The U.S. government developed The Freedman’s Bank after the Civil War so freed slaves and their family members could set up a savings account to help relieve extreme economic hardships.
Although the institution and its branches lasted for less than a decade, they left behind invaluable records containing registers of signatures, names of depositors’ immediate family members and names of depositors’ former owners.
You can access HeritageQuest for free with your Crestview Public Library card through our website or you can use our dedicated HeritageQuest computer in the reference area. This database houses other genealogical information, such as the complete set of U.S. Federal Census images from 1790-1940 and records from the Revolutionary War Era Pension & Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files.
Marie Garcia is the Crestview Public Library's assistant library director.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CHECK IT OUT: Get Freedman’s Bank Records via HeritageQuest