New York State Assembly Petitions and Reports Relating to Colleges and Schools

Chronological.

These records reflect the legislature's functions to incorporate schools and colleges and to appropriate funds and grant land for their operation.

This series contains many petitions (including a few printed ones) from: local committees; churches; school superintendents or officials; and other interested individuals.

The petitions seek: to incorporate a school; assistance in establishing, maintaining, or expanding a school; funding for use by schools for specified purposes; and permission to sell land to raise money for the school.

Related records in the series include: Regents reports to the legislature on the status of education in New York, including the status of individual colleges; reports of colleges to the Regents; reports of committees (e.g. Standing Committee on Colleges, Academies and Common Schools) on petitions referred to them; and proposed legislation concerning common schools and other education-related issues.

Records relate to public and private schools such as: Union College (Schenectady); Columbia College (New York City); College of Physicians and Surgeons (New York City); Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb (New York City); African free schools (New York City); and common schools in various localities.

Two petitions are of special note. One is dated February 25, 1805, in which DeWitt Clinton and others urged that free schools be publically supported, to preserve an enlightened government. Another is a petition by the Economical School in New York City (incorporated 1810), dated January 6, 1821, asking for additional state funds to provide for the education of children of French immigrants.

Microfilm is available for use at the New York State Archives or through interlibrary loan.

Alphabetical corporate and personal name index.

In the 1830s the secretary of state's office bound these records as Volume 42 of "Assembly Papers," but the volume suffered burn damage and was disbound following the 1911 State Capitol fire.

Free Schools Publically Supported (petition). The first page of this item was removed from the series (Volume 42, p. 103) as part of the Freedom Train exhibit that traveled the state from January 1949 to February 1950 (L. 1948, Ch. 659).

Education of Children of French Immigrants (petition). This item was removed from the series (Volume 42, p. 520) as part of the Freedom Train exhibit.

Access to original records is restricted due to severe burn damage sustained in the 1911 New York State Capitol building fire. Microfilm is first use copy.