Secretary of the State records

The bulk of records for the Secretary of the State’s Office relate to elections and commercial activities. The records of the Elections Division contain votes for state and federal offices, 1819-1912, plus a variety of papers on state, municipal, probate, and justice of the peace elections for much of the 20th century. Records of the Commercial Recording Division include Articles of Incorporation for joint stock companies, chartered companies, and voluntary associations, 1837-1946; Records of Railroad Mortgages, 1849-1980; Certificates of Adoption of Trademarks, 1880-1963; together with annual and biennial reports, certificates, lists of officers, and other similar records for cooperative associations, non-stock corporations, specially chartered corporations, domestic corporations, and foreign corporations, 1834-1979. Also included are records of county commissioners; the 1965 Constitutional Convention; returns on births, marriages, and deaths, 1848, 1853, 1855; and small quantities of papers covering such subjects as letters received, oaths of office, sheriffs’ records, reports on jails, and temperance petitions. Click here to see the scanned paper finding aid and container list (pdf).