Burial transit registers (Bodies in Transit)
This collection consists of bound volumes recording burial transit permits form 1859-1894. These records were maintained by various iterations of New York City’s Health Department.
In 1859, the position of Registrar of Records was created within the City Inspector’s Department and they were to head the Bureau of Records and Statistics. Reports contemporary to the time suggest that the recording of the transportation of bodies in, out and through Manhattan between 1859 and 1894 was mandated by this new department. As concern grew over how health and sanitary matters were addressed in a rapidly growing city, the value of vital statistics, especially regarding death, took on new importance. Between 1859 and 1894, jurisdiction over the city’s health matters changed hands from the City Inspector’s Department to the Metropolitan Board of Health in 1866 to the Department of Health in 1870.
