Refugees, Freedmen...

"So...

be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!"

—Dr. Seuss (Oh, the Places You'll Go!)
***

Years ago, members of the Alabama Study Group, from my local genealogy society, put me in touch with the Great Lakes regional office of the National Archives Records Administration (NARA), in Chicago. Days later, I called the Washington, D.C., office and ordered three Descriptive Pamphlets concerning microfilmed records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, & Abandoned Lands (BRFAL) in Mississippi:

• M826 (50 microfilm rolls), Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Mississippi Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865 1869
• M1907 (65 microfilm rolls), Records of the Field Offices For the State of Mississippi Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1972
• M1914 (5 microfilm rolls), Records of the Mississippi Freedmen’s Department (“Pre-Bureau Records”), Office of the Assistant Commissioner, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1863–1865

*The following Starkville cases comes from M1907 (roll 43)*

	Record of Cases Tried before Agent Bureau RF&AL Sub Dist of Starkville
#	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
1	Benj. Ware	D[e]f[endan]t illegally retains
	vs.	possession of property of Complainant
	J.L. Graves	Costs Sh[eri]ff Sullivan $2.00
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
2	Bob Bray	Compl[ain]t under Genl Order No 31
	vs.	continues indefinitely
	C.W. Jordan	Shffs Costs $2.00 to ? C Sullivan
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
3d.	Esther Perkins	Compl[ain]t under Genl Order 31 P.1st
	vs.
		Costs Shff Sullivan $2.00
	Jas. L. Graves
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
4	Harriet Sanders	Complt of unlawful ap
	vs.	prenticeship of children
	G.W. Walker &
	Josephus Walker
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
5	Lucy [sic]	Dispute about a trade
	vs	involving a sow and a
		coat
	Cambric Gillespie
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
6	David Rogers	Complt under Gen Order No 31. P3
	vs
		Costs $2.00 Shff Sullivan
	Wm McKell
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
7	Marinda Baley	Complt under Genl Order 31 P3
	vs
	W.S. Chiles
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
8	Lucy Aiken	Genl Order 31 P1
	vs
	Thos Gillespie &
	R.C. McCreight
	Disposition and remarks
	*transcriber's note: this case may be related to Case #5
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
9	Venus Williams	Genl Order 31 P 1 or 3d
	vs
	Saml Angus
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
10	Margaret Rogers &	Under Genl Order No 31 P3
	Patsy Bardwell
	vs.	Costs $2.00 to Shff Sullivan
	S.L. Nason
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
11	Frank Montgomery Et al	Under Genl Order 31 P3d
	vs
		$2.00 Costs to Shff Robinson
	Wm Bell	Entered against Complainants
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
12	Sallie Valentine	Genl Ord No 31 P1st
	vs
		$2.00 Costs to Shff Robinson
	S.S. Lipton
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
13	Linda Pearson	Habitual cruel treatment. Com-
	vs	pelling Compl[lainan]t to leave con
		sider provisions of Genl Order
	H.J. Pearson	No 31 No1
		$2.00 Costs to Shff Sullivan
		Oct 26 1867 an acct of 6.80 pre-
		sented by H.J. Pearson & allowed as a...
		said notee bal 53.20 paid over this day
		her
		Malinda X Pearson
		mark
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
14	Z Smith witnesses	Murder of freedman, Coleman,
	The State	Deft was arraigned before
	vs	M.E. Owens, J.P. 2 and discharged.
	James P. Curry
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
15	George Henderson Et al	Complt that Deft wants them to
	vs	give draft …crop to pay
		small debts and they object.
	N. Sansing	He refuses to let them give him
		cotton…they will give the draft
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
16	Henry Mooty	Genl Order No 31 P1st violated
	vs
		No costs
	J. Conuga
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
17	Squire Wines	Complt of injustice in the
	vs	division of the crop
	Henry Bell	No costs
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
18	Caeser Bell Et al	Genl Order No 31 P3 violated
	vs
	Wm. Roche
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
19	Saml Farmer &	Genl Order No 31 P 1 violated
	Malissa Farmer
	vs	No costs
	Hicks Reives
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
20	Mac, alias for Nurridy Lamb	Unfair division of the crop
	vs
		No costs
	E.E. Bennett
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
21	Hanah [sic]	Genl Order No 31 P 1st violated
	vs	also refused to give up the
		property of Complt
	Barney Lee
		No costs
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
22	Perry High	Fraud in divison of crop
	vs
		No costs
	Dr. S. Cooper
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
23	Ceasar Bell Et al	Genl Order 31 P3d violated
	vs
		Costs $11.00 to be col by Shff Sullivan
	Wm Roche
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
24	Isaac [sic] Et al	Genl Order No 31, P 1 violated
	vs
	Wm Roche
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
25	Frank Gregory	Violation of Genl Order No 31 P 3d
	vs	Costs $2.00 to Shff Sullivan
	J.Y. Miles
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
26	Peter Keyes Et al	Costs $2.00 taxed to Deft
	vs
	Martin Sandifer
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
27	Sallie Miller	Violation Genl Order 31 P 1st
	vs
	C.R. Jordan, Executor, Mrs. Smith
	viz contracting party, (originally)
	John McDowell (lately)
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
28	Ceasar Sheppard	Genl Order No 31 P 3d
	vs
	Gideon Culpepper
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
29	Same Complt	Genl Order 31 P 1st
	vs
	Same Deft
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
30	Milly Sandifer	Genl Order 31 P 1st
	vs
	John Parham
	Disposition and remarks
	Names of Parties	Cause of Action
31	Charles Kinnard	Genl Order No 31 P 1
	vs
	J.C. Halbert
	Disposition and remarks

Disposition & Remarks to come...