Research

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of accounts submitted by the Canal Commissioners for audit by the Comptroller's office. It includes original contracts made by the Commissioners for the Construction of the Erie and Champlain Canals with their locks, feeders, aqueducts, etc., accompanied by contractors' receipts for payment; check rolls for labor submitted by Superintendents of construction; abstracts and vouchers of the principal engineers and their assistants; and various documents relating to canal finances.

Many of the papers were filed in small drawers labeled with the name of the Commissioner and the numbers of the documents within. (Most are for Henry Seymour, a few are for William C. Bouck, Myron Holley, and Samuel Young.) Others were bundled in red tape and labeled in a mid 19th century hand; others are completely disorganized. After 1827 the various documents in this series were filed separately.