NARA’s Darned Hat Collection

Thank you to all who responded to my article last week, “Darned Hat Collection.” The question as to why NARA has a hat collection was a trick question. These photographs were not from a NARA hat collection, but a collection of prison records from the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. I “conveniently” left off the right profile of each mugshot.

W. H. Ames, Inmate Number 8757, at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary

“Convicted of white slavery in 1913, W. H. Ames specifically was found guilty of Transporting in Interstate Commerce a Woman for Immoral purposes. He was sentenced to one year and one day.”¹

 

Roan Horse, Inmate Number 5881, at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary

“Roan Horse was sentenced to one year for larceny in 1907. When asked to give a history of his crime he said, Sold a horse for $25 and as the man to whom I sold it did not give me the money as agreed in a weeks time I took the horse back and sold it to another party, was arrested in Deadwood S.D. and plead guilty to the charge of larceny.”²

 

Photograph of John L. McMonigle

“McMonigle spent nearly a year in prison for violating the Oleomargarine Act of August 2, 1886.”³ In other words, he was a margarine bootlegger.

 

Prisoner at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. Lizzie Cardish

“Fifteen years old; convicted of arson. Received a life sentence.”⁴ The Office of Indian Affairs in Washington had decided that “however distastetful such action may have been it was found necessary to make an example of those concerned in these unlawful acts.”⁵ The sentence was commuted at age 21.

 

Inmate File of Murray Pennell

“Crime: Conspiracy for Transporting Explosives.”⁶ Murray was convicted for his role in the ironworkers’ dynamite campaign.⁷

 

Inmate File of Mary Grayson

“Grayson was nineteen years old when convicted of larceny.”⁸

 

Prisoner at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. Mary Snowdon

“21 year old Indian; convicted of assualt [sic] with intent to kill.”⁹

 

Inmate File of Francisco Salinas

”Crime: Concealing Smuggled Property”¹⁰

Criminal records can be a rich source of information. These Leavenworth prisoner forms call for names and nativities of parents, wives, and inmates. The files contain records of letters sent, indicating addressee and relationship to the prisoner. Further, the stories behind these records are fascinating. Thank you, Judy, for teaching me about criminal records in general and leading me to this collection in particular.

Yes, records say the darnedest things!

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Sources

     1. “W. H. Ames, Inmate Number 8757, at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, 1913,” front and right profile booking photograph; Inmate Case Files, 7/3/1895 - 11/5/1957; Record Group 129: Records of the Bureau of Prisons, 1870 – 2009; National Archives at Kansas City, Missouri; digital image, National Archives (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5756503 : accessed 18 January 2016), NAID 5756503. The quoted text is from the catalog entry.
     2. “Roan Horse, Inmate Number 5881, at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, 1907,” front and right profile booking photograph; ibid.; digital image (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5756495 : accessed 18 January 2016), NAID 5756495. The quoted text is from the catalog entry.
     3. “Photograph of John L. McMonigle,” front and right profile booking photograph, undated; ibid.; digital image (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/596101 : accessed 18 January 2016), NAID 596101. The quoted text is from the catalog entry.
     4. “Prisoner at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. Lizzie Cardish., 1906,” front and right profile booking photograph; ibid.; digital image (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/292115 : accessed 18 January 2016), NAID 292115. The quoted text is from the catalog entry.
     5. “Fires of Incendiary Origin,” The Native American: Devoted to Indian Education 7 (7 July 1906): 220; digital images (https://books.google.com/books?id=SbsRAAAAYAAJ : accessed 18 January 2016).
     6. Murray Pennell front and right profile booking photograph, about 1 January 1913; “Inmate File of Murray Pennell”; Inmate Case Files, 7/3/1895 - 11/5/1957; Record Group 129: Records of the Bureau of Prisons, 1870 – 2009; National Archives at Kansas City, Missouri; digital image, National Archives (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/24725822 : accessed 18 January 2016), NAID 24725822. The quoted text is from the prisoner record document in the same file.
     7. “The Dynamite Conspiracy” American Industries: The Manufacturers’ Magazine 13 (January 1913): 8-12, especially 9; digital images (https://books.google.com/books?id=UB9HAQAAMAAJ : accessed 18 January 2016). See also “Dynamite Plot at Work,” Boston Evening Transcript, 16 February 1912, p. 6, cols. 4-5; digital image (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=koo-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=x1kMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4000%2C2753645 : accessed 18 January 2016).
     8. Mary Grayson front and right profile booking photograph, about 26 Febuary 1900; “Inmate File of Mary Grayson”; Inmate Case Files, 7/3/1895 - 11/5/1957; Record Group 129: Records of the Bureau of Prisons, 1870 – 2009; National Archives at Kansas City, Missouri; digital image, National Archives (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/12013774 : accessed 18 January 2016), NAID 12013774. The quoted text is from the prisoner record document in the same file..
     9. “Prisoner at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. Mary Snowdon, 1900,” front and right profile booking photograph; ibid.; digital image (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/292113 : accessed 18 January 2016), NAID 292113. The quoted text is from the catalog entry.
     10. Francisco Salinas front and right profile booking photograph, about 26 Febuary 1900; “Inmate File of Francisco Salinas”; Inmate Case Files, 7/3/1895 - 11/5/1957; Record Group 129: Records of the Bureau of Prisons, 1870 – 2009; National Archives at Kansas City, Missouri; digital image, National Archives (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7496904 : accessed 18 January 2016), NAID 7496904. The quoted text is from form 14-1000 in the same file.