The Ohio Historical Society holds the Prisoners’ Register (the admission books) for the Ohio Penitentiary from 1829 through 1973. These records, particularly those prior to 1900, are of real interest to genealogists as they often contain a great deal of personal information about people who are not regularly mentioned on family trees. Aside from the physical description, which includes eye color, hair color and distinguishing marks, there are the notes about behavior. These notes include drinking, smoking and religious habits but will also contain information about close family and friends: the sort of people the prisoner was likely to connect with should he escape.
You can view and make copies of these records at the Ohio Historical Center for 25 cents per page. Or you can write in to the Research Services department and request copies sent to you through the mail. We charge a fee of $12.00 for copies of the admission record if you can provide a specific citation to the admission entry. A specific citation must include the name of the prison, the name of the person being researched, and the year of admission. If you cannot provide a specific year of admission, it will be considered a research request. There is a base nonrefundable fee of $25.00 for research requests. For the $25.00 fee we will search the Ohio Penitentiary admission records for a specified time period of your choosing (within a 10-year range) for the admission entry.
If you are interested in knowing what other types of records OHS holds for the Ohio Penitentiary, access our Online Computer Catalog for information about the items we hold. You can reach our catalog at the following Web address: http://www.ohiohistory.org/occ/menu.htm. You can access our library holdings by choosing to do an “Archives/Library Collections” search. You can do a Browse Author (alphabetical by author) search for Ohio Penitentiary to see what kinds of records we have written by the Ohio Pen organization. You can also do a Browse Subject search for Ohio Penitentiary to see what kinds of items were written about the prison.
May 20, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I am looking for Prison records for Abraham Cross doing time for Grand Larceny in 1860. I found him in the Census record for the year of 1860. He was doing time in the Ohio Penitentiary, which is located in Columbus. Where I can I find his personal information?
thanks,
Kevin
May 21, 2008 at 7:14 am
Dear Kevin:
Thanks for commenting on our BLOG! Cross’ prison record should be filled with information about him including a physical description. You are welcome to come into the library and view the record yourself. If this is not possible then you will want to make a research request with us. (if you have the exact year he went into the Pen, then the cost would be $12.00, if not then the base research fee is $25.00). If you decide to come in, make sure you copy all the pages of the register as the records for this period are about 6 pages long.
If you have any other questions, please contact us.
September 28, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I am looking for information regarding my
father who may have been incarcerated in the
40’s. His name is Herbert Francis Lord
February 14, 2009 at 11:01 am
Do you have a standard form to be used for submitting research requests?
I’m looking for more information on Ransom Henry Rupe who spent 3 years in the Ohio Penitentiary (1850-1853/54).
Do the prison records give the reason for the incarceration? The only information I have is that he assaulted and severly beat another man. I am trying to find out the reason for the beating.