These files contain the documentation required for a person to be admitted to Bloomingdale. In the 1830s, this documentation was not yet standardized and could take the form of warrants by the city or the police court to apprehend a person, admission paperwork signed by the patient’s contact, and medical certificates detailing the patient’s condition. By circa 1879, the documentation was becoming more standardized and consistent. These later records may consist of a “medical certificate” in which doctors assess the patient’s condition, petitions and “certificates of insanity” from the State Commission in Lunacy, and “obligation and permit” certificates agreeing to the hospital’s terms.

Patient numbers on each file correspond with patient numbers in the Warden’s Registers, 1816–1891.