Series 3912

Territorial Penitentiary


Wardens' administrative records, 1855-1894.

View history of records' creator.

Schedule Description

These records cover the administrations of Wardens Daniel Carn, Alexander McRae, J.A. Little, Albert P. Rockwood, and Frederick Kesler, and document the general administration of the penitentiary during Utah's territorial period. Included are prison record books which contain descriptions of prisoners, the findings and sentences of courts, a record of their confinement and a summary of their crimes. Journals and other financial records show the purchase of supplies and the proceeds realized from the labor of prisoners. Several reports and other documents contain good historical data about the penitentiary or record information about conditions there. These include a draft history written by Warden Rockwood in 1877, a questionnaire about
prison conditions, and several reports written by Warden Kessler to the legislative assembly in the 1880s and 1890s. Other documents include warrants of confinement and the orders of release for individual prisoners, general correspondence, and some documents from a Justice of the Peace court about some specific cases.

Scope and Content

These records cover the administrations of Wardens Daniel Carn, Alexander McRae, J.A. Little, Albert P. Rockwood, and Frederick Kesler, and document the general administration of the penitentiary during Utah's territorial period. Included are prison record books which contain descriptions of prisoners, the findings and sentences of courts, a record of their confinement and a summary of their crimes. Journals and other financial records show the purchase of supplies and the proceeds realized from the labor of prisoners. Several reports and other documents contain good historical data about the penitentiary or record information about conditions there. These include a draft history written by Warden Rockwood in 1877, a questionnaire about prison conditions, and several reports written by Warden Kessler to the legislative assembly in the 1880s and 1890s. Other documents include warrants of confinement and the orders of release for individual prisoners, general correspondence, and some documents from a Justice of the Peace court about some specific cases.

Notes

A diazo copy of the microfilm is available for loan. The best quality can be obtained through the film available only in the Research Center however.