Research

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of two registers of incoming correspondence and an index to the registers. Most of the correspondence was addressed to the governor. The letters were either answered by the governor or referred to other officials for response. The registers, with the running title "Diary of Letters Received at the Executive Department" at the top of the pages, provide the following for each letter received: date; from whom received; to whom addressed (usually the governor); to be answered by (e.g. governor, comptroller, initials of an individual); date answered; and phrase indicating topic of the letters, often so brief as to give little indication of the actual contents of the letter.

Topics of letters received vary widely. Many concern supplies or appointment of officers for Civil War regiments. Others concern requests for pardons for convicted criminals, applications for appointment to civil offices, invitations to meetings, and other, generally routine matters.

The index covers both registers. For each letter of the alphabet, all of the correspondence in Volume 1 (register 1) is indexed first, followed by the correspondence in Volume 2 (register 2). The index provides the following information for each item of correspondence: page; name; date; disposition (to whom referred); and remarks (a three- or four-word phrase indicating the topic of the letter).