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• Full Finding Aid
• Overview
• Arrangement
• Scope and Contents
• Related Material
• Other Finding Aids
• Access Restrictions
• Custodial History
• Access Terms
• Detailed Description

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New York State Department of Public Instruction Office of the Superintendent Outgoing Correspondence

Some content may contain outdated and offensive terminology. See: New York State Archives Statement on Language in Descriptive Resources

Overview of the Records

Arrangement

Chronological by date written.

Scope and Content Note

These bound volumes contain copies of letters sent by the Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, and clerks in the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Volumes 1-41 contain manuscript copies, while subsequent volumes contain press copies, most of which are typed. The recipients of these letters include school, county, city, and state government officials, and private individuals.

These letters provide a detailed record of the administration of the Superintendent's Office. Among the subjects to which they relate are: school law and the authority of school officials; school tax disputes and the assessment of school taxes; disputes between local school officials; apportionment of public funds for schools; qualifications for holding local school offices and voting in school district elections; filing of appeals with the Superintendent's Office; creation and consolidation of school districts, including provisions of the Union Free School Act of 1853 (Chapter 433); certification and pay of teachers; conduct of teachers' institutes; administration of state normal schools; Indian students and schools; student discipline; appointments of students to state institutions for the deaf, dumb and blind, and of state scholarships to Cornell University; enforcement of compulsory education laws; vaccination of students; the merits of education-related bills pending before the state legislature; payment of school expenses; conditions of school buildings; and selection of books for school libraries.

At the end of each of volumes 6-7 and 10-41 is a table of permissions granted to trustees to amend tax lists. These tables provide information on the name and address of the person to whom permission was granted; the town, county, and school district number where the tax lists were to be amended; and in some cases the date of the previous tax list.

Although the so-called Unification Act of 1904 (Chapter 40) replaced the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction with that of Commissioner of Education effective April 1, 1904, this series continues for a short time past that date. Letters in the last volume are signed by the Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of Education and the Chief of the Division of Law.

The letters in Volume 2 are sequentially numbered to correspond with numbered letters received in the series of General Correspondence Received and Subject Files of Correspondence Received. There is a gap in this series for the period December 1855 to March 1863 and other scattered volumes are missing.

Related Material

04340 Incoming Correspondence

A2004 Subject Files of Correspondence Received and

A2003 Telegrams Received, contain related incoming correspondence

A2001 Teachers' Institute Registers of Attendance and Accounts of Expenses, contains additional related records

A2002 Registers of Telegrams Sent and

A2006 Outgoing Correspondence Relating to the State Teachers' Library, contain related outgoing correspondence

Other Finding Aids

Available at Repository

A2000-78: Volume list.

A2000-78: Volumes 1 and 2 indexed alphabetically by first letter of name of city or town of origin; Volumes 3-41 indexed alphabetically by first letter of recipient's last name.

Many of the indexes contain occasional other entries which reflect the subjects of letters or official titles of the recipients. In the volumes of press copies school commissioners are listed separately under each alphabet letter. Beginning with volume 153 (A2000-78A), the page references for letters to school commissioners are preceded by a letter which apparently corresponds to the last initial of the official who dictated the letter for the Superintendent's signature.

Custodial History

There are gaps in the original ("old") volume numbers. A2000-78 includes old volume numbers 1-41 (April 1854-June 1886). A2000-78A includes old volume numbers 56-253 (February 1888-April 1899), and old volume numbers 254-402 (February 1899-February 1907). Records were drawn from old accession number -324, collection #570 (boxes 1-62) and old accession number -385, collection #344 (remainder).

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.

Access Terms

Detailed Description