Research

Scope and Content Note

This single leaf from a bound volume contains summary information on prisoners discharged from the State Prison of the City of New York (Newgate Prison) in 1828 with last names beginning with the letter "C" through "E" only. The inspectors of the prison maintained this record in compliance with Chapter 30 of the Laws of 1796, which required them to submit an annual report to the legislature.

Unlike the admission register (series A0775), which is divided into four sections: White Men, White Women, Black Men, and Black Women, the discharge register lists all prisoners in rough alphabetical order in one sequence. For each prisoner, the register provides name, birth place, age, occupation, the place of crime, crime, color of skin and hair, county of conviction, sentence, and date of sentence, judge, final determination (pardoned, transferred, released, etc.) and date of final determination. There is space for additional notes which has been completed for a few prisoners to provide a physical description.

It is likely that the final determination records the transfer of many prisoners to the newly built Sing Sing Prison prior to the closure of Newgate Prison in 1829.