Help Desk Number:
(404) 978-2052
Freedmen's Aid Society Records
1866-1932 (bulk dates 1888-1932)
48 linear feet (119 microfilm reels - Scholarly Resources)Research use restricted to microfilm only
NOTE: A paper copy of the finding aid, with container list, is available at the Woodruff Library Archives & Special Collections Department for in-house consultation and may be available via Interlibrary Loan.
Founded in 1866, the Freedmen's Aid Society (FAS) was an agency of the Methodist Episcopal Church created to establish schools and colleges for Negroes in the South. The Society provided support for teachers in the institutions begun by or connected with the FAS and helped educate young men for the ministry. The Society was directed by a Board of Managers who were elected by the General Conference. In 1920 the Society was reorganized as the Board of Education for Negroes. At the creation of the Methodist Church in 1939, the Board of Education for Negroes was absorbed into the work of the Board of Education.
The collection is comprised primarily of correspondence and financial papers that document the business transactions and administrative activities of the Society. There are letters of appeal for contributions from local churches, acknowledgments of donations, and correspondence related to the placement of individuals as instructors in institutions founded by the Society. Much of this correspondence is contained in 100 letterpress books. Another significant category of correspondence documents the relationship between the Society and the 22 educational institutions it supported. There are financial papers contained in bound receipt books that are largely a listing of receipts from donors. Also, there are minutes of the Society dating 1878-1922. There is a small amount of material about the Stewart Missionary Foundation for Africa dating from 1911-1932 that includes bylaws, financial papers and an annual report.
Related collection:
Atlanta University Presidential Records, 1856-1984