Tennessee Convicts: Early Records of the State Penitentiary 1831-1850. Volume 1

The records of the Tennessee State Penitentiary can be viewed in two ways. A casual approach reveals a body of historical records of fascinating and valuable detail. But on closer reflection, the misery and evil reflected in the records will send a chill down the spine of the imaginative reader. Most people shrink from thinking much about prisons. But the process of dealing with crime and criminals in 19th-century Tennessee resulted in the creation of a huge body of records. They range from the minutes and case files of the local courts to the records of gubernatorial pardons. For both the historian and the genealogist, these records are well worth investigating. The purpose of this book is to provide both historical and genealogical information based on the earliest records of the Tennessee State Penitentiary. The impetus for the work came from the discovery of several ledgers maintained by the Keeper of the Penitentiary, who kept a careful record of each prisoner. These records, housed at the Tennessee State Library and Archives, provide fascinating glimpses into the identities of the inmates of the Penitentiary during its first two decades. The world these records represent can never be completely understood by modern minds, but a study of the laws providing for punishment and of the rules and procedures of the Penitentiary helps shed some light on them. Over 3,000 entries through 1850 with crimes listed from petty theft to murder, and include personal details of convicts (also family/birth information), when available. Following is a typical entry for most convicts: Name: James W. Grey, age 50, born in Tennessee, occupation: farmer. Convicted of fellony [sic] by a court in Knox County, and sentenced to 3 years in the Penitentiary. Received July 24, 1839 and discharged July 14, 1842. Notes: pardoned by Gov. Jones, Number in ledger 86: 409.