Research: Topics: Education: Guide to Records Relating to Native Americans
Guide to Records Relating to Native Americans
COLONIAL AND EARLY STATEHOOD RECORDS
Early Gubernatorial Records
The State Archives holds records of two of New York's first four governors: George Clinton (1777-1795 and 1801-1804), and Daniel D. Tompkins (1807-1817). These records include many documents concerning Native American affairs, such as land sales, treaties, and alliances during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
A0142. Gubernatorial and Personal Records of George Clinton, 1725-1854, 21.3 cubic feet.
Arrangement: chronological.
Clinton was New York's first governor and later Vice- President under Jefferson. The series includes official gubernatorial records and personal papers of Clinton. Originally bound into 48 volumes, the records suffered extensive damage, including some loss, in the 1911 Capitol fire and were disbound. The Archives has a detailed unpublished finding aid describing the surviving records. Prior to the fire, selected portions of the records were published in the ten-volume Public Papers of George Clinton (Albany: 1899-1914). Researchers using the Clinton Papers should first consult the published papers, which includes an index, and then review the finding aid to use the original records.
Indexing: alphabetical name and subject indexes to The Public Papers of George Clinton.
A3189. Letterbook of Official Correspondence and Proclamations, 1 787-1795 and 1802-1804. 1 volume.
Arrangement: chronological by year, month and day.
This letterbook contains 132 pages of Clinton's official correspondence and proclamations. The correspondence consists of final transcripts of the official documents fully signed. Most are in the handwriting of, and signed by, Governor Clinton; a few are in the handwriting of DeWitt Clinton, his nephew and secretary from 1790 to 1795. Several broadsides are also included. There are a number of documents that concern Indian affairs, such as treaty negotiations, land sales, and the proceedings of administrative bodies such as the Commissioners of Indian Affairs and the Board of Commissioners on Indian Treaties. An unpublished finding aid is available.
Restrictions: Due to special storage conditions one-week advance notification is required for use of this volume.
A0084. Gubernatorial and Personal Records of Daniel D. Tompkins, 1792-1823. 15.6 cubic feet.
Arrangement: unarranged.
Tompkins served as Governor of New York from 1807-1817. During the War of 1812, Tompkins was commander-in-chief of the New York militia as well as governor. From 1817 to 1825, he served as Vice-President of the United States and, in 1821, he presided over the State Constitutional Convention.
These records included incoming and outgoing correspondence, speeches, military orders and accounts. About one-half of the fifteen bound volumes were published by the Office of the State Historian as The Public Papers of Daniel D. Tompkins, 1807-1817 (Albany, 1898-1902, 3 vols.) An index to these papers is included in volume 3. The fifteen volumes and approximately three-fourths of the 4,000 loose papers were destroyed in the 1911 Capitol fire. The remaining documents are disorganized and often extremely fragile due to damage from the fire. Researchers should contact the Archives in advance to determine the research availability of the Tompkins papers. Based on the contents of the published papers, it is likely that many of the extant original Tompkins documents relate to Native American lands, treaties, trade, and military matters.
Indexing: alphabetical index to The Published Papers of Daniel Tompkins.
