Scope and Content: The treasurer and receiver-general of Massachusetts is the sole receiver, custodian, and payer of state funds.  Treasurer’s incoming correspondence (this series) and: Treasurer’s outgoing correspondence ((M-Ar)2269X) document the activities of the Commonwealth’s first eleven treasurers; some records predate the 1780 Constitution, but most are from the terms of treasurers Ivers, Hodgdon, and Davis (1782-1797)
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
Restrictions: Some restrictions apply to this series. Staff member must be present at use
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Scope and Content: The treasurer and receiver-general of Massachusetts is the sole receiver, custodian, and payer of state funds.  Treasurer’s incoming correspondence ((M-Ar)1804X) and: Treasurer’s outgoing correspondence (this series, in letterbook format) document the activities of the Commonwealth’s first eleven treasurers; some records predate the 1780 Constitution, but most are from the terms of treasurers Ivers, Hodgdon, and Davis (1782-1797)
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
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Scope and Content: HISTORICAL NOTE: The post-Revolutionary Massachusetts legislature endeavored to collect taxes levied to pay war debt and other state expenses, particularly burdening farmers in the western part of the state.  Angered by foreclosures and imprisonment imposed for tax delinquency and not receiving satisfaction for grievance petitions filed with the legislature, the protesting farmers rioted and closed courthouses under the leadership of Revolutionary veteran Daniel Shays.  The state militia was called out to suppress Shays’ Rebellion in Sept. 1786, in Jan. 1787 a state army was formed for the purpose, and by February the insurgents were defeated. –The state treasury did not have sufficient funds for the quartermaster general and commissary general to supply the army formed to fight the rebellion.  In Jan. 1787, the legislature not being in session to authorize loans or to otherwise secure funds, a group of voluntary contributors met on the date the state army was established (Jan. 4) and pledged monies for the cause. (For initial list of subscribers see: Massachusetts. Office of the Secretary of State. Massachusetts archives collection ((M-Ar)45X), v. 189, p. 64-66.)  St 1786, c 50 (Feb. 6, 1787) authorized the borrowing of 40,000 pounds and the issuing of notes to reimburse the contributors at 6% interest.  Notes dated beginning Mar. 1 , 1787 were repaid in three dividends (25% July 1787, 10% Feb. 1788, 20% July 1788), with the total eligible for repayment in Jan. 1789.
Restrictions: Some restrictions apply to this series. Staff member must be present at use
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Scope and Content: St 1789, c 47 (Mar. 2, 1790) established a lottery to raise the sum of £10,000 for the use of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  The 1790 lottery was divided into drawings or classes, some performed monthly (with top prizes ranging from
Restrictions: Some restrictions apply to this series. Staff member must be present at use
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Scope and Content: As early as the seventeenth century, the Massachusetts legislature provided pensions to soldiers wounded or disabled while in military service. Throughout the Revolutionary War, pensions continued to be issued at the state level to members of the Continental Army, as authorized by the Continental Congress. In addition, Massachusetts also provided post-war bonuses (bounties) in the form of monetary payment or a grant of land in Maine to veterans meeting certain requirements. Because so few individuals were disabled in service or qualified for bounties, the state granted pensions or bounties to only several hundred individuals. From 1789 pensions were funded by the federal government, from 1792 new pensions were administered by it, and from 1806 veterans of state troops and militia were also eligible. From 1818, Congress expanded pension eligibility for Revolutionary War service beyond invalidism, adding thousands to the rolls. However, to qualify, veterans often needed to obtain certificates of service from the state.
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Scope and Content: By its constitutional authority to provide advice and consent to the governor, the Council approves warrants authorizing expenditures from the Treasury (Const Pt 2, C 2, S 1, Art 11).  Treasury warrants, 1776-1824, are original warrants signed by governor, councillors, and the treasurer, and include the name of person or office receiving funds, purpose of payment, and date of issue.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
Notes: Warrants for 1768-1771, 1773, 1775-1778, 1799-1801, 1807-1809, 1813-1814, 1819-1820 lacking
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Scope and Content: The State Almshouse at Monson provided residence for paupers without settlement in the Commonwealth from 1854 until 1872.  The institution managed an annual budget to sustain its operations.  Attendant financial records include trial balances, showing summarized debit and credit entries for assets, state appropriations, and expenses.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically by month
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Scope and Content: Massachusetts Resolves 1846, c 117 appointed Commissioners on Idiocy to inquire on: the condition of idiots in the commonwealth and if anything can be done for them. The commission’s report, written by Samuel Gridley Howe of the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, led to the establishment by Resolves 1848, c 65 of the Experimental School for Teaching and Training Idiotic Children, located at the Perkins Institution. The school was incorporated as the Massachusetts School for Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Youth (St 1850, c 150), located near Perkins in South Boston, with Howe serving as president until his death in 1876. It was renamed the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded by St 1883, c 239, reflecting the establishment of a separate asylum department for those beyond school age or not capable of being helped by the school’s instruction. Funds for the construction of a new facility in Waltham were provided by Resolves 1888, c 82, and occupation of the new site began in 1890, with the South Boston facility closing in 1892. St 1925, c 293 renamed the institution the Walter E. Fernald State School, in honor of the superintendent of the school, 1887-1924. A 2003 gubernatorial initiative to close the Fernald School (known as the Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center since 1993) by 2007 was contested during the subsequent decade, until the institution was shut down permanently in Nov. 2014.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
Notes: Contents: 1851-1879 1 volume . 1879-1899 1 volume 1890-1903 (folder of drafts, related notes). 1899-1910 1 volume (handwritten draft). 1899-1913 1 volume 1914-1925 1 volume 1925-1944 1 volume 1941 (bylaws in folder). 1944-1952 1 volume 1952-1961 1 volume 1961-1969 (folder). 1970-1977 1 volume
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