Finding Aid Search
- People with mental disabilities--Institutional care--New York (State) (17)
- Intellectual disability facilities (9)
- Intellectual disability facilities patients (7)
- Children with mental disabilities--New York (State) (5)
- Associations, institutions, etc.--Management (3)
- Autopsy (1)
- Children with mental disabilities--Mortality--New York (State) (1)
- Children with mental disabilities--Vocational education--New York (State) (1)
- Developmentally disabled (1)
- Escapes (1)
- Governors--New York (State) (1)
- People with mental disabilities (1)
- People with mental disabilities--Institutional care (1)
- Vocational rehabilitation (1)
- Wages--Accounting (1)
- New York (State). Department of Mental Hygiene (17)
- New York (State). Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (17)
- Syracuse Developmental Center (13)
- New York State Asylum for Idiots (4)
- Syracuse State School (3)
- Syracuse State School for Mental Defectives (2)
- New York (State). Executive Department (1)
- New York (State). Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (1)
- Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children (1)
Displaying 19 Finding Aids
Title
- County admission registers
Series Number
- B1665
Summary
- This series consists of registers, organized by county, listing those admitted to the Syracuse Developmental Center (from the time it was called the New York State Asylum for Idiots, through all successive institutional name changes). The first volume lists name; town; class; age; sex; color; nativity; date admitted; how supported; how clothed; by whom committed; date discharged; date died; and remarks. Volumes 2 and 3 list name; number; age; date admitted; by whom committed; town; nativity; religion; date discharged; to whom discharged; and remarks.
Creator
- Syracuse Developmental Center
Access Restrictions
- Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
Title
- Syracuse State School record of paroles/releases
Series Number
- B1664
Summary
- This series records those released "on parole" from the Syracuse State School, formerly the Syracuse State School for Mental Defectives (until 1919). Most volumes simply list name, date of parole, and date of return or discharge. Occasionally there are references, with dates, to escapes (elopement) or the reason for parole. There are rare mentions of transfer or death.
Creator
- Syracuse State School
Access Restrictions
- Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
Title
- Syracuse State School meeting minutes and reports of board of visitors and director
Series Number
- B1654
Summary
- The series consists of monthly reports of the board of visitors and the director of the Syracuse State School, as well as minutes of general and girls' staff meetings held at the school. Laws establishing the school and appointing its board of visitors and superintendent (later director) required such reporting. Transmittal letters are typically included. Reports of the school's director, which include general statistics on patients and frame the narrative of the visitors' reports, are very often attached.
Creator
- Syracuse State School
Access Restrictions
- Records identifying individual students are restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
Title
- Institutional accounts
Series Number
- B1683
Summary
- This series consists of accounts of money received and expended by the New York State Asylum for Idiots and the Syracuse Institution for Feeble-Minded Children. Accounts show bills paid; institutional receipts and disbursements and statements for goods purchased. Included are superintendent's accounts; receipts and disbursements; institutional expenses; and goods purchased from vendors.
Creator
- Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children
Access Restrictions
- There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.
Title
- Boards of Visitors meeting minutes
Series Number
- B2324
Summary
- This series consists of Governor W. Averell Harriman's copies of meeting minutes from the various Boards of Visitors from state institutions. Also included are reports to the Boards of Visitors by the director or superintendent of the institution under the Board's care or reports of the Boards of Visitors to the Governor and the acknowledgement of their receipt.
Creator
- New York (State). Governor (1955-1958 : Harriman)
Access Restrictions
- Reports created by the Division for Youth are restricted in accordance with Executive Law, section 501-c(1)(b), relating to confidentiality of individuals in custody of the Division for Youth (now Office of Children and Family Services). Reports created by the Department of Mental Hygiene are restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records.
- Other records may be exempt from disclosure by New York State Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) section 87.2(a).
Title
- Annual reports
Series Number
- B1700
Summary
- The series consists of annual reports that were transmitted to the State Legislature or the Department of Mental Hygiene as required by law. Included are annual reports of the trustees of the New York State Asylum for Idiots and annual reports of the Syracuse State School.
Creator
- Syracuse State School
Access Restrictions
- There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.
Title
- Executive Committee meeting minutes
Series Number
- B1675
Summary
- The series consists of minutes of meetings of the "Executive Committee" of the New York State Asylum for Idiots, held roughly once a month between 1855 and 1891. Meetings are described as "informal" in the minutes, and the bulk of entries list bills audited. Lists show vendor/company and amount owed. Sometimes those conducting the audit are named. Damage to opening pages of the volume obscures information on the first few reported meetings.
Creator
- New York State Asylum for Idiots
Access Restrictions
- Restricted due to severe mold damage. Closed pending conservation treatment.
Title
- Record of escapes
Series Number
- B1661
Summary
- This series records those who escaped from Syracuse State School during the period 1934-1953. Entries are arranged according to the month in which the escape was reported; this roughly corresponds to a chronological arrangement by actual escape date (an escape may have occurred earlier than the month in which it is recorded). Periodic notes appear recording dates that escapes were reported to the Medical Inspector (probably during routine checks of the facility).
Creator
- Syracuse State School
Access Restrictions
- Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
Title
- Population census
Series Number
- B1674
Summary
- The series consists of monthly census summaries enumerating, by gender, the population of the Syracuse State School and its outlying colonies and cottages. Aggregate numbers, not names of individuals, are provided. Data document the expansion of the institution's colony system, as well as how regular admissions, discharges, elopements, and the policy of paroling residents affect total institutional population at a given time.
Creator
- Syracuse State School
Access Restrictions
- There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.
Title
- Monthly payroll books
Series Number
- B1667
Summary
- This series consists of monthly payrolls "of attendants and servants" at the New York State Asylum for Idiots (1876-1890) and the Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children (1891-1911). Occupations of those listed include cook, baker, seamstress, table girl, nurse, attendant, gardener, hall girl, farmer, engineer, man, gymnast, and carpenter, among others. Payroll format changes slightly over time.
Creator
- Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children
Access Restrictions
- There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.
Title
- Assorted estrayed institutional records
Series Number
- B1698
Summary
- This series contains an assortment of unrelated records that were apparently removed from institutional records for purposes of research or exhibit. Volumes include: an admissions book (July 1925-June 1926); a parole/elopement book (May-December 1917); a book of escapes (April 1953-August 1957); a clothing account check book (mostly blank) with receipts for the New York Asylum for Idiots (ca. 1862); and a hospital admission/discharge book (1928). It also contains an assortment of apparently unrelated material collected for historical or documentary significance.
Creator
- Syracuse Developmental Center
Access Restrictions
- Restricted in part in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities. Restricted records in accession B1698-00 are located in Box 2.
Title
- Taconic Developmental Disabilities Services Office Deputy Director's subject files
Series Number
- B2797
Summary
- This series contains the subject files of former deputy directors of the Taconic Developmental Disabilities Services Office. Included are the records of Mark Searle, Barbara Stapholz, and Michael Kirchner. Files consists of meeting minutes, monthly reports, personnel files, memorandums, and other records.
Creator
- New York (State). Taconic Developmental Disabilities Services Office
Access Restrictions
- Records identifying clients are restricted in accordance with Section 33.13, Mental Hygiene Law, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
Title
- Syracuse State School receipt books
Series Number
- B1677
Summary
- This series consists of volumes recording monies received by the Syracuse State School for support of pupils (perhaps private pay). Information includes date, name of payee, amount received, student name, and initials of the official receiving the funds. There are no entries for the period January 9, 1953 - August 3, 1961. Records are restricted.
Creator
- Syracuse State School
Access Restrictions
- Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
Title
- Record of deaths
Series Number
- B1662
Summary
- This series records deaths of residents at the New York State Asylum for Idiots (1851-1890), later known as the Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children (1891-1895). Basic information includes number, name, age, sex, date admitted, and date of death. Following are more detailed narratives on "description of case" (physical characteristics, mental development), "history of case" (medical), "causes of death," and "post-mortem appearance." When no autopsy was performed, the latter category typically includes brief information on disposition of the body.
Creator
- Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children
Access Restrictions
- Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
Title
- Letterpress copybooks of purchase orders
Series Number
- B1678
Summary
- This series consists of copies of purchase orders for goods sent to vendors by the Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children. Entries show order date, company/vendor name, description of goods and cost. Copies that were poorly pressed are hard to read. Also included is an alphabetical name index at the end of each volume.
Creator
- Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children
Access Restrictions
- There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.
Title
- Syracuse Developmental Center historic prints and negatives
Series Number
- B1691
Summary
- These historic photographs were collected and displayed by Syracuse Developmental Center staff in the facility's museum. Most images date from the 1920s when the institution was the Syracuse State Institution for Mental Defectives; half of them are student portraits.
Creator
- Syracuse Developmental Center
Access Restrictions
- Access to items depicting patients is restricted in accordance with Section 33.13, Mental Hygiene Law, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
Title
- Reports to the State Board of Charities
Series Number
- B1690
Summary
- The series consists of ten reports to the State Board of Charities by the Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children for fiscal years 1884/85 through 1893/94, and for 1900/01. Each two-page report form provides "schedule" and "compensation" data in seven broad categories: officers of the institution; capacity of buildings; valuation of real estate and personal property; receipts and expenses; outstanding indebtedness; assets; and population movement (census).
Creator
- Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children
Access Restrictions
- There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.
Title
- Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children private pay accounts
Series Number
- B1684
Summary
- This series consists of account books of receipts and disbursements by New York State Asylum and the Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children for board and clothing expenses for private pay students. Volume 1 shows cash received on account for "paying pupils." Entries include date; name; number; amount; monthly totals and cash received from fruit, livestock, scrap metal, and used items sold. Volume 2, which shows amounts received and disbursed for board and clothing expenses of students, is arranged by student name. Records are restricted.
Creator
- Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children
Access Restrictions
- Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
Title
- Syracuse Developmental Center Director's subject files
Series Number
- B1652
Summary
- Subject files of the director of Syracuse Developmental Center include staff meeting minutes, statistical charts on residents, monthly and annual departmental reports, manuals, handbooks, publications, and a small amount of general planning and administrative files. Of special interest is a small number of memorandums and reports on the school's education program.
Creator
- Syracuse Developmental Center
Access Restrictions
- Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.