NOTE: The Tennessee State Penitentiary opened in 1831. Prior to 1831 convicted felons were held in county jails. The Tennessee State Library and Archives has the surviving records of the Tennessee State Penitentiary and their index of inmates was taken from ledger volume 43 of those records. TSLA will provide a copy of the actual entry from the ledger upon request. Please see their email research policy at tn.gov/tsla .
This list names only those individuals convicted in Anderson County, whether they lived in Anderson County or not, and sent by the Court to the state penitentiary. It does not include anyone convicted in a military court.
Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary from Anderson County, 1831-1850:
[In addition to the name, offense and age listed here, the ledger states the inmates’ state of birth, date received at the penitentiary and date of discharge from the penitentiary.]
Coleman, Oscar S. – felony, age 37
Dunavan, Ephraim – larceny, age 25
Kesterson, Hazard – petit larceny, age 52
Kirk, Elvin – malicious stabbing, age 24
Kirk, Elvin – robbery, age 35
Knight, John – counterfeiting, age 24
Langston, George R. – petit larceny, age 27
Leath, Addison – stabbing, age 25
Massey, Ransom – larceny, age 24
Qualls, John – malicious stabbing, age 23
Shelton, James – petit larceny, age 22
Smith, Warren – petit larceny, age 18
Smith, William R. – counterfeiting, age 35
Sparks, William – petit larceny, age 33
Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary from Anderson County, 1851-1870:
[Ledger gives name of inmate, crime of which convicted, age, race (not always stated), year convicted and county or court in which the inmate was convicted.]
Burton, William – robbery, no age stated, 1865
Frost, George – larceny, age 18, 1853
Griffith, Henry – murder, no age stated, 1870
Harness, Jacob – larceny, age 26, 1856
Harrison, Lewis – larceny, age 25, 1866
Hogshead, John/Johnson – murder, age 23, 1866
Kesterson, James – larceny, age 31, 1859
Mathis, James – larceny, age 25, 1861
McDonald, Ed – larceny, age 20, 1868
Nash, Joseph – larceny, age 27, 1866
Ragsdale, Mike – horse stealing, age 28, 1867
Raley, Moses – burglary, age 36, 1852
Robbins, Samuel – felony, age 32, 1861
Shelton, James – larceny, age 58, 1859
Shope, Robert – larceny, no age stated, 1865
Short, Alexander – counterfeiting, age 18, 1858
Short, Ritta – counterfeiting, age 50, 1858
Short, William – counterfeiting, age 60, 1858
Smith, William – larceny, age 20, 1869
Stewart, Frederick – robbery, no age stated, 1865
Taylor, Levi – murder, age 24, 1865
Taylor, W. J. – larceny, age 29, 1860
White, Charles – horse stealing, no age stated, 1865
White, Jacob – larceny, age 18, 1868
White, Richard – larceny, age 26, 1866
[Abstracted from index at tn.gov/tsla by Stephanie A. Hill.]