Research


New York State Department of State Oaths of Office of Elected and Appointed State Officers


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Overview of the Records

Repository:

New York State Archives
New York State Education Department
Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230

Summary:
This series consists of oaths of offices of both elected and appointive officials and provide the name of the official to be sworn in; a copy of the text of the oath; date; title of office; and the signatures of the official sworn in, the Secretary of the State and/or the public official authorized to administer the oath. Some oaths, administered to the Legislature as a group, include member signature; county; address; age; profession; and birthplace.
Creator:
Title:
New York State Department of State oaths of office of elected and appointed state officers
Quantity:

54.25 cubic feet

73 volumes

Inclusive Dates:
1778-2007
Series Number:
B0018

Arrangement

B0018-94, B0018-99: Arranged by legislative house and therein chronological by date of filing.

B0018-03, B0018-08: Chronological by date of filing.

B0018-16: Unarranged.

Administrative History

The oaths were recorded pursuant to Chapter 28 of the Laws of 1778, which required all persons holding offices or places under the state government to take an oath swearing to support the constitutions of the United States and New York State, as well as Revised Statutes (1829), Part I, Chap. 5, Art. 3 and Public Officers Law, sect. 10.

"State Officer" includes the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, members of the Legislature, justices of the Supreme Court, and Regents of the University of the State of New York. "State officer" also includes every other officer appointed by a state officer or by the Legislature who is authorized to exercise official functions throughout the entire state. The oaths of state officers are filed in the office of the Secretary of State.

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of bound volumes and one box of unbound oaths of offices for a variety of public offices. The oaths of office contain the signatures of both elected and appointive officials and provide the name of the official to be sworn in, a copy of the text of the oath, the date, title of office and the signatures of the official sworn in, the Secretary of the State and/or the public official authorized to administer the oaths. The formats of the volumes differ from one another reflecting changes in the administration of the oaths.

Some of the earliest oaths are written on parchment sheets of varying sizes that were then bound into volumes. Later oaths were printed on forms and signed by the elected or appointed official. Four of the volumes in the series, covering the years 1856-1879, include oaths of office administered to each session of the legislature as a group. Those volumes include signature of Senator or Assembly member and his county, post office address, age, profession, and birthplace. For the most part the volumes are arranged in chronological order with most of them containing some sort of an index (name or title of office).

Other Finding Aids

Available at Repository

Volume lists for accretions, except for B0018-08, are available at the repository.

Custodial History

B0018-78: Early accretions for 1924, 1948, 1949 were changed to accession year 1978, the year the Archives opened. These three accretions were changed to B0018-78, B0018-78A, B0018-78B to facilitate access. In 2000, volumes were relabeled and the existing finding aid revised to reflect the new arrangement into single accretion B0018-78.

B0018-03: Although no documentation exists regarding the transfer of these volumes, they were most likely transferred to the State Archives by the Department of State. The volumes were accessioned in conjunction with a project undertaken by Archives staff in 2003 to describe or integrate estrayed or unidentified records. The volumes fill chronological gaps that exist both within B0018-78 and between B0018-78 and B0018-79.

Access Restrictions

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

Access Terms

Geographic Name(s):
Subject(s):

Detailed Description

Dates Contents Box Folder

Accretion: B0018-16
1983 Mario Cuomo, Governor 1 1 1
1990-1992 Robert Adams, Attorney General 1 2
1983 David Axelrod, Commissioner of Health 1 3
1979 Thomas Coughlin III, Commissioner of Correctional Services 1 4
1984 R. Wayne Diesel, Director of Budget 1 5
1983-1993 H. Carl McCall, Comptroller 1 6
Undated Edward V. Regan, Comptroller 1 7
1983 Gail Shaffer 1 8
1986 O.P. Sherwood, Solicitor General 1 9
1988 James Wetzler, Commissioner of Tax and Finance 1 10
1985 Patricia Adduci, Commissioner of Motor and Vehicles 1 11
1983 Roderick Chu, Commissioner of Tax and Finance 1 12
1983 James Corcoran, Superintendent of Insurance 1 13
1983 May 24 Alfred Delbello, Lieutenant Governor 1 14
1983 Michael Finnerty, Director of Budget 1 15
1992 John Hudacs, Commissioner of Labor 1 16
1991 Stan Lundine. Lieutenant Governor 1 17
1988 Richard Surles, Commissioner of Mental Health 1 18
1987 Vincent Tese, Commissioner of Commerce 1 19
1985 Sol Wachtler, Chief Judge of Court Appeals 1 20