do you have an ancestor who was in prison you should investigate their prison records in
today's episode of the ancestral findings podcast I'll tell you I as well as where
to look for these records let's face it not everyone is squeaky clean this has been true
throughout all of human history and this means your ancestors were just as likely to have done
some questionable deeds as anyone else you know sometimes those questionable deeds even resulted
in legal action against them and sometimes prison time there have been prisons and jails for just
about as long as there have been people if you know one of your ancestors spent time in prison
or discover through your research that they did it is always a good idea to look and see
if there are any prison records that you can use to find out more about them their family
and what landed them there and what kind of person they were before during and even after
their stint in the joint a prison record is any record kept by the prison itself or town
in which the prison was located that discusses your ancestor and there stay there in colonial
America for example prisons were often informal locations where someone was kept under guard
often private houses were used if there was an actual Jail building it was often in the
nearest large town and dangerous or convicted prisoners were transferred there during the
Quaker persecutions in Salem in the 1660s for example the nearest jail to Salem was in Boston
and convicted or suspected Quakers were kept in private homes until they could be taken to Boston
for a proper incarceration you won't find records from these jails because they were informal even
the main jails did not keep their own records at this time in American history however you will
find the prison records of any colonial inmates in the town records and county courts records
all information on criminals suspected criminals their crimes and their stays in prison were
recorded in these documents so that is where you want to look oftentimes your ancestor may have
been kept in a military prison this is usually true for people who committed crimes while
serving in the military or who broke military law in some way those who were taken prisoner by
the other side during Wars were also considered military prisoners you can find the records of
their incarcerations in military records usually the record of the person's service will include
details on incarcerations the US Department of Veterans Affairs also keeps records for more
recent incarceration that have not been archived yet if your ancestor was in jail in Europe during
medieval times and was a prisoner due to some infraction that was recognized by the monarch
such as a person who was thrown into the Tower of London for a time you may find records of
their incarceration in old government records of the time those who were in prisons in later
time periods after monarchs in Europe lost most of their real power were often kept into pluribus but
like anything their incarceration left a record you can find these records in the archives of
the town in which the prison was located most old local prison records especially in England are now
in archives you can sometimes find mentions of the crime and the prisoner and why they went to jail
in local newspapers as for America after colonial times and for non-military incarcerations you have
several options it all depends on how long ago the incarceration was where it was and who you
are to the prisoner records for old incarcerations usually more than 150 years old will usually be
kept in archives these are usually state archives from the state in which the prison was located if
it was a county jail rather than a prison you might find the records at the county or town
level federal prisoner records will be kept with the feder real government usually at the National
Archives in Washington DC you can go there in person or look up their record collections
on their website and have someone look up the records for you and send them to you typically
for the cost of making copies of the records records that are newer will probably be kept at
the actual prison some prisons that are no longer used as prisons but we're famous like Alcatraz may
have their own archives for prisoner records on site there may even be archived staff to research
remotely for you but for the most part the record you are looking for will be kept at the actual
prison if the incarceration was decades ago you may be able to get the records just by asking if
it is a really recent one though but the prisoner has gone on to the next world you will likely have
to prove your relationship to the prisoner you can do this with the same type of documentation you
would use to prove relationships for membership in a lineage society birth certificates death
certificates marriage certificates and anything else that can connect your name to theirs as a
relation may be required in some cases you may need to get a court order from a judge to release
the records to you it all depends on the prison the prisoner when the incarceration took place
where it took place and the reason for it there may be victims of the crime who still need to be
protected which is one of the most common reasons a more recent prison record may not be released to
you until more time has gone by prison records can be extremely useful things and researching
your family history they tell all kinds of things about the prisoner you will usually get a physical
description of them and maybe even a photo a record of their crime their behavior while
in prison their relatives who came to see them and where and possibly who they went with after
they were really look up these records and you may open up a whole new door in your genealogy
are you familiar with the name Gustav unju if you aren't you should be he is a famous
genealogist con man in the next episode of the ancestral findings podcast I'll give you
his story and how he did it to learn more about genealogy and sign up for our weekly giveaway
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