Research


Scope and Content Note

The registers contain background information compiled upon inmate admission. Volume 1 contains information on male inmates admitted from 1879 to 1884 and on female inmates admitted from 1876 to 1884. All other volumes contain entries only for male inmates. There are no entries for the years 1885 and 1887. Entries for 1886 and the years from 1888 through the early 1890s are very sporadic and incomplete.

Entries contain the following categories of information: name; date admitted; inmate number; age; occupation (volume 1 only); nativity (volumes 1 through 4 only); offense (volumes 1 through 4 only); committing court, e.g., police court (volume 1 only); location of committing court or city from which committed (volumes 1 through 4 only); county from which committed (volumes 5 and 6 only); presiding officer or judge of the court (volumes 1 and 6 only); previous institution life or time spent in any institution (volumes 1 through 4 only); number of previous arrests (volume 1 only); religion (volumes 2 through 6 only); habits: temperate or intemperate, if uses tobacco, if uses profanity (volume 1 only); color of hair, eyes, and complexion, and scars or marks (volumes 2 through 4 only); condition of clothing (volume 1 only); if an orphan, single-parent child, stepchild, or homeless (volume 1 only); parents' names (volumes 2 through 6 only); parents' occupations (volumes 1 through 4 only); parents' residence (volume 2 only); nativity of one parent (volume 1 only); if parent is temperate or intemperate (volume 1 only); if anyone in family was ever arrested or in prison: where, when, and offense (volume 1 only);

number of school division to which assigned (volume 2 only); school grade (volume 2 from April 19, 1886 to July 8, 1898 only); shop assignment, e.g., printing, blacksmith (volume 2 from April 19, 1886 to July 13, 1898 only); amount of time spent in jail before admission (volumes 3 and 4 only); date of discharge or parole (volumes 1, 5 and 6 only); and remarks, such as: to whom discharged (volume 1 only), name of inmate's step-parents, foster parents, guardian, or last place of residence (volume 5 only), and name of inmate's parole officer, deputy sheriff, sheriff, or other case worker (volume 6 only).