If your relative ran afoul of the law, criminal records can give you a peek into their lives. Records can include personal details such as birth date and place, immigration information, sentence, date and place of trial, and more.
Even if you aren’t aware of any criminal behavior in your family, check these records anyway in case that information was erased from family lore. Bureaucratic paperwork might be unpopular with the people who have to wade through it, but those records can be fabulous resources for family historians.
To start looking for criminal records, see Court, Governmental, & Criminal Records. In this collection, you can search for your ancestor across many locations and time periods. The following lists give you an idea of the kind of resources you’ll find in the collection.
United States
- California, U.S., Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, Prisoner Index, 1934-1963
- Washington, U.S., U.S. Penitentiary McNeil Island, Photos and Records of Prisoners Received, 1887-1939
- Kansas, U.S., U.S. Penitentiary Leavenworth, Name Index to Inmate Case Files, 1895-1936
- Georgia, U.S., U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta, Prisoner Index, 1880-1922
- Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S., Criminal Case Files, 1866-1900
- U.S., 1880 Federal Census Schedules of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes
United Kingdom
- England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892
- Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, Pub Blacklist, 1903-1906
- UK, Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849
- UK, Licences of Parole for Female Convicts, 1853-1871, 1883-1887
Australia
- New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849
- Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Other Fleets & Ships, 1791-1868
- New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Convicts'’ Applications to Marry, 1826-1851
- New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia, Convict Pardons and Tickets of Leave, 1834-1859
- Australia, List of Convicts with Particulars, 1788-1842
- Australia, Convict Index, 1788-1868
- New South Wales, Australia Convict Ship Muster Rolls and Related Records, 1790-1849
- New South Wales, Australia, Convict Death Register, 1826-1879
- New South Wales, Australia, Convict Savings Bank Books, 1824-1886
- New South Wales, Australia, Settler and Convict Lists, 1787-1834
- New South Wales, Australia, Convict Registers of Conditional and Absolute Pardons, 1788-1870
- Australian Convict Transportation Registers – First Fleet, 1787-1788
- Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Second Fleet, 1789-1790
- Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Third Fleet, 1791