Auburn Prison Correspondence and Report File Relating to Inmate Escapes and Captures

Chronological by date of escape.

This series consists of records relating to the escape and capture of incarcerated individuals who had escaped from Auburn Prison and its various prison camps during the years 1927-1934. The records were used primarily to notify police agencies of the escapes and to explain the escapes to the Commissioner of Correction. Most of the records are contained in individual folders relating to approximately forty escapes and subsequent captures. The folders may include the following:

1) Correspondence, telegrams, and general releases notifying city police departments, county sheriffs, and railroad police of the escape and asking for assistance. Information on each incarcerated individual includes date of escape, name, description, criminal history, and birthplace. Photos and fingerprints may be included with the notice. Notices usually include an offer of a fifty-dollar reward for the capture of the incarcerated individual.

2) Memorandums describing the circumstances of the escape.

3) Report from the warden and other members of the Prison's Commutation Board to the Commissioner of Correction explaining the escape and capture. This record includes a statement by the officer in charge and a statement by the captured incarcerated individual describing his escape and capture.

4) Statement from the arresting officer describing the capture and claiming the reward offered. There may be statements from several police officers, each describing the arrest and claiming the right to the reward.

5) Correspondence between Auburn and local police officers usually relating to requests for additional information regarding the escape or capture of an incarcerated individual.

In addition, the series includes copies of several typed lists relating to escapes and captures from Auburn and its camps from 1913 to 1932. The first of these lists provides numbers of escapes and captures from each of these locations during the period. The second list gives dates of escape and capture for each incarcerated individual who escaped during the period.

Originally accessioned as part of old collection #500H, accession -441.

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