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The Cadets of Temperance (N.Y.) papers contain correspondence, meeting minutes, financial records, and printed materials concerning the Eagle and Cygnet Sections of the Cadets of Temperance in northwestern New York.

The Cadets of Temperance (N.Y.) papers contain 17 letters, 102 records, and 20 printed items, spanning 1847-1850. The majority of the items concern the Eagle Section of the Cadets of Temperance in Rush, New York, but a few items pertain to the Cygnet Section of Rochester, New York, and the Rush Division of the Sons of Temperance of Rush, New York.

The Correspondence series contains 17 letters, 1847-1850, relating to the business of both the Cadets of Temperance and the Rush Division of the Sons of Temperance of Rush, New York. Grand Worthy Patron (G.W.P.) John F. Graham is the recipient of over half of the letters, which contain information about meetings, new members, elections, and practices of both groups. A letter of December 4, 1847, written by A.B. Clemons describes the threat to temperance posed by the availability of rum in Palmyra, New York. Charles E. Ford wrote a letter about the behavioral problems of members, including one man's refusal to sit down when the gavel sounded (December 13, 1847). On December 15, 1848, Daniel Cody wrote concerning the difficulty of finding adult leadership for the Cadets of Temperance because of the ban on tobacco. Also present are several letters between local sections that were collaborating to put on events.

The Records series spans 1848-1850 and contains several subseries pertaining to the Eagle Section of the Cadets of Temperance: Meeting Records, Bound Records, Receipts, and Applications. The Meeting Records subseries include minutes, attendance lists, an early constitution written at the first meeting (March 11, 1848), and records of votes taken at meetings. In one such vote, the boys debated whether the "Rough & Ready Society is more beneficial to society than the Cadets," which was affirmed by a vote of 7 to 6 (June 21, 1848). In another, they decided the question of whether "the negroes have been abused more than the Indians" (November 29, 1848). These records also document the election of officers, cases of rule violation by members and their punishments, and the payment of initiation and monthly dues. The Bound Records subseries contains three volumes: a book of meeting minutes for March 1848-March 1849 and two membership books that track fee payments for 1848. The Receipts subseries contains five small bundles of receipts for initiation and membership dues, totaling 60 items. The Applications subseries consists of 18 applications for membership, with name, residence, age, and recommender of each applicant.

The Printed Material series covers 1848-1850, and includes constitution and by-laws for the Cygnet Section of the Cadets of Temperance (1848), the Rush Division of the Sons of Temperance (1849), and the Eagle Section of the Cadets of Temperance (n.d.). Also in this series are several instruction cards, an undated booklet with songs and recitations, and a document containing the Cadets' 1850 password.

The Realia Series comprises a wooden box containing two ceremonial collars and a gavel. These items are housed in the Clements Library Graphics Division.

This volume contains the constitution and meeting minutes of the Liberty and Chillisquaque Temperance Society of Columbia County (and, later, parts of Montour County), Pennsylvania.

This volume (around 80 pages) contains the constitution and meeting minutes of the Liberty and Chillisquaque Temperance Society of Columbia County (and, later, parts of Montour County), Pennsylvania.

The first 5 pages consist of the society's constitution, comprised of 12 articles about the society's mission, officers, and administrative matters. The following 15 pages list the "names of teetotalers," primarily women. The bulk of the volume (around 55 pages) has meeting minutes dated December 1842-December 1851. The Liberty and Chillisquaque Temperance Society met at churches, schoolhouses, and other locations in several towns, including Chillisquaque, Lewisburg, and Danville. The minutes, recorded irregularly, reflect the group's monthly activities, such as listening to addresses by pastors or other speakers. The group often distributed an abstinence pledge, and the minutes record the number of people who signed the pledge. Many entries contain the names of newly elected or re-elected officers, and later minutes pertain to other administrative issues, such as the society's division into two branches. Secretaries of the Liberty and Chillisquaque Temperance Society included Thomas Vansant, James F. Murray, James McMahan, Thomas Strawbridge, and Joshua D. Wilson. The volume's final 5 pages (including its back endpaper) contain notes in pencil about the temperance society's organization and about an election for church elders and deacons (dated 1866).