Guide to the Rhode Island State Records Collection, 1661-1979

Rhode Island Historical Society
121 Hope Street
Providence, RI 02906
Tel: 401-273-8107
Fax: 401-751-7930
Email: reference@rihs.org

Published in 2009

Collection Overview

Title:	Rhode Island State Records Collection
Date range:	1661-1979
Creator:	Rhode Island
Extent:	5.5 linear feet
Abstract:	Records of the Rhode Island General Assembly, Governor, state agencies, administrative units, and courts.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	Rhode Island Historical Society
Collection number:	MSS 231 SG 3

Scope & content

This collection of documents relating to the government of the state of Rhode Island has been collected over the years from a variety of sources. See the Arrangement section for a detailed listing of the contents of this collection.

Of particular note are the files relating to the Rhode Island State Council of Defense. This agency was part of the federal hierarchy for civilian defense during World War II. Each state had its own council to coordinate civilian defense within its borders. The majority of the information seems to have been collected by Alfred H. Fenton who was the Manager of the Public Relations Division as well as Chief of the Information Subdivision. He served in those capacities from at least March, 1942 until December 13, 1943 when he resigned to report to the Army. The material arrived in no discernible order and has been organized into subjects. Refer to the organizational charts in folder 59 to get an overview of how all the divisions and subdivisions were related to each other in the hierarchy. War posters and large organizational charts were transferred to the Graphics Division.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Green, Theodore F. II
• Strengthfield, William

Subject Organizations

• Commission to Study Higher Education
• Committee on Corporations
• Congress (Continental)
• Providence Armory
• Rhode Island College of Education
• Rhode Island Normal School
• Rhode Island State Board of Education
• Rhode Island State Council of Defense
• Rhode Island State Home and School for Children
• Rhode Island State Planning Board
• St. Jacques (Ship)
• United States. Congress - Records and correspondence
• Vice Admiralty Court

Subject Topics

• Armories - Providence, RI
• Civil defense - Rhode Island
• Insurance - Rhode Island
• Maritime court
• Money - Rhode Island
• Narragansett Indians
• Newport - Riots - 1765
• Prize cases
• Privateer cases
• Rhode Island - Acts and Resolves
• Rhode Island - Courts
• Rhode Island - Education
• Rhode Island - Finance
• Rhode Island - General Assembly
• Rhode Island - Taxes
• Rhode Island - Taxes, 1796
• Rhode Island Vocational School
• Riots - Newport, RI, 1765
• United States - History - Revolution, 1775-1783
• World War, 1914-1918
• World War, 1939-1945

Subject Topics

• Rhode Island/Local Interest

Arrangement

Series I: General Assembly

• Acts and Resolves, 1661-1920 (Use published transcriptions in Records of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in New England, edited by John Russell Bartlett, Providence, 1856 available in the RIHS Reading Room at Call Number F 76 .R29 1968.)
• Miscellaneous Rhode Island records arranged chronologically, 1670-1979

Series II: Governor

• Correspondence and resolves received by Governor from the U.S. Congress, 1775-1788

Series III: State Agencies

• Commission to Study Higher Education, 1957-1960
• Rhode Island Normal School/College of Education - Minutes, 1909-1930
• State Board of Education - Minutes, 1909-1930
• State Board for Vocational Education - Minutes, 1917-1927
• State Home and School - Board of Control - Minutes, 1891-1911
• Rhode Island State Council of Defense (WWII), 1941-1944

Series IV: Administrative units

• Rhode Island Banking, Insurance and Securities Administration, c.1799-c.1940
• State Planning Board, 1944

Series V: Courts

• Lords Commissioners for Hearing Prize Appeals and Privy-Council in Whitehall, England, 1741-1752
• Maritime court, 1776
• RI General Court, c.1780s
• Vice-Admiralty Court, 1746-1762

Historical note

This collection of documents relating to the government of the state of Rhode Island has been collected over the years from a variety of sources.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access.
Use of the materials:	Researchers are advised that express written permission to reproduce, quote, or otherwise publish any portion or extract from this collection must be obtained from the Rhode Island Historical Society.
Preferred citation:	Rhode Island State Records Collection, MSS 231 SG 3, Rhode Island Historical Society.
Contact information:	Rhode Island Historical Society 121 Hope Street Providence, RI 02906 Tel: 401-273-8107 Fax: 401-751-7930 Email: reference@rihs.org

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	Where the provenance is known, the accession number is written on the item's folder. The provenance for many of the documents in the collection is not known.
Processing information:	Providence County Inferior Court of Common Pleas, Docket for June 1763; Transferred to: MSS 229 Providence County Records. Summary of census data for 1755 broken down by race, gender and amount of arms and ammunition in private hands. Includes totals for 1730 and 1748 censuses broken down by white and black inhabitants ; Transferred to: MSS 231 SG2 Rhode Island State Censuses. Index of 1777 military census for the town of Tiverton, 1777; Transferred to: MSS 231 SG2 Rhode Island State Censuses. Collector of Revenue for the 3rd District, RI, "Statement of duties arising on Licenses for one year granted to retailers of wine Spiritous Liquors and foreign merchandise by James Helme collector."1814; Transferred to: MSS 232 SG5 United States Collector of Revenue. Collector of Revenue for the 1st District, RI - Entries for carriages, 1-12/1817; Transferred to: MSS 232 SG5 United States Collector of Revenue. Copy of letter from William Pitt to Governor Stephen Hopkins ordering the cessation of illegal trade with the French, August 23, 1760; Transferred to: MSS 492 Stephen Hopkins Collection. Pay John Gardner 400 pounds to pay soldiers wages, bounties and bills and charge the same to the Colony, Committee of War to Thomas Richardson, General Treasurer, April 26, 1760; Transferred to: MSS 673 SG1 Colonial Militia Collection. Letter written by Thomas Carlile to the Council of War, 11/29/1777; Transferred to: MSS 673 SG 2, Series 3, Subseries F Revolutionary War Records. Order from Council of War to Town of North Providence to have Daniel Anthony, John Comstock and John Scott, Jr. pay the bounty to have men hired as soldiers in their place, Aug. 30, 1778.; Transferred to: MSS 673 SG 2, Series 4, Subseries E Revolutionary War Records. Resolve of Council of War for Major William Perkins to leave military stores in the care of Col. Josiah Flagg, July 26, 1781; Transferred to: MSS 673 SG 2, Series 6 Revolutionary War Records. Resolve of General Assembly that Major Perkins deliver cannon to Count Rochambeau and Assistant Deputy Quarter Master Bourn repair the Providence powder house, March 21, 1781; Transferred to: MSS 673 SG2, Series 6 Revolutionary War Records. Resolve of Council of War for Daniel Mowry to sell cattle and sheep, Dec. 18, 1776; Transferred to: MSS 673 SG 2, Series 6 Revolutionary War Records. Resolve of Council of War to ship 5,000 gallons rum to Hartford and then on to main Army, June 26 1781; Transferred to: MSS 673 SG 2, Series 6 Revolutionary War Records. Court case of John Banister vs. John Brown of Newport, 1762-1765; Transferred to: MSS 919 John Banister Collection. Naval office certificate of entry for the Sloop Bonato, Robert Furness master, importing 40,000 boards signed by William Ellery, Naval Officer, May 24, 1757; Transferred to: MSS 9001-B Bonato (Sloop). Copy of "The humble address of the Governt. & Company of Your Majesty's Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in New England in America" to Queen Anne regarding the preparations for an expedition against the French in Canada, May 13, 1709. Copy of the cover letter for the address to the Queen signed by Samuel Cranston, May 13 1709; Transferred to: MSS 9001-C Samuel Cranston Papers (see inventory). Six pounds to be paid by the General Treasury to Joseph Edmonds, Sep. 18, 1758 ; Transferred to: MSS 9001-E Edmonds, Joseph. Items transferred to Graphics: War posters and large organizational charts from the Rhode Island State Council of Defense were transferred to the Graphics Division.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Karen Eberhart.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Mark Chepkwony 2009 June 22
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

---