Finding Aid Search

Title

Governor Alfred E. Smith legislative program registers

Series Number

B2033

Summary

The governor's office used these registers to track the progress of the governor's legislative program during each session of the State Legislature. Entries are arranged by general subject (agriculture, child welfare, conservation, etc.) and then by specific subtopic therein. Subtopics include relevant contextual information from the governor's annual message, including page references, or similar information extracted from specific principles within the Democratic Party platform.

Creator

• New York (State). Governor (1923-1928 : Smith)

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Governor public information photographs

Series Number

13703

Summary

These photographic images were used as public relations vehicles for New York's governors. The photographs helped to publicize their official, and occasionally unofficial, activities. Most of the images reveal the routine activities that the governors' photographers were assigned to photograph. Records tend to be arranged by gubernatorial administration for the following governors: Thomas E. Dewey, W. Averell Harriman, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Malcolm Wilson, Hugh L. Carey, Mario M. Cuomo, and Eliot Spitzer.

Creator

• New York (State). Governor

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Governor press releases

Series Number

13688

Summary

Executive Chamber staff maintained these records as a central file of governor's press releases concerning all aspects of state government. Most are standard press releases publicizing appointments, new legislation, issues of concern to the governor, the governor's activities, or ceremonial occasions. Occasionally a press release will include, or consist entirely of, the text of a piece of legislation, a statement by the governor, an Executive Order or proclamation, or a government report.

Creator

• New York (State). Governor

Access Restrictions

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

Title

New York State Governor alphabetic card index to governors' correspondence files

Series Number

A3218

Summary

Staff of the Governor's office maintained this index to facilitate access to governors' correspondence files. The series indexes portions of three series: 1) Appointment Correspondence Files (series A0612), indexing files from 1907-1928; 2) Central Subject and Correspondence Files (series 13682), indexing files of Governor Alfred E. Smith; and 3) Investigation Case Files of Charges and Complaints Against Public Officials and Agencies (series A0531), indexing case files from about 1907-1920.

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Governor Hugh L. Carey central subject and correspondence files

Series Number

13682_82;_13682_83

Summary

Hugh L. Carey served as governor of New York from 1975 to 1982. He practiced fiscal conservatism by limiting government spending, while avidly defending social welfare programs that benefited the less fortunate. Records in this series document the governor's response to the New York City fiscal crisis and his efforts to overhaul the state's approach to care of the developmentally disabled. Records also document the governor's efforts in the areas of economic revitalization, environmental conservation, education policy, and criminal justice reform.

Creator

• New York (State). Governor (1975-1982 : Carey)

Access Restrictions

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

Title

New York State Governor registers of titles of bills signed by the governor

Series Number

A0602

Summary

This series consists of registers used to track legislative bills signed by the governor. For each entry, the volumes provide date signed; Senate or Assembly printed bill number or introductory number; and title of bill. A few entries from 1869-1870 indicate the governor's veto or "disapproval" of the bill and the date vetoed.

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Registers of commitments to prisons

Series Number

A0603

Summary

These registers report summary information on incarcerated individuals committed to state correctional institutions and selected county penitentiaries each month. Information is handwritten in columns on preprinted pages which were later bound into volumes for each year. Monthly reports from each institution provide the following information: name of incarcerated individual; county where convicted; crime; court; judge; date of sentence; date received at prison; term; and remarks (such as previous prison terms).

Creator

• New York (State). Governor

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Governor Mario M. Cuomo central subject and correspondence files

Series Number

13682_96D;_13682_97

Summary

Governor Mario M. Cuomo gained national prominence as a spokesman for the Democratic Party in challenging the leadership offered by Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Cuomo's central subject and correspondence document the governor's efforts to bring about change in the areas of low-income housing, abortion, civil rights, health care, criminal justice, and welfare reform. The records also document the governor's involvement in national politics during presidential election years.

Creator

• New York (State). Governor (1983-1994 : Cuomo)

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Ledgers of governors' actions and decisions

Series Number

A0622

Summary

These volumes provide a central record of appointments made and other actions taken by the governor. The volumes were compiled to provide the governor's staff with more organized access to this information. These records were kept pursuant to Laws of 1858, Chapter 64, which required the governor to record in books all applications made to him for appointments, pardons, commutations of sentences, or other gubernatorial actions, and to keep on file the original documentation relating to each application.

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller central subject and correspondence files

Series Number

13682_78

Summary

The central subject and correspondence files of Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller relate to such issues as the Vietnam War; civil defense during the Cold War; the Attica Correctional Facility inmate uprising; race relations and civil unrest; inflation; public housing; and the construction of the South Mall (Empire State Plaza) in Albany, New York.

Creator

• New York (State). Governor (1959-1973 : Rockefeller)

Title

Governor addresses

Series Number

13687

Summary

In addition to giving annual address the legislature, governors frequently address other organizations to communicate, publicize, and gain support for their policies. Consisting of transcripts of public speeches and remarks, these addresses pertain to the economy, including unemployment; assistance for the elderly; taxes; healthcare; programs for the developmentally disabled; crime; education; housing; and repair and maintenance of state infrastructure.

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Index to notary appointments and ledger of applications for office

Series Number

A0625

Summary

This volume contains information compiled from Series A0607, Journals of Governors' Actions and Decisions, to provide the governor's staff with improved access to especially heavily-used types of information recorded in the journals. The volume is divided into two sections: an index to notary public appointments, and a ledger containing information about applicants for offices.

Access Restrictions

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

Title

New York State Governor Hugh L. Carey press clippings

Series Number

13489

Summary

These clippings compiled by the Carey Administration track press coverage of the governor, his administration, policies, issues and events. The newspaper name and date of the article appear on each clipping. Major subject headings under which a subset of the clippings is organized include agriculture; business; prisons; education; elections; environment; judiciary; legislature and legislation; public utilities; and transportation. A second subset is arranged alphabetically by name and documents coverage of state and local government officials; Executive Chamber staff; business people and firms; organizations; politicians; and other prominent individuals.

Creator

• New York (State). Governor (1975-1982 : Carey)

Title

Notaries public appointment registers and correspondence

Series Number

A0600

Summary

The bulk of this series consists of registers tracking individuals applying for or appointed to the position of notary public. The series also includes ten letter copybooks containing outgoing correspondence from the "notarial desk" of the governor's office, usually replying to inquires regarding vacancies, appointments, and application and appointment policies and procedures.

Access Restrictions

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

Title

New York State Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt central subject and correspondence files

Series Number

13682_82A

Summary

During Franklin D. Roosevelt 's governorship, he administered the state's initial response to the Great Depression and advocated for social security benefits for the elderly, unemployment insurance, aid to the state's farmers, reform of utility rate-making policies, and development of the state's hydroelectric power resources. In addition to these topics, Roosevelt's subject and correspondence files document the governor's oversight of investigations of inefficiency, incompetence, and misconduct on the part of state and local government officials.

Creator

• New York (State). Governor (1929-1932 : Roosevelt)

Access Restrictions

Access to certain records documenting Moreland Act investigations is restricted. Records are subject to review by State Archives staff prior to disclosure.

Title

Governor audiovisual records

Series Number

13700

Summary

This series consists of audio and video tape cassettes, motion picture films, and reel-to-reel audio tapes documenting the activities of New York's governors. Included are tapes and films of Thomas E. Dewey, W. Averell Harriman, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Malcolm Wilson, Hugh L. Carey, and Mario M. Cuomo. The tapes and films cover such events as: gubernatorial inaugurations; annual state-of-the-state addresses; budget messages; press conferences; interviews; radio and television announcements; award and dedication ceremonies; and meetings with government officials and representatives.

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Executive clemency and pardon application ledgers and correspondence

Series Number

A0629

Summary

Article 18 of the 1777 State Constitution authorized the governor to grant pardons and reprieves. This power was continued in the constitutions of 1821 and 1846 and expanded to include commutations by Article 5 of the Constitution of 1894. This series consists of ledgers and correspondence maintained by the governor's office to track actions taken and decisions made regarding applications for executive clemency. These volumes document various types of clemency including pardons, commutations, and restorations of citizenship rights.

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Reports of deductions of sentences by prison agents, wardens, and superintendents

Series Number

A0601

Summary

Legislation of 1862 (Chapter 417) allowed convicts in state prisons and penitentiaries to earn commutation of part of their sentence for good conduct or labor performed. Reports in the series provide name of convict; county where convicted; crime; date sentenced; term; prison; date received at prison; months and days earned (in volume three, this column is labeled "commutation"); name of agent and warden making report; date deduction ordered; date writ mailed (rare in Volume 1; consistently appears beginning in Volume 2); and date received in prison (Volume 3 only).

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Governor Approval and Veto Files

Series Number

B2842

Summary

This series consists of the Governor's justifications for approving or vetoing bills. Each document provides the chapter or veto number, reference to the bill number, the governor's rationale, and signature.

Creator

• New York (State). Governor (2011-2021 : Cuomo)
• New York (State). Governor

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Restoration of citizenship rights application ledgers

Series Number

A0628

Summary

Articles I and IV of the State Constitution authorize the governor to grant executive clemency to convicted criminals (Executive Law, Sections 15-19). Among the types of clemency offered is restoration of citizenship rights, by which the governor restores civil rights lost as a result of a conviction (such as right to vote, right to hold public office). These volumes were maintained to track the status of applications to the governor for restoration of citizenship rights.

Access Restrictions

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