Central New York Institution for Deaf Mutes Daybook of School Accounts

Chronological by month and therein by account name.

The series consists of a microfilm copy of one volume used to record daily journal entries of receipts and disbursements made at the Central New York Institution for Deaf Mutes from December 31, 1875 through September 30, 1879. The institution, which was predecessor to the New York State School for the Deaf at Rome, was privately owned and received state and local government funding to support deaf mute children at public expense.

County support was authorized by Chapter 213 of the Laws of 1875; children under 12 years old could be maintained at the school by their county of residency. State legislative appropriations helped the school expand as the number of students increased, and aided construction of permanent buildings (the school rented space when it first opened in 1875). Chapter 13 of the Laws of 1876 authorized the superintendent of public instruction to appoint as "state pupils" deaf and dumb persons aged 12 to 25. The state comptroller disbursed funds for board and tuition of such pupils.

The daybook lists expenses for the following institutional accounts: medical; fuel; rent and insurance; stationery and postage; groceries and provisions; furniture and fixtures; clothing; labor; printing; salaries and wages; "contingent" or "sundries"; and "miscellaneous".

There are also individual accounts for pupils, itemizing costs of shoes and clothing (which could be subsidized by the county if not provided by the student's parents), and county accounts showing charges and payments by respective county treasurers for the support and education of pupils attending the school from that county. Students are sometimes listed individually with the dates or term for which the county payment applied. Upstate counties are represented, especially those in central and northern New York State. Also noted are payments from the state comptroller for quarterly bills of "state pupils," who are sometimes listed individually with their state certification number.

Entries are in manuscript and appear on pages 1 through 519 of the volume. They typically include: date; name of account; itemized amounts (e.g., articles of clothing, name of merchant or laborer paid, monthly payroll); and amount debited or credited. Numbers preceding the entries apparently represent assigned bookkeeping categories (e.g., Cash, 143; Wayne County, 107) and may refer or relate to totals in other (unknown) ledgers.

Microfilm is available for use at the New York State Archives or through inter-library loan.

Microfilm: 1 roll; 35 mm.

This material was microfilmed by State Archives staff in 1993 as part of a grant funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Original volume was returned to the State School for the Deaf after filming.

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