New York State Prison Register of Prisoners Received

Chronological by year, then by color and gender, then alphabetical by name.

This bound volume contains summary information on prisoners received annually into the State Prison of the City of New York (Newgate Prison) from 1797 to 1810. The inspectors of the prison maintained this record in compliance with Chapter 30 of the Laws of 1796, which required them to submit an annual report to the legislature.

Within each year, the register is divided into four sections: White Men, White Women, Black Men, and Black Women. For each prisoner, the register provides name, birth place, crime, county of conviction, sentence, and date of sentence. In addition, before 1803 the register includes information on place of residence, occupation, skin complexion, hair color, height, and distinguishing physical characteristics of each prisoner.

Statistical summaries after each annual register include a breakdown of prisoners received during the year by crime, race, sex, place of birth, county of conviction, and length of sentence. Also provided are the number of: prisoners discharged by pardon or expiration of sentence; prisoners who died during the year; and prisoners remaining in the prison at the end of the year. Beginning in 1803, the register also includes a list of second and third time offenders received at the prison during the year. Each entry in this list includes: name, place of birth, race, date and crime of both first and second offense, date of discharge for first offense, and date of sentencing for second offense.

Microfilm is available at the New York State Archives.

The entire series is digitized and is available to New York State residents for free on Ancestry.com New York. You must sign up for a free account to access these records without a paid subscription. To learn more, go to How to Use Ancestry.com New York

Original volume is fragile. Digital and microfilm copies should be used.