Research

Syracuse State School Daily Census and Activity Registers


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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:
The series consists of daily registers that record the population and activities of patients at the Syracuse State School and its predecessors. Starting in 1883, the asylum purchased and remodeled farm buildings at which older students were placed to learn farming and to produce crops. By 1931 the Syracuse State School had fifteen such "colonies" (eight junior boys' colonies, three senior boys' colonies, and four girls' colonies) and the work activities noted in these registers reflect that system.
Creator:
Title:
Daily census and activity registers
Quantity:

3 cubic feet

14 volumes

Inclusive Dates:
1882-1931
Series Number:
B1641

Arrangement

Chronological.

Scope and Content Note

The series consists of daily registers that record the population and activities of patients at the Syracuse State School (" S.S.S.") and its predecessors (the State Asylum for Idiots, Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children, and Syracuse State School for Mental Defectives). Starting in 1883, the asylum purchased and remodeled farm buildings at which older students were placed to learn farming and to produce crops. By 1931 the Syracuse State School had 15 such "colonies" (eight junior boys' colonies, three senior boys' colonies, and four girls' colonies) and the work activities noted in these registers reflect that system.

The form of entries varies slightly over time, but volumes typically provide patient names under categories of "admissions," "discharges and deaths," and (sometimes) "transfers;" separate enumeration of boy and girl patients, and totals; the number of patient "pupils" (boys and girls in school, or absent because of sickness); and the number of patients "employed" and the nature of their work (e.g. "farm and garden," "stable," "kitchen," "shops," "bakery," " housework," "laundry," " knitting"). The earliest volumes list numbers of males and females, and numbers of those pupils, in columns, designated as "sick," "wet," and [suffering from] "fits."

Related Material

B1674 Population Census, 1925-1949, contains census information that post-dates some of these records.

Other Finding Aids

Available at Repository

Volume list is available at the repository.

Access Restrictions

Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Access Terms

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