New York State Governor Extradition Requisition and Mandate Registers and Blotters

Chronological by date of requisition or mandate or by date granted.

This series documents the governor's responsibilities as chief executive officer of the state relating to extradition of persons to or from New York State. "Requisitions" were requests by the governor to governors of other states for extradition of persons present in those states to New York. "Mandates" were requests from governors of other states to the governor of New York for extradition of persons present in New York to those states. The governor exercised final approval or disapproval over these mandates.

Volumes 1-9 are registers in which information about persons to be extradited is entered on each page case by case (volumes 1-2) or in columns on pre-printed pages (volumes 3-9). Volumes 3-9 are each divided into two sections, one for requisitions and one for mandates. With some variations, the registers generally provide the following information: date; state requesting extradition or receiving extradition requisition; name of person to be extradited; documentation supporting requisition or mandate (e.g. indictment, warrant, affidavit); crime; date committed (volumes 3-9); county; to whom writ sent; and date granted or, very rarely, denied (volumes 3-9).

Volume 2 also contains a section of "Reports of Agents and Wardens Under Chapter 417, Laws of 1862" providing information about convicts eligible for discharge by commutation of sentence. This record, from about 1862, is the precursor to series A0601, Reports of Deductions of Sentences by Prison Agents, Wardens, and Superintendents, 1863-1883, and A0604, Registers of Discharges of Convicts by Commutation of Sentences, 1883-1916, and provides the following information for each eligible convict: name; prison; date of sentence; term; and number of days of commutation earned.

Volumes 10-13 are blotters into which are pasted pre-printed slips with information filled in. The slips contain the same information on each case as do the entries in the registers. Information is present only for 1914, 1927, and 1937-1938. The location of records for other years is unknown, although it is possible that some of these blotter slips were filed in series A0608, Blotters of Governors' Actions and Decisions.

Volume 10 was originally intended to be used to record information on extradition mandates and requisitions, pardons, commutations, restorations of citizenship rights, and other matters, but only slips regarding mandates and requisitions were actually included, and those for requisitions were later torn out of the volume, leaving only mandates. It is possible that some of these blotter slips were filed in series A0608, Blotters of Govenor's Actions and Decisions.

Volume 11 contains slips for a small number of pardons as well as both requisitions and mandates. The pardon slips provide date sentenced, term, and prison as well as the same information provided for requisitions and mandates. They apparently all concern pardons of foreign-born convicts, since all have notations on them such as "Naturalization" or "To Prevent Deportation."

A0607Series A0607, Journals of Governor's Actions and Decisions

A0608Series A0608, Blotters of Governors' Actions and Decisions and

A0622Series A0622, Ledgers of Governors' Actions and Decisions, contain related records regarding requisitions and mandates.

Volumes 3-9 each contain two roughly alphabetical name indexes: one for the "requisitions" section, and one for the "mandates" section.

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