[Note: the following outline is taken directly from a presentation I gave at a RIDE Professional Development Institute held at Rhode Island College in the spring of 2014]
- Public Documents are in the public domain; no copyright restrictions!
- Necessary Equipment
- Digital camera
- 8-10 megapixels minimum resolution
- AA batteries vs. rechargeable “battery pack”
- Laptop computer to download and check images
- USB cords to connect camera to laptop
- Expect to be asked to sign-in, possibly check bag, coat, etc.
- Good practice
- Turn off cell phone!
- Check quality of images immediately upon downloading to laptop
- Re-photograph right then is a lot easier than driving back to repository to re-photograph a single key page/passage later
- Photograph any relevant citation information on the spot
- Organize images in named folders at same time as downloading to laptop
- Backup data!
- LOCKSS: Lots Of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe!
- Rename photos by page number if you plan to be using the source as a constant reference
Sources of Public Documents
- Town Halls / City Halls - in every RI town/city
- Some towns and cities have a nearly complete set of records; others are missing some or most of their handwritten records -- fires, floods, hurricanes, misplacement, mold, and outright theft have left gaps in many municipal records before the age of modern printed or digital archival records.
- Town Meeting Records
- Town Council Records
- Includes hearings of transients “warned out” of town
- Probate Records and Wills
- Land Evidence and Mortgages
- Manumission of Slaves
- Earmarks and Brands
- Tax assessments and tax rates (town and state)
- Voting lists
- Audit books
- Other Misc. Records: Overseer of the Poor (O.P.) reports, Justice of the Peace (J.P.) court records, town meeting warrants, etc.
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| Town Hall, South Kingstown RI SK has the most complete set of town records of any city or town in Rhode Island |
- Rhode Island State Archives
- 337 Westminster Street, Providence; free parking with stamped parking ticket (2 hours)
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| Current RI State Archive, 33 Broad Street, Providence |
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| Rendering of future permanent state archive building, looking east down Smith Street. Question: is this Neobrutalism? Oh, be still my beating heart! |
In January 2019, Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea sought to have a new RI Archive building constructed in the vicinity of the RI Statehouse on Smith Street. Rhode Island remains the only US state without a permanent state archive, and the current location is under lease for ten years while the state decides where to build a permanent location for the archive. [1]
- Historical Sources at RISA (Rhode Island State Archive)
- Rhode Island Laws (1705 manuscript; printed copies from 1719 on)
- Microfilm (can photograph the screen or have pages printed fairly cheaply)
- Records of the Colony of Rhode Island (manuscripts, some indexed)
- Petitions Granted by General Assembly (17th to mid 19th century; some indexed)
- Petitions Denied by General Assembly (finding aid currently being developed)
- Manuscripts of all the above (when microfilm might be difficult to read)
- Many other records too numerous to list here
- Rhode Island State Library
- Second Floor of RI Statehouse, Smith St., Providence
- Awe-inspiring, beautiful room
- Printed copies of Acts and Resolves of Rhode Island General Assembly and Schedules from 1747 to 1900
- Very dense source of information
- Too many topics to list here
- Printed copies of Rhode Island Laws from 1767 to present
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| RI Statehouse, 82 Smith St, Providence, RI Below: Legislative Library, located on the second floor of the Statehouse |
- Rhode Island Law Library
- 250 Benefit Street, Providence, Rhode Island
- Top floor of Licht Judicial Complex, Supreme/Superior Court
- Metal detectors (it is in a courthouse)
- Acts, Resolves and Reports of Rhode Island General Assembly
- Rare legal texts related to RI history
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| Licht Judicial Complex, 250 Benefit St, Providence, RI 02903 Below, RI State Law Library top floor of Licht Complex |
- RI Supreme Court Judicial Archives
- 5 Hill Street, Pawtucket, Rhode Island
- Repository for central repository for the State's semi-active, inactive, and archival court records.
- Archival court records from 1671 to 1900 of civil, criminal, and divorce proceedings all RI county courts
- No Justice of the Peace records (see town hall / local historical societies)
- Many Kings/Washington County records too badly damaged to allow public access
- Naturalization Records 1793-1974
- Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission (RIHPHC)
- Located in the Old Statehouse, 150 Benefit St, Providence, RI
- State Survey Publications
- Survey of every RI town, plus many villages and special topics (e.g., historic bridges, Native American archaeology, etc) – 60 books in total
- .pdf files of each available on RIHPHC website
- Some are little dated (survey began in 1967, long before 911 addresses were implemented)
- Surveys for some towns are more thorough than others
Other Sources of Public Documents
- University libraries special collections
- archive.org (Internet Archive)
- .pdfs of many RI documents; you may not even need to leave your house!
- Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 1747-1800 available online Hugh & Hazel Darling Law Library, UCLA [these resources are unfortunately no longer available to non-students]
- Local Historical Societies and Community Libraries
- Rhode Island, Newport Historical largest collections
- Many other communities have a historical society
- Local libraries may house manuscripts and other historical documents in a special collection
- Many historical societies / libraries have restrictions and fees in place regarding digital photography
- Check policies beforehand
- Often an under-utilized source of primary documentation!
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[1] Beth Comery, "New Site For State Archives." Providence Daily Dose, January 3, 2020. https://providencedailydose.com/2021/01/03/new-site-for-state-archives/
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