The Southern Claims Commission affected those states
shown in blue in the map above.
 

Determine which of your ancestors might be in the records of the SCC.

Study the map above that shows in blue the 12 states to which the SCC applied. Then make a list of all your ancestors who lived during the Civil War in one of those states. 

No matter what a person's wealth or ethnic background was, his or her presence in one of those states during the Civil War makes it possible that he or she was in some way included in the SCC records.

Did your person file a claim with the SCC? 

To find out, check the Consolidated Index of Claims for your person. This index is alphabetical by name of claimants and provides

• the state in which the claim was filed
• the status of the claim (approved, disallowed, or barred
  • approved = received some money
  • disallowed = claim denied, no money received
  • barred = barred due to failure to submit sufficient evidence by the deadline set by the Commission
• the office and report number if disallowed (Write these down. They are vital!)

• the amount of money claimed and how much was allowed - if any.
• the nature of the claim (horses, corn, wheat, or other quartermaster stores)

Once you know a claimant's location by state, then it is helpful to find out the county. Gary Mills has produced two references that tell the county for each SCC claim. These references are

• Southern Loyalists in the Civil War: The Southern Claims Commission   (in alphabetical order by name of claimant; also provides county name, office number, report number, and status of claim) [R973.745/M657S] 
• Civil War Claims in the South: An Index of Civil War Damage Claims Filed Before the Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880 (in alphabetical order by state, then by name of claimant) [R973.717/M657C]

Find out who in a specific county or neighborhood filed claims.

Whether your ancestor filed a claim or not, it is important to review the list of claimants from your ancestor's county and maybe even neighboring counties to see who did file claims. Check the Geographical List of SCC claimants to see who filed claims from a specific county. This list is organized by state, then county, then name of applicant.

• When you work with the Geographical List, locate the section for the state and county in which your ancestor lived and review  the claimants.
• How many claimants do you recognize from that county? 
  Were any of them relatives or neighbors to your person?
  If your ancestor was a slave prior to the Civil War, is one of the claimants possibly his or her last slave owner?
• Print a copy of the claimants from each county of interest. Whether your ancestor filed a claim or not, he or she may have given an affidavit on behalf of a relative, neighbor, former slave or slave owner, or may have been described or discussed in someone else's affidavit. The SCC records for people from your ancestor's county tell about the "neighborhood" and events that occurred there during the Civil War.

Approved  |  Barred  |  Disallowed