New York State Department of Health Register of Licensed Midwives

A sanitary code was produced by the Public Health Council of the State of New York in 1915 to regulate the practice of midwifery and establish rules regarding licensing procedures. Regulation seven within the sanitary code relates to the bound ledger contained in this series. It states that from 1915 and thereafter, a midwife must be registered with the State if she wishes to practice legally. The register reflects the State's licensing policies by documenting the granting and revocation of individuals' licenses.

This series consists of a single bound register titled, "Official Register of Licensed Midwives." It was created by the Department of Health to monitor and regulate the licensing of midwives as required by the Sanitary Code.

The volume's pages are divided into columns with room for five individual's entries on each page. Data within the column entries includes: license number, granted or renewed (for one year), full name, post-office address, district number, age (and language if other than English), diploma (D) or experience (E), and remarks. A heading on the top of every page reads 'Department of Health's Sanitary Code, Chapter IV, Regulation 7' which refers to a set of codes describing policy regulations of midwifery.

Each entry typically includes several dates licenses were granted or renewed. Licenses lasted for one year before they expired. District number has been crossed out and replaced by license returned date, or sometimes license number. If 'D' is given for Diploma, often the school or exam that issued the diploma is noted. Women's ages range from early twenties to late seventies. A variety of European languages are represented. The remarks section includes information regarding license approval, revocations, recommendations, experience, and personal information.

An index is available in the front of the volume, alphabetical by last name, with each individual's license number included. The rest of the ledger is in license number order. Licenses run from 1-865.

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