After the Civil War, when there were hundreds of thousands of newly emancipated Slaves in North Carolina, many of them moved to the Western part of the State with the hopes of finding jobs or some ways of feeding their families. Mecklenburg Co. became the hub of Freedmen activity where the U.S. Government arranged for plantation owners from the Deep South to contract with the former slaves for employment, in return for wages, food, clothing and shelter. There were many thousands of Freedmen who signed up for the jobs, most included moving their entire families with them to their new locations. If your ancestors were living in some of the other Southern States, but were listed as born in NC, it's very possible they may have been some of the men, women and children who were transported there as part of this program. Following is a listing of names from those records.

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 Names of Destitute Freedmen employed under contract of D.W. Barrow and to be transported by Government from Charlotte, NC to Plaquemine, Louisiana.
Charlotte, NC, March 1, 1867
Transport Sam Robertson (107) Adults & 16 children under 12 years Destitute Freed People from Charlotte, NC to Columbia, SC En route from Charlotte, NC to Plaquemins, LA.