Whispers from the Dust The Freedmen Records and
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Whispers from the Dust The Freedmen Records and African American Family History Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey Douglas
The central question “What shall be done with the slaves? ” W. E. B. Du Bois, 1901, Atlantic Monthly W. E. B. Du. Bois
What to do with the slaves during the war? The Emancipation Proclamation provided the moral and legal frame ”. . . all persons held as slaves within any State. . . in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free. ” Signed: January 1, 1863 Lincoln: "I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper. ”
What to do with the freedmen after the war? • On March 3, 1865, Lincoln signed into law – The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Land • A public institution – The Freedman’s Savings & Trust Company • A private institution
The Freedmen’s Bureau was directed to: “set apart, for the use of loyal. . . freedmen, such tracts of land within the insurrectionary states as shall have been abandoned. . . and to every male citizen. . . there shall be assigned not more than forty acres of such land. ”
Trampled hopes General Howard sent the news to Sea Islands, Georgia. One asked: “Why, General Howard, why do you take away our lands? ” “An old woman on the outskirts of the throng began singing this song (‘Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen’); all the mass joined with her, swaying. And the soldier wept. ” -- Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk –
Two freedmen legacies The Records “This is the hope of the Freedmen records, to open a window, even if a small one, into that important transitional period that began with the end of slavery. ” 100 years of discrimination Alex Haley, at a World conference on Family History
Hawkins Wilson Sought help from the Bureau • “I have no other one to apply to but you. • “My name is Hawkins Wilson. . . Who was sold at Sheriff’s sale and used to belong to Jackson Talley
Benjamin Manson and Sarah White marriage certificate Original Marriage Date: Oct, 28, 1843 Lists 9 of their 16 children Official Marriage Date: April 19, 1866
Marrow deep "In all of us there is a hunger marrow-deep, to know our heritage - to know who we are and where we have come from. “Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum. An emptiness. And the most disquieting loneliness. ” Alex Haley, at a World conference on Family History Alex Haley 1921 -1992