Randy,

Your project sounds potentially valuable to other researchers, too.
Unfortunately, for your project, at least, access to the penitentiary records
at the Library of Virginia, as Gregg Kimball said, is severely restricted for
privacy reasons.

Should you get access to relevant records with fewer restrictions, I have a
small additional bit of advice.

In researching for the third (and next) volume of the Dictionary of Virginia
Biography the life of George Crawford, whose trial for a double murder in
Loundoun County was a cause celebre of the mid-1930s, I learned that inmates
are recorded in the records--at least those that I was able to examine--by
number, not by name (You know the scene, the snarling warden, "In here, punk,
you're just a number!").

This system seemed to work well for the state, but unless you know the
inmate's number, the records are frustrating to navigate.

The numbers were assigned consecutively, I believe, and knowing when your
felon was admitted to the pen can help to narrow the range of the inmate
number.

Anyway, best of luck with tracking down those missing Cabell materials.

John


On Thu, 2 Jan 2003 15:02:17 -0500 Randy Cabell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Thanks very much, Gregg.  I figured there must
> be some restriction, but if
> this cousin (Mayo C. Brown) is who I think he
> is, it goes a long way to
> clearing up a long standing mystery among the
> Cabells.  That is the story
> that ALL of the papers and research that
> Alexander Brown used to write THE
> CABELLS AND THEIR KIN in 1896, was inherited by
> a nephew, who got into
> financial difficulty, and sold them all, and
> they have disappeared.  I think
> this may be the nephew, and maybe we can track
> back and even find some of
> those long lost gems.
>
> Randy Cabell
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gregg Kimball"
> To:
> Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 8:12 AM
> Subject: Re: Records of Inmates at the Richmond
> Penitentiary
>
>
> > Randy,
> >
> > The Library of Virginia does have records of
> the penitentiary, but some
> have
> > use restrictions as I learned when
> researching the 1936 prison recordings
> by
> > John Lomax.  It's probably best if someone
> from archives answers your
> > question, so I forwarded your message on to
> the person who helped me.
> (She
> > is out until the 6th, so it will be next
> week).
> >
> > Gregg D. Kimball
> > Director of Publications and
> > Educational Services
> > Library of Virginia
> > 804/692-3722
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Randy Cabell
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2002 1:25 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Records of Inmates at the Richmond
> Penitentiary
> >
> >
> > One of the things one has to be prepared for
> when searching old records is
> > -- surprises.  So imagine mine when I found a
> distant (I think) cousin
> > writing my grandfather from the Richmond
> Penitentiary in 1929.  As the
> > real-estate ad goes... "I did not even know
> he was there."
> >
> > In any case, is there any way for me to find
> out more on this individual,
> > like what he was sent up the river for?
> >
> >
> > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe,
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> > at
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> > Randy Cabell
> >
> > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe,
> please see the instructions
> > at
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>
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John T. Kneebone
5107 Caledonia Road
Richmond, VA 23225
[log in to unmask]
804-231-1774

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