The Cleveland Workhouse and House of Refuge and Correction records, 1855-1924

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Summary

This collection contains registers of prisoners (December 1878 to April 1879 and September 1909 to September 1910) and registers of visitors (April 1890 to February 1893). The register of prisoners...

This collection contains registers of prisoners (December 1878 to April 1879 and September 1909 to September 1910) and registers of visitors (April 1890 to February 1893). The register of prisoners contains vital statistics about each prisoner (their age, place of birth, occupation, skin color, habits of life, marital status, education, religion, health, weight, and the amount of valuables they carried) as well as the current offense, the sentence, the court the prisoner was sentenced in, and the number of times the prisoner had previously been committed. The register of visitors notes the visitors' residence and provides a space for remarks by Workhouse officials. The collection also contains monthly time books that note the hours that each prisoner worked and the credit they earned towards making restitution. The collection contains time books for male prisoners from February to October 1873, time books for female prisoners from June 1883 to January 1884, and for both male and female prisoners from July 1909 to July 1910. Finally, the collection contains minutes of the Workhouse Board of Directors from 1875, 1876 and 1880-1887. These minutes discuss the disposition of prisoners as well as administrative matters such as building maintenance and staff pay. There are also balance books from January 1885 to April 1898, which show the income and expenditures from the Workhouse, and cashbooks showing cash advances from October 1884 to August 1895. General inventories from 1907 to 1909 and inventories for supplies issued for outdoor relief from January 1898 to December 2003 are also available.

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