HISTORICAL RESEARCH SERVICE
Research
Due to high demand, there may be longer than normal delays in processing research requests. All requests will be processed in order as they are received by our research service.
The Friends of the Penitentiary Museum are pleased to offer to the public the opportunity to learn about inmates and personnel that spent time, one way or another, inside Canada's federal penitentiaries since the opening of Kingston Penitentiary in 1835.
In fact, our archive contains records dating back to c.1831. While no individual case or personnel files exist, the collection does include miscellaneous inmate and staff records, particularly for Kingston Penitentiary (K.P.) and Collin’s Bay Penitentiary (C.B.P.). K.P. Liberation interviews exist for the period between 1836 and 1881. Punishment registers of K.P. ranging from 1835 to 1908 can also reveal a great deal about the behavior of inmates while incarcerated. Records like letter books and registers from Dorchester Penitentiary and Manitoba Penitentiary (Stony Mountain) provide similar information for the late 19th and early 20th century. Other records such as Warden’s journals and letter books, as well as the minutes and memoranda of the Inspectors of Penitentiaries, shed light on life behind the walls of federal prisons in the 19th century.
We can provide further research on the following subjects:
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The museum’s collection of identification photos of offenders, for Kingston Penitentiary as early as 1923 and for Collin's Bay from the 1930s. Some limited photos are also available for Dorchester and British Columbia Penitentiary. (May be subject to ATIP restrictions.)
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Details related to staff including their start and end dates of employment, rank, age, promotions, and religious faith up to the 1950s and earlier (with some short gaps) can be provided for most federal penitentiaries across Canada.
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We can also provide general institutional histories for all Canadian federal penitentiaries, as well as information regarding more specific penitentiary operations, practices, customs, descriptions, etc.
- Our archive includes thousands of photos from a wide range of federal penitentiaries in Canada dating back to the 19th century.
Please note that this is a fee-based service. Please contact the museum’s research service at 613-530-3122 or info@penitentiarymuseum.ca for more information.