Scope and Content: Rainsford Island in Boston Harbor was the site since 1736 of various hospital and other charitable institutions administered and funded alternately or jointly by Massachusetts and Boston.  In 1854 a hospital for sick state paupers opened there, first under the auspices of the Board of Alien Commissioners and then from 1863 under that of the Board of State Charities; it was also used as a military hospital from 1864 and closed in 1866.
Arrangement: Organized in two subseries: (1) Hospital register, 1854-1855, 1865-1866 (2) Admissions to hospital, 1865-1866; Arranged within each subseries chronologically
Notes: Formerly classified under PS1 (Surgeon General’s Office) Flyleaf inscribed: Record kept by George L. Underwood, surgeon in charge of hospitals, Rainsford Island, Boston
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Scope and Content: The Massachusetts State Board of Lunacy and Charity (1886-1898) had responsibility to monitor immigration, including examining passengers, procuring passenger lists, collecting bonds or head money, returning passengers, and, through its Dept. of Outdoor Poor, caring for alien passengers requiring medical assistance who were not committed to state institutions. A Nov. 1882 contract between the state and the U.S. Treasury Dept. had provided federal reimbursement care of alien passengers requiring care within five years of landing at Massachusetts ports. Transfer of immigration authority from the states to the federal government occurred with the federal Acts of 1891, c 551. A Feb. 1892 contract with the board allowed federal reimbursement for state care of immigrants for their first year of residence and for state deportation of such immigrants.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically by registration date
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Scope and Content: The Reformatory Prison for Women was opened in Sherborn in 1877.  It was renamed the Reformatory for Women by St 1911, c 181, and because of a redrawn boundary line its fuller designation was changed from the Reformatory for Women at Sherborn to the Reformatory for Women at Framingham by St 1932, c 180, s 24.  Under St 1955, c 770 it received its current name, the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Framingham.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
Restrictions: Criminal offender record information restricted by statutory provision MGLA c 6, ss 167-178. For conditions of access consult repository 
Notes: Volume 1: 1877-1891. Volume 2: 1892-1937. Volume 2 includes: Register of children, 1931-1962 (see (M-Ar)517X)
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Scope and Content: The Reformatory Prison for Women was opened in Sherborn in 1877.  It was renamed the Reformatory for Women by St 1911, c 181, and because of a redrawn boundary line its fuller designation was changed from the Reformatory for Women at Sherborn to the Reformatory for Women at Framingham by St 1932, c 180, s 24.  Under St 1955, c 770 it received its current name, the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Framingham.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
Restrictions: Criminal offender record information restricted by statutory provision MGLA c 6, ss 167-178. For conditions of access consult repository 
Notes: Entries for 1931-1962 bound with: Register of births, volumes 2 ((M-Ar)561X)
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Scope and Content: The Reformatory Prison for Women was opened in Sherborn in 1877.  It was renamed the Reformatory for Women by St 1911, c 181, and because of a redrawn boundary line its fuller designation was changed from the Reformatory for Women at Sherborn to the Reformatory for Women at Framingham by St 1932, c 180, s 24.  Under St 1955, c 770 it received its current name, the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Framingham.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
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Scope and Content: The Board of State Charities  from 1863 oversaw the Massachusetts state immigration and pauper relief functions, as well as the state’s charitable and correctional institutions. In 1866 the board appointed a visiting agent, under its secretary, to track and visit state wards sent out to indenture. The Visiting Agency was made a separate department within the board  in 1869 to investigate applicants wanting to adopt or indenture children, approve placements, conduct visits of children that were adopted, indentured, or otherwise placed out, and provide ongoing follow-up. Visitation work was continued by the Dept. of Indoor Poor within the successor agencies the State Board of Health, Lunacy, and Charity in 1879 and State Board of Lunacy and Charity in 1886 (through Division of State Minor Wards from 1898, carrying over into the State Board of Charity), and then by the State Board of Charity in 1898.
Arrangement: Arranged by case no
Notes: Contents (Volume numbers. assigned on basis of page numbering/gaps in paging): volumes 2–501-1000, volumes 3–1001-1500, volumes  4–1501-2000, volumes 6–2501-3000, volumes 7–3001-3500, volumes 8–3501-4000, volumes 10–4501-5000, volumes 11–5001-5500, volumes 13–6001-6500, volumes 16–7501-8000, volumes 17–8001-8500, volumes 19–9001-9500, volumes 22-24–10501-12000, volumes 27–13001-13500, volumes 29–14001-14500, volumes 30–14501-15000, volumes 32–15501-16000, volumes 33–16001-16500, volumes 35–17001-17500, volumes 36–17501-18000, volumes 38–18501-19000, volumes 39–19001-19500, volumes 41-44–20001-22000, volumes 46–22501-23000, volumes 48-53–23501-25500
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Scope and Content: The Reformatory Prison for Women was opened in Sherborn in 1877.  It was renamed the Reformatory for Women by St 1911, c 181, and because of a redrawn boundary line its fuller designation was changed from the Reformatory for Women at Sherborn to the Reformatory for Women at Framingham by St 1932, c 180, s 24.  Under St 1955, c 770 it received its current name, the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Framingham.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
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Scope and Content: The Massachusetts State Board of Health, Lunacy, and Charity, which had oversight of state charitable institutions, 1879-1886, was directed by St 1882, c 181 to receive orphaned, poor, or neglected children without local settlement committed to its care by the Massachusetts courts. Series provides summary statistics kept by Inspector of Charities F.B. Sanborn of such children served under the board. The volumes contains separate sections with information on those receiving services from the board’s Dept. of Outdoor Poor (foundlings and indigent children under the age of three, persons having children in charge) and from the Dept. of Indoor Poor (neglected and indigent children over the age of three).
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Scope and Content: The State Primary School, opened at the State Almshouse at Monson in 1866 and continuing after the almshouse’s closing in 1872 until 1895, provided lodging, instruction, and employment for dependent and neglected children under age sixteen without settlement in the Commonwealth and some juvenile offenders.  Series was created to log incoming correspondence and track replies thereto.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically by date of receipt
Notes: Spine title: Letter register
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Scope and Content: Massachusetts state almshouse inspectors had the power to place out for indenture minor almshouse inmates per St 1852, c 275, s 7. From 1863 they came under the jurisdiction of the Board of State Charities, which oversaw the Massachusetts state immigration and pauper relief functions, as well the state’s charitable and correctional (reformatory only from 1870) institutions. In 1866 the board appointed a visiting agent, under its secretary, to track and visit state wards sent out to indenture. The Visiting Agency was made a separate department within the board  in 1869 to investigate applicants wanting to adopt or indenture children, approve placements, conduct visits of children that were adopted, indentured, or otherwise placed out, and provide ongoing follow-up. Visitation work was continued by the Dept. of Indoor Poor, responsible for adults in state institutions and juvenile wards of the state over three years of age,  upon formation of the successor State Board of Health, Lunacy, and Charity in 1879.
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