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  St 1865, c 143 and c 271 regulated procedures and penalties for enforcing the act, which was repealed by St 1866, c 75.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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Scope and Content: In order to assist the legislature in assessing the need for education of blind residents of the Commonwealth, the mayor of Boston and town selectmen were required to report to the state secretary, the number of blind individuals in each municipality (Resolves 1828, c 74).
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically by municipality
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Scope and Content: Censuses to ascertain the numbers of deaf residents in the Commonwealth were conducted by order of Resolves 1817, c 24 and again in 1827 by House Order dated June 11.  Returns of these surveys were required to be filed by town officials with the state secretary.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
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Scope and Content: From 1790 to 1837, population censuses in Massachusetts were limited to those taken decennially by the federal government under constitutional provision.  Starting in 1837 the General Court authorized state decennial censuses to supplement the federal ones, for determining representation in the legislature and other purposes.  These state censuses have been conducted by authority of constitutional and statutory provisions under the auspices of the secretary of the Commonwealth.  St 1865, c 146 provided for an additional decennial gathering of industrial statistics of cities and towns in the Commonwealth.  The secretary issued printed blank tables to city and town  officials for recording information.  The enumeration itself was made under the officials’ authority and these returns were sent to the secretary’s office where they were abstracted for use by the legislature.
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically by municipality
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