Index to Jail Register, Lake County, Ohio, 1869-1908

The volume is kept by the Clerk of Courts in Common Pleas, 25 N. Park Place, Painesville, Ohio. It is digitized and is found on their site under "Historical Naturalization Records" https://recordroom.cottsystems.com/lakeoh/guest/search/oib On the right side, the top search engine is for index books and cards. The search engine below that is for unindexed records.

The book consists of 298 pages, that last six are blank. There are 2,722 indexed entries, with many names repeated. The ledger crosses two pages. The information found there includes name, place of nativity, offence charged, date of commitment, when discharged, by what authority, number of days in jail, No. of Days in dung'n, age, height, color of hair, color of eyes; fees for commitment, board and washing, attending prisoner before court, discharged and total. From page 138, it also includes a column for if married, and later for can read and write. Not every blank is filled in for every person.

The handwriting is not always distinguishable, so there may be other interpretations of names. Also, the low literacy rate may have contributed to a high number of misspellings. Widely browsing the list is suggested. Some numbers were difficult to read, so could be incorrectly indexed. The difference between yes and no is miniscule in many cases, so even marital status could be incorrect. Always consult the "original." Entries which were crossed off were mostly indexed anyway.

The word "Colored" was used in these records as was politically correct at the time. If we picked it up, we did note it for benefit of those searching. Sometimes this was noted with the name, sometimes with the nativity or the description.

During the indexing and proofing, several things were deduced. Most people were listed one day and also the next. Did they get out on bail, and came back for court? The same offense appears for both entries. The first half of the book seems to have been entered on the date of commitment, as they run very sequentially. The second half seems to have been entered upon discharge with the commitment dates quite scattered. There appears to be a large percentage of offenders who were migrants to Ohio or immigrants, especially as time went on and the population changed. The level of literacy tends to be very low. Most offenders are under 50 years of age, mostly male, and large numbers in late teens, twenties and thirties. Most men were not married, but many of the women were.

Females were often incarcerated for insanity; others for intoxication, and, on more rare occasions, for stealing or other offenses. A lot of boys and young men got picked up for riding the "cars" (trains), and similar train mischief. Several children were incarcerated waiting for a judge to decide their disposition following neglect, assault, or intoxicated parents. Some people were in for protection of witness. Not everyone listed was a criminal.

This work was indexed and submitted by Margaret Frank.

Lake County, Ohio Sheriffs, Jail Register, Lake County,1869-1908, held by Clerk of Courts, Painesville, Ohio; digital images at Clerk of Courts' Website (https://recordroom.cottsystems.com/lakeoh/guest/search/oib : accessed 6 April 2021).