Scope and Content: St 1870, c 64 required the clerk of any municipality authorized to subscribe for the stock of a railroad company to transmit to the state secretary a certified copy of the related municipal vote, including any already taken.  Series consists of letters fulfilling this requirement.
Notes: Formerly part of: Miscellaneous collection, box 68
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Scope and Content: St 1851, c 256 granted probate judges the authority to hear and determine all applications for changing names of persons residing in their counties and directed them to make annual returns of name changes to the office of the state secretary.  Prior to this time name changes were granted directly by the legislature.  Returns were filed with the secretary until 1976, when new legislation directed that they be filed with the commissioner of public health (St 1976, c 486, s 25).
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically by year, thereunder by county, and then chronologically by date of decree
Restrictions: Returns of names changed for reason of adoption restricted by statutory provision MGLA c 120, s 5D
Notes: Returns for 1857-1860 and 1866-1869 missing
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Scope and Content: St 1885, c 345, which extended the state naturalization function from the Supreme Judicial Court and Superior Court to district, police, and municipal courts (s 1), required each clerk of court to submit an annual listing of citizens naturalized to the state secretary (s 5).  The state secretary arranged and bound these returns annually for public reference.
Arrangement: Arranged at vol. level chronologically by year; within each vol. alphabetically by county, thereunder by court, and then chronologically
Notes: Spine title: Naturalization returns. –Worcester County naturalizations, 1916-1922, 1923-1929, bound separately (v. 48-49) – -Appendix: Lists of persons (with addresses) naturalized in U.S. District Court, Boston, and state Superior Court, 1975-1976; included with series
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Scope and Content: The state secretary was ordered by the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Jan. 17, 1870, to report the number of legal voters in the state in 1869, and how many of these were assessed for a poll tax but not for any real and personal property.  Series consists of completed printed forms returned to the secretary by cities and towns.
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically by county, thereunder by municipality
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Scope and Content: The Massachusetts Senate ordered the state secretary on Feb. 1, 1851, to provide it with the total number of voters in each city and town in the Nov. 1850 election.  Series consists of such returns in the form of letters to the secretary from selectmen or other municipal officials.
Arranged: Arranged alphabetically by county
Notes: Formerly part of Miscellaneous collection, boxes 7, 20, 34, 45
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Scope and Content: Per order of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Sept. 15, 1842 (House Journal 1842, p. 349), the state secretary was to prepare a series of questions to ascertain the condition of pauper lunatics and idiots in the Commonwealth, to be distributed to county commissioners, overseers of local houses of correction and of the poor, selectmen, and mayors and aldermen. Printed forms require information as of the year ending Jan. 1, 1843 and are divided into:
Arrangement: Arranged by county, thereunder alphabetically by municipality
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Scope and Content: Per St 1864, c 239, any person having charge of money or property, as trustee under act of incorporation by Massachusetts, or any corporation other than a bank having money or property in trust, was to make an annual report to the state secretary of the amount and condition of trust, with amount paid from or on account of such trust, such returns to be consolidated in a printed report from the secretary to the legislature.  St 1865, c 143 and c 271 regulated procedures and penalties for enforcing the act, which was repealed by St 1866, c 75.  Series was created to preserve such returns in preparation for the printed report.
Notes: Formerly part of: Miscellaneous collection, box 33
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Scope and Content: St 1837, c 128 authorized a decennial census of ratable polls (i.e., voters) to be used for apportioning membership in the Massachusetts House of Representatives (Const Amend Art 12), for applying laws relating to assessment and collection of state taxes (RS 1836, c 7), and in the election of town officers (RS 1836, c 15).  Series consists of completed printed forms for the 1837 census as taken by city censors (appointed by mayors and or aldermen) or towns assessors and sent to the state secretary.
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically by county, thereunder by municipality
Notes: Formerly part of: Miscellaneous collection, box 13
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Scope and Content: In order to verify the authenticity of documents received from other states, the state secretary, as official record keeper of the Commonwealth, annually requested certified signatures from the governor and secretary of each state.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically, thereunder alphabetically by state
Notes: Box 1: 1923-1928.  Box 2: 1930-1937.  Box 3: 1938-1949.  Box 4: 1953-1961
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Scope and Content: The state secretary hold constitutional and statutory responsibilities for elections. The secretary sent out questionnaires to the various states regarding their elections and salaries of their officials.
Notes: Formerly part of: Miscellaneous collection, box 93
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