US Federal Penitentiary Case Files

Inmate Case Files 1895-1952

Prologue Magazine, Summer 2010, Vol. 42

It’s not often that we find an ancestor in the Federal Penitentiary, but for the lucky family historian that has one, the records and documents kept during their stay in the “federal home” are plentiful.  These records are genealogically rich and can be used not just to uncover their history, but they may connect the researcher to other family members. 

As the expert speaker at the Kansas City NARA, Steve Spence, says “A warning comes with this information.  This is raw unedited information, so be sure you want to uncover the truth.” There are 69, 937 plus case files for the US Penitentiary Leavenworth Inmate records from 1895-1952.  These are primarily textural records. From these files you can learn about your ancestor’s lot in life, and get enlightened in US history.  In addition to Leavenworth, records were preserved for Alcatraz, Atlanta and McNeil Island.  These textural records are held at the Regional Archives. For information on the NARA holdings reference Research On Prison at the National Archives.

During the Feb. 28^th workshop at the Kansas City NARA, I had an internal battle on which record I would delve into first.  So, I’ve opted to just present the various records to you, as the speaker gave them to the captivated audience. 

Records in the Collection:

1)      Mug Shot - These pics are not blurred, and the person in them are definitely identified.  What genealogists wouldn’t want to say that for the stack of unmarked photos on the desk?

2)      Record Sheet -To include name, crime, violation (some surprisingly minor) and dates.  Really? Uncle WhatsHisFace killed someone even in prison?

3)      Personal Data Sheet - Birth, education and religion.  But the best part, that coveted genealogical information of spouse and parent’s name.  For this reason alone, I wish most of my ancestors to be hard Federal criminals.

4)      Fingerprints - These records include marks and scars.  Of course Ft. Leavenworth was pivotal in promoting the use of fingerprints for identification.  So this one I expected.  What I didn’t expect was the detail of cranial measurements

At this point I must give a bit more of a historical lesson.  Prior to fingerprinting a precise measurement of forehead, nose, etc. was used to identify prisoners (Bertillon Measurements).  But then along came the West twins in 1903: Will and William West.  (I know not creative but it is true according to various sources.  Check out news article Rare Twin Murder Case Echoes Bizarre Fingerprint Origins.  Their measurements were almost identical, but the only differentiating characteristic was their fingerprints.  This led to abandoning the Bertillon measurement systems in 1904; replacing it with fingerprinting. These are the kind of stories that keep me up at night. Thanks NARA Steve for sharing.

5)      Daily Work Record -Wouldn’t we all want to know what our ancestors’ daily life consisted of.  This record gives us a glimpse of how they spent their time on a daily basis. 

6)      Hospital Record - Medical records are often difficult to obtain for ancestors, but here you can get the information without a fuss (up to 1952.).  An interesting point is that the masses would believe that during the 1920’s prohibition violations would have populated the prison system.  However, in reality it was drug offenders: morphine and cocaine.  The KC NARA webpage states “Leavenworth had so many drug violators that they formed their own baseball teams. The "Morphines" and the "Cocaines" squared off in an annual contest to determine the best baseball-playing dope violators in the institution.” 

7)      Correspondence Log -These records may hold the post office and state of correspondence.  This kind of information may assist a researcher to a family’s whereabouts. 

8)      Personal Correspondence - Although letters were considered private property of inmates, they may have been confiscated and preserved due to a violation.  Imagine what could be gleaned from these letters!

9)      Trusty Prisoner’s Agreement - Perhaps your ancestor was remorseful and on the mends.  He may have been allowed to work outside the walls or in a low level job inside.  That might give a happy closure to those sleepless nights.

10)  Sentence of Court Case -We all have used court cases to further our research and you definitely wouldn’t want to disregard this one.

Although we don’t think of Leavenworth Penitentiary as being co-ed, it was for a short period. I don't think it took a Rocket Scientist to quickly figure out that was a bad a idea. 

Happy Cell Searching!

Kathleen Brandt
a3Genealogy@gmail.com
Accurate, accessible answers