Auburn Prison Inmate Record Cards

Alphabetical by surname.

This series consists of record cards for approximately 18,000 incarcerated individuals released from Auburn Prison from 1915 to 1970. The cards contain summary information on each individual's background, criminal activity, behavior and progress during confinement, and release from Auburn.

These records were likely used by the Principal Keeper/Deputy Warden to record basic information about individuals in the prison population. Much of the information on the card duplicates the information found on the Warden's Record Card that was filed with individual's central case file. A large number of the cards indicate that the case file was destroyed, thereby increasing the value of the information preserved on these record cards.

B1222-77: The format and information contained on the record cards varies slightly over time. Cards are approximately 6" x 10" in size and contain information on both sides. The following basic information is contained on each of the cards: name and consecutive number; crime (date, type, county, court, judge, plea, date of sentence); date and place of birth; characteristics (age, color, height, weight); marital status and number of children; name and address of immediate relatives; religion; educational level and occupation; health and use of alcohol or drugs; citizenship; prison term (number of days in jail, minimum term, maximum term, date maximum term expires, date received at Auburn or at previous institution if transferred); Auburn Prison information including cell number, shop location, and grade at release, locations and dates of shop assignments, dates of promotions to new grade, disciplinary action (description and dates of infractions, number of days forfeited) and photograph; date and type of release (parole, transfer, etc.); and notation if the individual's central files were destroyed.

B1222-77: Originally accessioned as part of old collection #500G, accession -441.

B1222-99: This accretion resulted from a project by Archives staff in 1999 to integrate or accession estrayed or unidentified records. When the series was rearranged alphabetically to facilitate access in 2017-2018, the cards in this accretion were folded into the original accession and the accretion ceased to exist as a separate set.

Summary information on adult incarcerated individuals is disclosable under law. State Archives staff will review records containing probation, parole, medical, and juvenile criminal history data and disclose information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law and Personal Privacy Protection Law. The identity of victims of sex crimes is not disclosable. Unless a specific law forbids disclosure indefinitely, all records must be disclosed after 75 years.