Deaths and Burials New System," consists of a history and explanation of the death and funeral responsibilities of the Superintendent of Contrabands and gives a brief history of the founding of the Freedmen's Cemetery. The name of the first gravedigger is listed as Randall Ward, "colored." This includes an account of coffins which have been received and expended (Pages 80-83).

"Record of Deaths and Burials among the Freedmen in Alexandria, Va.," which includes the date of death (year, month, day), number, name of the individual, age (year, months, and days), name of parent or near relation, residence of person at time of death, charges, and remarks. The remarks are usually limited to charges for the burial or whether the person was destitute and therefore buried at the expense of the Superintendent of Contrabands. Some few remarks concern cause of death. The remarks column is not always filled in (pg. 84-119).

"Record of Marriages," which includes date of marriage, names of parties married, by whom married, place of marriage, and a remarks column. Remarks usually concern fees paid and whether marriage licenses supplied. Some parties are noted as white. Other remarks are about the ceremony or situation of the couple such as "travelled over a hundred miles from vicinity of Richmond on foot together to get married." Marriage information exists only for the years 1863-1864 (Pages 129-143).

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into

Related Material

Additional Arlington County vital statistics 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 web site.

Adjunct Descriptive Data