Another type of genealogy record that provides tremendous value is criminal records. Some of our ancestors unfortunately got in trouble with the law. And records were kept from arrests through court cases to prison documents. Now, more and more of these records are being digitized or transcribed and are being made available online.
Types of Records
- Criminal court proceedings
- Police reports
- Prison and jail admission registers
- Arrest records
- Mug books
- Pardon and discharge information
- Hospital record books
- Workhouse records
Types of Information
- Name
- Age
- Birth date
- Height
- Weight
- Complexion
- Eye color
- Hair color
- Nationality
- Occupation
- Education
- Habits (alcohol use)
- Relations (parents living)
- Date incarcerated
- Court where charged
- Recommitments
- How and when discharged
Note: Some of the links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage, please make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.
Listed below are links to criminal records that are available for free online for the state; the first list is for multi-state collections:
(Updated February 2023)
New York Criminal Records
United States
- Before the Needles, Executions in America Database
- Death Penalty USA, Executions 1607-1976 (by state)
- Federal Bureau of Prisons, Inmate Search 1982-
- Freedmen’s Bureau Records Relating to Murders and Outrages
New York
- Albion Correctional Facility Inmate Index
- Allegany County, Early Court Records
- Attica Correctional Facility inmate Index
- Auburn Correctional Facility Inmate Index
- Bayview Correctional Facility inmate Index
- Bedford Hills Correctional Facility Inmate Index
- Bronx, Fulton Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0021
- Brooklyn, Bushwick Correctional Facility Inmate Case Files , W0063
- Bushwick Correctional Facility Inmate Index
- Cayuga County, Auburn Correctional Facility Inmate Case Files , W0006
- Cayuga County, Cayuga Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0013
- Cayuga County, Parole Board female inmate case files , B0050
- Chautauqua County, County Jail Inmates – 1860 Census
- Chautauqua County, County Jail Inmates – 1880 Census
- Chautauqua County, County Jail Inmates – 1900 Census
- Chautauqua County, County Jail Inmates – 1920 Census
- Chemung County, Elmira Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0018
- Clinton Correctional Facility inmate Index
- Clinton County, Altona Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0003
- Clinton County, Clinton Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0014
- Clinton County, State Prison Cemetery AKA Clinton Correctional Cemetery #2
- Cortland County, Miscellaneous Court Records, 1808-1849
- Cortland County, Records of Various Courts, 1824-1880
- Coxsackie Correctional Facility inmate Index
- Department of Corrections, Inmate Lookup, 1970-
- Dutchess County, Downstate Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0016
- Dutchess County, Fishkill Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0019
- Dutchess County, Green Haven Correctional Facility Inmate Case Files , W0025
- East Newark Cemetery, Part 2 – Wayne County
- Eastern Correctional Facility Inmate Index
- Edgecombe Correctional Facility inmate Index
- Elmira Correctional Facility inmate Index
- Erie County, Collins Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0015
- Executions in New York
- Executions in New York, 1600-1799
- Executions in New York, 1646-1963
- Franklin County, Bare Hill Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0007
- Franklin County, Franklin Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0020
- Fulton Correctional Facility inmate Index
- Great Meadow Correctional Facility inmate Index
- Green Haven Correctional Facility Inmate Index
- Greene County, Coxsackie Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0061
- Groveland Correctional Facility inmate Index
- Jefferson County, Cape Vincent Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0012
- Lincoln Correctional Facility inmate Index
- Livingston County, Groveland Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0027
- Livingston County, Oyer and Terminer Minutes, 1840-1841, 1859-1871
- Manhattan, Edgecombe Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0067
- Marcy Correctional Facility inmate Index
- Monroe County, Record of Inmates Monroe County NY Poor House in 1875
- New York City Prison “The Tombs”, 1850 Convict Census
- New York City, Bayview Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0008
- New York City, Lincoln Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0030
- New York City, Parkside Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0043
- New York State Pardons, 1819-1923
- New York State Reformatory Register of New Inmates, Index
- New York, 1880 U.S. Federal Census New York Juvenile Asylum
- New York, 1880 U.S. Federal Census New York Juvenile Asylum
- New York, Minutes and Roll of Attorneys, 1789-1841
- New York, New York City Prison census record transcriptions
- New York, New York State Reformatory Register of New Inmates of Italian Citizenry , B0126
- New York, Sing Sing Prison , B0145
- New York, Sing Sing Prison List of Foreign Born Prisoners , B0146
- New York, State Prison Pardons 1819
- New York, State Prison Pardons 1820
- New York, State Prison Pardons 1820
- New York, State Prison Pardons 1821
- New York, State Prison Pardons 1822
- New York, State Prison Pardons 1823
- New York, State Prison Pardons 1823
- New York, State Prison Pardons 1823
- New York, World War I Selective Service System draft registration cards, Prisoners, Insane, In Hospitals, 1917-1918
- Orleans County, Albion Correctional Facility Inmate Case Files , W0002
- Parkside Correctional Facility inmate Index
- Parole Board female inmate Index
- Queens County, Queensboro Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0044
- Queensboro Correctional Facility inmate Index
- Richmond County, Arthur Kill Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0004
- Sing Sing Prison List of Foreign Born Prisoners, Index
- Sing Sing Prison, Index
- St. Lawrence County, Minutes of Circuit Court and Court of Oyer & Terminer, 1848-1857
- Ulster County, Eastern Correctional Facility Inmate Case Files , W0017
- Washington County, Great Meadow Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0024
- Wayne County, Arrest Notes, 1883-1934
- Westchester County, Bedford Hills Correctional Facility Inmate Case Files , W0010
- Westchester County, Bedford Hills Prison Cemetery
- Westchester County, Sing-Sing Prison Cemetery (Defunct)
- Wyoming County, Attica Correctional Facility inmate case files , W0005
- Wyoming County, Prison Cemetery
- Yates County, Indictments, 1823-1899
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
For all Free New York Links, click on the category of interest:
Newspapers
Yearbooks
Births
Marriages
Deaths
BMD Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records
Church Records
Coroner Records
Criminal Records
Digital Archives
Directories
Divorce Records
Immigration Records
Institutional Records
Military Records
Mortuary Records
Naturalizations
Obituaries
Photos
Probate and Wills
School Records
Tax Records
Voter Records
For all Free New York Links, click on the category of interest:
Newspapers
Yearbooks
Births
Marriages
Deaths
BMD Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records
Church Records
Coroner Records
Criminal Records
Digital Archives
Directories
Divorce Records
Immigration Records
Institutional Records
Military Records
Mortuary Records
Naturalizations
Obituaries
Photos
Probate and Wills
School Records
Tax Records
Voter Records
