New York State Superintendent of Public Works Job Application Registers

Given the superintendent of public works' responsibility for canal maintenance and his role in hiring employees as a member of the State Canal Board, the applicants listed in these volumes were most likely seeking work in the state's canal system.

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Works used the two volumes in this series to record the names of applicants for employment, their trades, and the persons by whom these applicants were recommended. In the first volume, which spans from April to October 1891, applicants are grouped by name of individual recommending them for employment. Most individuals making recommendations are state legislators, but other state and local officials, attorneys, clergymen, and military officers also appear. Within each grouping, applicants are listed in chronological order by date of application. The trade of each applicant is listed; examples include stone cutter, mason, blacksmith, carpenter, laborer, clerk, machinist, painter, and derrickman. The notation "on" is written next to the names of certain apllicants, possibly signifying hiring action taken. This volume includes a name index solely to individuals making recommendations.

In the second volume, which spans from April to June 1895, all applicants are grouped alphabetically by last name, and then subgrouped by trade. While the same variety of trades referenced above also appears here, the vast majority of applicants are classified as stone cutters. Within each subgrouping, applicants appear in chronological order by date of application. The name of the individual recommending each applicant (not all applicants were recommended), along with title and/or affiliation, is listed alongside applicant name. No name index is available for this volume.

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