U.S. Prison, Convict, and Inmates Records and Indexes on the Internet

Note: this is generally not the place to look for databases of currently incarcerated prisoners. This guide is for historical prison records, indexes, and databases for genealogy and other biographical research.

Alabama, U.S., Death Record of State Convicts, 1843-1951 at Ancestry/requires payment

• Arizona Historical Prison Register: Alphabetical Listing of Inmates Received Prior to 1972
• Arizona Historical Prison Register: Life Imprisonment and Death Sentences, 1875-1966
• Arizona, State Prison Records, 1875-1929 at Ancestry/requires payment
• Arizona, Yuma, Prison Records, 1884-1910 at FamilySearch; from the Yuma Territorial Prison

• Folsom and San Quentin State Prison Records...
• California, Prison and Correctional Records, 1851-1950 at Ancestry/requires payment; includes Folsom and San Quentin State Prison Records and Youth Authority Dept. Records; coverage varies by prison
• Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary Indexes...
• California, U.S., Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, Prisoner Index, 1934-1963 at Ancestry/free with registration
• Former Alcatraz Inmates List from the National Archives
• Alcatraz Island Warden's Notebook Pages, 1934-1963 from the National Archives (partially available online)

Colorado State Penitentiary Index, 1871-1973; and State Reformatory Index, 1887-1939 also indexes some pardons

Wethersfield State Prison Records

• Atlanta Federal Penitentiary Case Files Index from the National Archives
• Georgia, Penitentiary Atlanta, Prisoner Index, 1880-1922 at Ancestry/requires payment

PDF publications from the Idaho State Historical Society

• Inmates of the Idaho Penitentiary, 1864-1947: a Comprehensive Catalog PDF
• Idaho Penitentiary Inmates, 1864-1947: Catalog - Women PDF
• Idaho Penitentiary Inmates: Inmates Associated with the Mining industry, 1865-1910 PDF
• Idaho Penitentiary Inmate Files Collection, 1948-1975 - List of Names PDF

Database at Ancestry

• Idaho, Old Penitentiary Prison Records, 1882-1961 at Ancestry/requires payment

• Register of Illinois Prison Records
• This database provides an index for the Registers of Prisoners received at the Illinois State Penitentiary at Alton Prison (1833-1841; 1847-1858), the Illinois State Penitentiary at Joliet (ca. 1858-1901) and Southern Illinois Penitentiary at Chester (Menard) (ca. 1865-1908).
• Randolph County, Illinois, Menard Prison, St. Dismas Parish, Deaths, 1939-1959 digitized microfilm from FamilySearch
• Transcriptions of the Alton Prison registers up to 1860 and the Joliet Prison registers

Indiana Department of Correction Indexes includes...

• Indiana State Prison North 1897-1945 (23252)
• Indiana State Reformatory 1898-1926 (15249)
• Boys' School (14322)
• Indiana Women's Prison (12698)
• Indiana State Prison South (11995)
• Indiana State Prison North (10574)
• Girls' School (5737)
• Indiana State Farm (1174)
• Board of State Charities Life Prisoner Statements (204)
• Coverage varies by prison

Iowa, Consecutive Registers of Convicts, 1867-1970 at Ancestry/requires payment

• Kansas, Leavenworth Penitentiary, Name Index to Inmate Case Files, 1895-1936 at Ancestry/free with registration
• Name Index to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary Inmate Case Files, 1895-1931 from the National Archives

• Louisiana, State Penitentiary Records, 1866-1963 from FamilySearch
• New Orleans, Louisiana, Arrest Records, 1805-1865 at Ancestry/requires payment
• New Orleans, Louisiana, Arrest Records, 1866-1931 at Ancestry/requires payment

Missouri State Penitentiary Database, 1836-1931 from the Missouri State Archives

Montana, Prison Records, 1861-1968 at Ancestry/requires payment

• Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Incarceration Records Search
• Nebraska Prisoner Records Database, 1870-1990 compiled from Nebraska Board of Pardons and Parole registers

Nevada State Prison Inmate Case Files, 1863-1972

New Hampshire, U.S., Prison Records, 1812-1968 at Ancestry/requires payment

New Mexico, Prison and Correctional Records, 1905-1958 at Ancestry/requires payment

• New York State Archives: Prisons and Inmates Name Index includes Attica, Sing Sing and other prisons; coverage varies by prison
• New York: Indexes to Prison Inmate Case Files for many individual prisons in New York
• New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision: Inmate Lookup (since the 1970s)
• New York Prison Records at Ancestry (these require a fee-based subscription to Ancestry.com)...
• New York, Auburn Prison Records, 1816-1942
• New York, Clinton Prison Admission Ledgers, 1851-1866, 1926-1939
• New York, Great Meadow Correctional Facility Records, 1911-1933
• New York, Prisoners Received at Newgate State Prison, 1797-1810
• New York, Sing Sing Prison Admission Registers, 1865-1939
• New York, Governor's Registers of Commitments to Prisons, 1842-1908
• New York, Discharges of Convicts, 1882-1915
• New York, Executive Orders for Commutations, Pardons, Restorations, Clemency and Respites, 1845-1931

• Ohio Incarceration Records Index Search, 1888-1923 (Bertillon Card Index)
• Summit County Index to Ohio State Penitentiary Prisoner Registers, 1840-1938

• Oregon, State Prison Records, 1854-1946

Pennsylvania, Prison, Reformatory, and Workhouse Records, 1829-1971 at Ancestry/requires payment; includes the Allegheny County Workhouse, the Eastern State Penitentiary, the Pennsylvania Industrial Reformatory (Huntingdon), and the Western State Penitentiary; coverage varies by facility

South Carolina, Sheriff Department Records, 1865-1966 at Ancestry/requires payment

• Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary, 1831-1850
• Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary, 1851-1870

Texas, Convict and Conduct Registers, 1875-1945 at Ancestry/requires payment

• Utah Board of Pardons Prisoners' Pardon Application Case Files from the Utah Division of Archives and Records Service; These are searchable by name and also indexed here:
• Index to Utah State Board of Pardons Prisoners' Pardon Application Case Files, 1892-1949
• Utah, State Prison Records, 1875-1947 at Ancestry/requires payment
• Ogden, Utah Police Arrest and Jail Record Books, 1902-1941

• Corrections Department, Washington State Penitentiary, Commitment Registers and Mug Shots, 1887-1946 from the Washington State Archives - Digital Archives
• Washington, State Corrections and Jail Records, 1877-1970 at Ancestry/requires payment
• Washington, U.S. Penitentiary McNeil Island, Photos and Records of Prisoners Received, 1887-1939 at Ancestry/requires payment

Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Name Search for Inmates in Federal Prisons, 1982 to the present

For some Civil War prisons see: Online Civil War Records and Indexes

Return to: People Searching: Finding Living and Recently Deceased People in the USA

This list was updated on 30 March 2024.

© 2023-2024 Joe Beine