Spotlight: Virginius Jones, Company K

“Virginia, Freedmen’s Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872,” database with images, FamilySearch (Fort Monroe, assistant subassistant commissioner) > Roll 130, Registers of freedmen sent to New England states, 1866-1867 > image 1 of 31; citing NARA microfilm publication M1913 (College Park, Maryland: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

This soldier applied for his pension from Lynn, Massachusetts. How come? He was one of hundreds of people that the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (BRFAL) transported to places that had worker shortages. I was browsing when I found him. I repeated the usual search strategies e.g. truncating the character string, using spelling variants — and still haven’t found him that way. A hint to the wise: Searchable indexes aren’t foolproof. When you find something of interest, make a note because you might never find it again.

Note: At an evening campfire in Spring 1864 Jones’s pistol fired accidentally and shot my great-great-uncle William Thomas Pitt through the ankle.

Note: Until the National Archives in Washington, DC re-opens to the public I will spotlight individuals whose sketches have been published — along with a new and interesting fact that wasn’t mentioned in the original post. Click on the individual’s name in this entry to view the original sketch.