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Monday, July 25, 2022

Sources of Public Documents for Historical Research

[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.
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) 
Current RI State Archive, 33 Broad Street, Providence

NOTE: since this presentation, the RI State Archives have moved to a new location on Johnson & Wales University Providence Campus, 33 Broad St, Providence, RI. See RI Gov press release,  7/14/2020

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
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
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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