Name/Title
1895-1934 Overseers of the Poor Accounting LedgerEntry/Object ID
2021.2.46Scope and Content
Forty-page PDF of examples of Overseer of the Poor authorizations, expenditures, justifications, reimbursement, and overall accounting organized by Overseer from 1895 through 1934. Assignment of Overseers of the Poor dates back to England in origin and custom and 1788 in New York State law, which once required electing at least one Overseer of the Poor in each town of every county in New York State. Typically, towns elected two or more Overseers of the Poor given the wide-ranging scope of their responsibilities. Towns and counties remained primarily responsible for caring for anyone unable or unwilling to care for themselves until the Federal response to the Great Depression shifted much of the focus to the Federal Government and direct payments to the needy. Particularly difficult indigent or mentally disabled cases were occasionally referred to county poorhouses or almshouses for use as forced labor to help settle their debts or State mental institutions in the case of the profoundly mentally disabled beginning in 1865 with the advent of Willard Asylum for the Insane. However, towns were primarily responsible for dealing with the otherwise insane, idiot, feeble-minded, indigent (including beggars and tramps), deaf and dumb, blind, sick and crippled soldiers, orphans, illegitimate children, juvenile delinquents, and abandoned women. Per the example page displayed below, this proved to be a wide-ranging and complex task. Relief ranged from simply providing a single meal or encouraging tramps to move along to the next town or find gainful employment to supporting all aspects of a resident's subsistence, lodging, medical care, and occasionally burial arrangements for up to many years. For example, numerous types of support for Mrs. L. Douglas appear throughout over a decade of entries. Overall authorization and routinely scheduled periodic audits came from the Town Board with more specific authorization and justification frequently being provided per law or by direction of a Town Justice, truant officer, Poormaster, or other public official as noted in each of the entries. For example, pages 3 and 57 note paying fees as necessary to help resolve "basterdy" cases. The PDF is downloadable while fully logged into the system. Refer to the sample page provided below for a preview of its content and the weblinks portion of this entry for more information about the history of Overseers of the Poor in New York State. A much higher resolution PDF is stored off-line and available upon request under the file name:
1895-1934_Overseer_of_the_Poor_Accounts_Hi_Res.pdf
The original ledger is stored in a locked fireproof safe at Town Hall.Cataloged By
Michael Frederick PerryAcquisition
Accession
2021.2Acquisition Method
FoundDimensions
Height
13 inWidth
8 inDepth
1 inCreated By
curator@slhstrustees.orgCreate Date
March 12, 2022Updated By
curator@slhstrustees.orgUpdate Date
March 21, 2022
