Freedman's Savings and Trust

 

The Department of Justice, formerly Freedman's Bank (tall building on the far left); In the foreground is Rigg's Bank No. 1501, located at the 1500 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington D.C. (14 Nov 1888). Frances Benjamin Johnson, photographer. (Source: Library of Congress)
 

The Freedman's Bank Records hold invaluable information for some family historians. The bank was part of a corporation formed by the U.S. Government in 1865 to aid freed African American slaves. Frederick Douglass was the last president of Freedman's Savings and Trust Company. The bank failed due to a financial panic and was closed in 1874. Records include, but are not limited to: names, occupations, dates and places of birth, and addresses of account holders; and names of their spouses, parents, siblings, and children.


South Carolina Freedmen's Savings Bank in Beaufort, South Carolina between 1863 and June 1866. Hubbard & Mix, photographer. (Source: Library of Congress)


Learn More:

History of Freedman's Savings and Trust | U.S. Department of the Treasury

Search Freedman's Bank Records at FamilySearch.org


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