Southern Claims Commission Records

Southern Loyalists in the Civil War, by Gary B. Mills, R 973.745 M657S and circulating copy; also available on Ancestry

Lists all claimants in alphabetical order; further tells state and county, commission (claim) number, office and report numbers (needed to find disallowed claims), year, and status of claim. This is considered the definitive index for Southern Claims.

Civil War Claims in the South: An Index of Civil War Damage Claims File​d Before the Southern Claims Commission, 1871–1880, by Gary B. Mills, R 973.717 M657C

Lists claims by states, then alphabetically by name of claimant and includes the county and claim number. Use Southern Loyalists or Consolidated Index for the additional information needed to pursue a claim.

Consolidated Index of Claims Reported by the Commissioner of Claims to the House of Representativ​es from 1871 to 1880, compiled under supervision of J. B. Holloway  R 929.3 U58C

Lists all claimants in alphabetical order; further tells state, commission (claim) number, office and report numbers (needed to find  disallowed claims), year, amount claimed, amount allowed, amount disallowed, status, and nature of claim (animals, crops, lumber, etc.)

This index is available on the following National Archives microfilm publications:

• P2257, Part 1, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives: Southern Claims Commission, 1871–1880 [Best copy]
• M87 – roll 14, Records of the Commissioners of Claims (Southern Claims Commission, 1871–1880) 
• M1407, first four fiche, Barred and Disallowed Case Files of the Southern Claims Commission, 1871–1880.

A Descriptive Pamphlet (DP) tells about the records on a particular film/fiche set. It also includes an individual fiche list or roll-by-roll list which can determine the fiche or roll of film needed for a specific claim. The following links lead to complete copies of the DP for each listed film/fiche set (in PDF format) on the History and Genealogy Web site: 

• M87 | Records of the Commissioners of Claims (Southern Claims Commission, 1871–1880)
• M1407 | Barred and Disallowed Case Files of the Southern Claims Commission, 1871–1880
• M2062 | Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871–1880: Alabama
• M1658 | Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871–1880: Georgia
• M2094 | Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871–1880: Virginia
• M1762 | Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871–1880: West Virginia
• M2007 | Roll List for U.S. Court of Claims Docket Cards for Congressional Case Files, ca. 1884-1943

PART 1

PART 2

APPENDIX