(This page's most recent update is September 2024)
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Another type of genealogy record that provides tremendous value is criminal records. Some of our ancestors unfortunately got in trouble with the law. 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 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 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:
Oklahoma 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
Oklahoma
- Adair County, Criminal Case, Criminal Justice, Criminal Trial Dockets, 1907-1960
- Carter County, Trial Dockets, 1911-1926
- Choctaw County, Oklahoma State Penitentiary Prisoner Cards Index
- Choctaw Nation Inmates, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, 1880-1922
- Choctaw Nation, Fort Smith Criminal Case Files, 1866-1900
- Cleveland County, Journal of Court Proceedings, 1890-1929
- Custer County, Jail Calendar, 1895-1936
- Greer County, Civil and Criminal Dockets, 1886-1931; Judges Trial Dockets, 1909-1917; General Index Court Docket, 1902-1906
- Greer County, Civil Index, 1915-1929; Civil Appearance Docket, 1896-1932
- Marshall County, Aylesworth State Prison Farm, 1916-1925
- McAlister, Pittsburg County, an Extraction of Records from the Oklahoma State Prison, 1910
- Oklahoma Executions
- Oklahoma State Executions
- Oklahoma State Penitentiary Photograph Cards and Fingerprint Cards
- Oklahoma, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, Prisoners, Insane, Hospitalized, 1917-1918
- Pittsburg County, Department of Corrections Prison Cemetery
- Pittsburg County, McAlester State Prison Cemetery
- Pittsburg County, McAlester State Prison Cemetery
- Pushmataha County, United States Court for the Central District of the Indian Territory, Criminal Judgments and Sentences, 1895-1900
- State Penitentiary Photograph Cards and Fingerprint Cards Index
- Woodward County, Prisoner Records, 1921-1926
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!