Prison records

Federal penitentiary case files

The National Archives holds inmate case files from four federal penitentiaries. Leavenworth, Kansas, opened in July 1895; its files, at the National Archives at Kansas City, ran from 1895 to 1952 as of 2013 and cover roughly the first half of the prison's existence. Atlanta's files cover only 1902 to 1921 and are at the National Archives at Atlanta. McNeil Island, Washington, has prisoner case files from about 1875 to 1920 at the National Archives at Seattle. Alcatraz, which held 1,576 inmates, has case files mostly from 1934 to 1963 at the National Archives at San Francisco.

Except at Alcatraz, where they are alphabetical, the files are arranged by inmate number, so you start with a name index. The National Archives has free online name indexes for Alcatraz, Atlanta, and Leavenworth; in 2013 the McNeil Island index was online only at Ancestry, which also indexed the other three. The National Archives at Seattle holds other McNeil Island records too, such as prisoner commitment logs from 1881 to 1951 and parole board minutes from 1911 to 1928. The National Archives' prison records page even shows a warden's notebook page with the mug shot of Robert Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz.

What a federal inmate file contains

A typical Leavenworth file includes the inmate photograph, record sheet, personal data sheet, fingerprints, daily work record, hospital record, physician's examination, correspondence log, personal letters, trusty prisoner's agreement, and sentence of court. The record sheet gives name, alias, inmate number, race, crime, sentence, dates received and released, occupation, age, and disciplinary violations.

The personal data sheet is the genealogist's page. It can record nativity, date of birth, parents, marital status, number of children, the wife's address, permanent address, next of kin, education, literacy, and religion, along with the place of arrest, the judge, and the plea. The correspondence log lists letters in and out and can reveal family and friends, and the trusty prisoner's agreement asked the inmate to name two character references.

Files grew over time. Leavenworth files from 1895 to 1905 are thin, usually only the photograph, record sheet, sentence of court, and correspondence log, while mid-twentieth-century files can run to hundreds of pages and include the social interview the Bureau of Prisons began in the 1930s. The sentence of court names the court and docket number, which leads to the criminal case file.

Access and privacy

Prison files hold medical and personal details, so access is limited for recent records. A 2013 National Archives handout lists the conditions for release: the file was created at least 75 years ago, or the inmate is deceased and the researcher can prove it with a death certificate, an obituary, or the Social Security Death Index. Information about third parties may be redacted.

Women were rarely at Leavenworth. They averaged only two days there before being moved to the Kansas State Penitentiary at Lansing, which had a women's wing, and since 1927 federal women prisoners have been sent to Alderson, West Virginia. A dozen women's files survive in the Leavenworth holdings.

State penitentiary records

Prisoners convicted under state law went to state prisons, and the National Archives notes that state archives hold records of value to genealogists, prison records among them. What survives, and how it is indexed, varies by state.

Missouri is a good example of what to expect. The Missouri State Penitentiary, the first state prison west of the Mississippi River, opened in 1836 and operated until 2004. The Missouri State Archives' free database indexes the Register of Inmates Received from 1836 to 1931, which records the prisoner, the crime and sentence, and when the prisoner entered and was released, and a Register of Military Prisoners from 1864 to 1875. Mug shots became a required part of reception only in 1928, and about 120 glass plate negatives survive from 1909 to 1926. Commutations, pardons, Bertillon measurements, and escape records are available by asking the reference staff. As of 2026, a print copy of a register entry costs $1.00 by mail, sent with a stamped, self-addressed envelope.