In the past five years, the Records of the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (Freedman’s Bank), 1865-1874 have become one of the most frequently requested records by journalists and organizations interested in the financial history of African Americans. The registers of signatures of depositors have been digitized and made available on the genealogical sites www.Ancestry.com and www.FamilySearch.org, but some Freedman’s Bank records have not been digitized or microfilmed at all. Some of these records that are not available digitally or on microfilm can be of great value to those researchers interested in the full spectrum of the Freedman’s Bank’s activities.
The original textual records of the Freedman’s Bank are held at the National Archives at College Park, MD (A2) as part of the Records of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (Record Group 101). Below, I list the various Freedman’s Bank records series and note which have been microfilmed and digitized and those that have not and are only available in their original textual form at A2. This outline can serve as a reference report used by those interested in delving a little more deeply into these records—beyond just that which has been made available online.
- “Signature Books of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865-1874” (Entry PC-45 [46-53] 69; NAID 566522)
- Reproduced on NARA Microfilm Publication M816, Registers of Signatures of Depositors in Branches of the Freedman's Saving and Trust Company, 1865-1874. Digitized on www.Ancestry.com and www.FamilySearch.org.
- “Letters Received by the Commissioners of the Freedman's Savings & Trust Company and by the Comptroller of the Currency as Ex Officio Commissioner, 1870-1949” (Entry PC-45 66A; NAID 564099)
- Not microfilmed or digitized.
- “Letters Sent by the Commissioners of the Freedman's Savings & Trust Company and by the Comptroller of the Currency as Ex Officio Commissioner, 1874-1913” (Entry PC-45 67; NAID 564178)
- Not microfilmed or digitized.
- “Minutes and Journals of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865-1874” (Entry PC-45 [46-53] 68; NAID 566475)
- Reproduced on NARA Microfilm Publication M874, Journal of the Board of Trustees and Minutes of Committees and Inspectors of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865-1874. Digitized and searchable in NARA’s online catalog.
- “Annual Reports of the Commissioners of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company and of the Comptroller of the Currency as Ex-Officio Commissioner, 1881-1919” (Entry PC-45 69; NAID 566519)
- Not microfilmed or digitized
- “Loan and Real Estate Ledgers and Journals of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1870-1916” (Entry PC-45 [46-53] 71; NAID 567231)
- Not microfilmed but partially digitized on: FRASER
- “Mail Registers of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1872-1884” (Entry PC-45 [46-53] 72; NAID 567309)
- Not microfilmed or digitized.
- “Dividend Payment Records of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1882-1889” (Entry PC-45 [46-53] 73; NAID 566993)
- These records are not microfilmed but are digitized on FRASER
- “Index to Deposit Ledgers for the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865-1874” (Entry PC-45 (46-53) 74; NAID 566979)
- Reproduced on NARA Microfilm Publication M817, Indexes to Deposit Ledgers in Branches of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865-1874. Digitized and searchable in NARA’s online catalog.
- “Record of Proceedings of Attorney for the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1874-1876” (Entry PC-45 75; NAID 567314)
- Not microfilmed or digitized.
- “Finance and Accounting Records of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1870-1908” (Entry PC 45 [46-53] 76; NAID 567353)
- Not microfilmed but digitized on FRASER.
- “Letters Received by the Commissioners of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company and by the Comptroller of the Currency as Ex Officio Commissioner, 1870-1914” (Entry P 1; NAID 2537170)
- Not microfilmed or digitized.
- “Loan Papers and Other Records Received by the Commissioners of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Co. and by the Comptroller of the Currency as Ex Officio Commissioner , 1870-1914” (Entry P 2; NAID 2538246)
- Not microfilmed or digitized.
- “General Records Received by the Commissioners of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company and by the Comptroller of the Currency as Ex Officio Commissioner, 1864-1914” (Entry P 3; NAID 2538258)
- Not microfilmed or digitized.
- “Bank Books Received by the Commissioners of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company and by the Comptroller of the Currency as Ex Officio Commissioner, 1870-1914” (Entry P 4; NAID 2538252)
- Not microfilmed or digitized.
- “Lost Deposit Book Questionnaires and Related Records Received by the Commissioners of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company and by the Comptroller of the Currency as Ex Officio Commissioner, 1870-1914” (Entry P 5; NAID 2538264)
- Not microfilmed or digitized.
- “Legal Documents, Land Plats, and Other Records Primarily Relating to the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company and the Liquidation of its Assets, 1863-1890” (Entry P 7; NAID 38995649)
- Not microfilmed or digitized.
- “Official Records of the Comptroller of the Currency and Executive Committee Members Relating to the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1917-1957” (Entry UD-12D 2; NAID 6853664)
- This series is currently unprocessed and undescribed. Prior to requesting these records, researchers should contact the reference staff at the National Archives at College Park (Archives2Reference@nara.gov) to get further information regarding their availability.