In 1865, the Freedmen’s Bureau was established to support formerly-enslaved Black people.
One of its goals was to help our ancestors find long-lost spouses, relatives, and children, cruelly sold away. The following are petitions and letters written in attempts to find lost loved ones.
“I am desirous of bringing from Mississippi my three children ... who are now without protection and support ... set adrift in the world ... I have made every exertion to accumulate the means to travel ... but am still unable to go....”
“Dear Mother ... I am longing to hear from you ... I hope that I will see you before long ... If god [spares] my life I hope that we will meet once more again before we die. ... I remain your Daughter Sophy Brown.”
“I desire some information about my mother.... Her name was Hannah ... [The slaveowner] sold her when I was quite young ... [later, I was put] in jail and I cried, so he told me ... he would bring my mother ... [she] brought me some cake and candy, and that was the last time I saw her.”
The separation of families - children from parents, wives from husbands, and more - was one of the most inhumane aspects of slavery. Let this be a reminder for us to hold our loved ones close!