Indexing Felony Indictment Records, Update

“I was drunk all day, I did not mean to steal the child.” -Lizzie Colbert

On October 26, 1879, Lizzie Colbert, entered a guilty plea before the Police Justice at the First District Police Court in Manhattan. She had been charged with “decoying child.” The details of this unfortunate incident, and thousands of other felony offenses, can be found in the Municipal Archives collection of New York County Court of General Sessions Indictments, also known as the New York District Attorney Felony Indictment files.

Criminal Courts, a.k.a. “The Tombs,” Valentine’s Manual, 1864. NYC Municipal Library.

The felony indictment series date from 1790 through the 1970s and are a significant component of the Archives’ collections related to the administration of criminal justice. Beginning in 1990, the Archives received federal funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for projects to preserve, index and reformat these materials. The Archives successfully persuaded the Endowment that the records had national importance based on their volume (thousands of cubic feet), date span (1686 to through the 20th century), and for their intellectual content. Generations of both academic and family historians have mined these records for unique information about the people of the city, specifically, and more generally, American urban history.

In 1997, the Archives received support from the NEH to index and microfilm the felony indictment files from 1879 through 1892. A second award from the NEH supported digitization of the microfilm. Creation of the index to this series greatly expanded researcher access. Two years ago, the ongoing demand for information from the records prompted the Archives to launch a project to continue indexing the series. The work began with cases filed in 1879, and has proceeded in reverse chronological order. Currently, case files from 1868 are being indexed. For the Record described the indictment record indexing project in What We're Working on Now - Indexing Felony Indictment Files. Since then, the names of 28,665 defendants have been added to the index.  

The indexing project includes entering names of the defendants, the offense, and date of indictment, into a searchable database. As noted in the previous article, the types of cases found in this series include indictments for a wide variety of felony crimes. As expected, there are hundreds of larceny, assault, and robbery cases. Prosecutors also charged numerous defendants with fraud, libel, forgery, arson, perjury, and keeping a disorderly house. The high volume of homicide, murder, and manslaughter cases points to the harsh reality of life in a densely populated growing city. Similarly, cases of cruelty to animals are a reflection of the vast equine population at that time.    

As noted above there are a wide variety of offenses handled by the prosecutors. Among the more notable cases, at least in terms of quantity, are the bigamy files. The case of the people vs. Marie Wellerdick, from June 1879, may be typical. A letter from her attorney in the file informed the District Attorney that the defendant “was abandoned by her [first] husband.” Then, some years later she “lived with Albert Weber as his mistress and had two children by him.” Two years later, Weber became very ill and “on his death bed he requested her to marry him.”  She, believing her former husband dead, “complied with his wishes and the ceremony was performed on the 18th day of August 1873.” Inconveniently, the first husband was not dead. The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Horace Russell, however, decided to withdraw the charge. In a note added to the case file, he wrote that the defendant “was not of such a character as that she should be prosecuted further. A death bed marriage to satisfy the conscience of a dying man might not to be made an occasion of a criminal conviction.” June 7, 1879.

The People vs. Thomas O’Connor, June 15, 1869, New York District Attorney Case Files, NYC Municipal Archives.

Not all of the cases involve grievous harm to persons or property. In the newly indexed case files, there are about a dozen prosecutions related to the distribution of “obscene” materials. On June 15, 1869, prosectors indicted Thomas O’Connor, a.k.a. James Dexter, for “selling obscene books.” The file helpfully includes a copy of a flier listing the available publications and products. Books titled “Amours of a Modest Man,” and “Scenes in a Nunnery,” along with “French Transparent Cards,” and stereoscopic pictures, are just some of the items offered.  

It is not entirely clear what prompted the indictment, but the case file includes a short letter, dated May 10, 1869, from Stuart A. Wilson of Nebraska City, Nebraska. In the letter to “James Dexter” he complained that he had sent 50 cents along with a request for one of his publications from “Cupid’s Own Library,” but had not received the requested item. He added that his order for another book had also not been fulfilled. Wilson warned Dexter that “if I do not hear from you within 20 days I will positively have you punished.” He added, “it is not the money I want but justice.” Apparently, Wilson followed through on his threat as the letter found its way to the prosecutor’s office.  

The O’Connor/Dexter case file also includes the deposition of Riley A. Brick. He stated that on January 30, 1869, he called at Dexter/O’Connor’s place of business, 60 Warren Street. He saw the defendant there and “inquired if he could purchase some obscene books.” Dexter said yes. Riley went on to state that he was a “member of the Young Men’s Christian Association of the City of New York and that “his purpose in this proceeding is to protect families and society against the circulation of said obscene and indecent books sold by [the defendant] and to punish him therefore.” It is not entirely clear from the documents, but it appears that O’Connor/Dexter switched his plea to “guilty,” and the charges may have been dismissed. 

County Jail, Valentine’s Manual, 1870. NYC Municipal Library.

Lizzie Colbert was not the only defendant accused of “Decoying Child” in the autumn of 1879. On September 17, 1879, prosecutors charged that Rebecca Kelly “... did maliciously forcibly and fraudulently take, carry away, decoy and entice away” the child Prince Matthews from his sister Eugenia. The native-born Kelly, 20 years old, listed her occupation on the plea statement as “I do anything I can get to do.” She initially plead ‘not guilty,’ but then later “acknowledged that she found said child on the Bowery near Houston Street and that he was not her child.” The jury at her trial could not agree to convict and on October 24, 1879, the Court discharged Kelly.   

Lizzie Colbert did not fare as well. Even though she voluntarily brought the child she admitted was not her own to the 27th Police Precinct Station, and offered the seemingly reasonable excuse that she had been drunk all day, the jury voted to convict. The Court sentenced her to one year in the State penitentiary.  

The People vs. Rebecca Kelly, September 17, 1879; The People vs. Lizzie Colbert, November 6, 1879, New York District Attorney Case Files, NYC Municipal Archives.

Researchers are invited to access and further explore the collection.  Look for future For the Record articles that chronicle project progress.  

What We're Working on Now: Indexing Felony Indictment Files

On November 25, 1878, Richard Plunkett wrote to a Mr. W. D. Sloane from his jail cell in “The Tombs” prison. “I will once again appeal to you for mercy not for myself but for my poor old father & mother who is on the brink of the grave and for my poor wife and two little children all of whom with yourself I have so cruelly wronged.” In another missive from his cell on the same day, he added with regard to his wife and children, “I don’t know what will become of them I suppose they will go to the poorhouse.”

“The Tombs” Prison with its distinctive “Egyptian” motif entrance, ca. 1880s. DeGregorio Lantern Slide Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

The letters, and other documents can be found in the New York District Attorney’s felony prosecution file, Peo. v. Richard Plunkett, November 14, 1878. According to the Bill of Indictment, the Grand Jury indicted Mr. Plunkett for “Embezzlement and Grand Larceny” of money from the firm of W. & J. Sloane. The file included evidence in the form of a check made payable to “R. Plunkett” for One Thousand Sixty-Four Dollars,” [equivalent to about $30,000 currently] dated October 29, 1878, drawn on the Bank of New York.

In one of his several letters to the Sloane brothers, proprietors of the firm, Plunkett explains, “Mr. Sloane whatever money I took it was not to hoard up... if that was the case I could have taken tens of thousands; no, it was only when I had no money to satisfy my thirst for rum.”

Letter to W. D. Sloane, from Richard Plunkett, page 1, November 25, 1878. New York District Attorney Indictments Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Letter to W. D. Sloane, page 2. New York District Attorney Indictments Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

These letters, and many thousands of similar documents, are found in the New York District Attorney’s closed case file collection, one of the series of records pertaining to the administration of criminal justice in the Municipal Archives.

Beginning in 1990, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded grant funds to the Municipal Archives for several projects to ensure long-term preservation and provide greater access for selected series in the collection. The types of material include docket books, minutes of court proceedings, and case files. They currently total more than 20,000 cubic feet, and date from 1684 through the 1980s.

Bill of Indictment, for “Larceny of Money & Etc. from the Person in the Night,” with notation of conviction, 1878. New York District Attorney Indictments Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Among the preservation projects, the Endowment supported indexing the New York District attorney’s felony indictments from 1879 through 1894. Creation of that index greatly expanded the utility of the series for social historians and other researchers. The Archives is currently continuing the indexing effort, beginning with cases filed in 1878 and working in reverse chronological order.

The records being indexed consist of the “files” or papers, produced over the course of the felony indictment process. Each file pertains to a particular defendant accused of a felony. The case files generally include three types of documents: 1) the grand jury indictment (a “bill” of indictment), signed by the foreman; 2) documents generated by the lower courts—police or magistrate’s—including the defendant’s plea; and 3) supporting documents including witness statements, coroner’s inquests, photographs, newspaper clippings, correspondence, diaries, marriage certificates, business cards, and bankbooks.  

Plea Statement, Police Court, 1878. New York District Attorney Indictments Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

The first document in most case files is the formal indictment; it serves as a cover sheet for the succeeding items in the file. It typically reads, “The People vs.... [name of defendant]” and lists the alleged offense, name of counsel, date of indictment, name of district attorney, and whether or not the defendant has been bailed. It is signed by the foreman of the grand jury. There is usually a notation indicating the trial outcome, e.g. “tried and acquitted” or, “convicted” and sometimes if convicted, the sentence, e.g. “S.P. (State Penitentiary), 10 years.” The indictment also includes a full account of the alleged criminal offense; for more routine crimes, this usually consists of a printed form where the clerk simply fills in the name of the defendant. Otherwise, it is a very detailed written statement.

The file includes various documents generated during the arraignment process in the police court. They comprise the original “complaint” filed by a police officer, the victim of the crime, or an officer of an organization such as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The forms detail the names of the police court justice, arresting officer, court clerk, and witnesses. Other papers provide detailed information as to the time, place, and circumstances of the offense. These documents provide the rich descriptive information that researchers often find the most rewarding.

The lower court documents also include the defendant’s plea statement. The form consists of a series of questions that the clerk would ask of the defendant: “What is your name? How old are you? Where were you born? Where do you live? What is your occupation?” And finally, “Have you anything to say, and if so, what relative to the charge here preferred against you?” The answer is usually “I am not guilty.” The court clerk records the answers and the defendant signs the document, or makes an “X” if unable to write.

Bill of Indictment, for “Arson” with notation of circumstances and dismissal, 1878. New York District Attorney Indictments Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

The types of cases found in this series include indictments for more than seventy felony offenses ranging from abandoning a child to voting illegally and every other possible felony: bigamy, fraud, libel, homicide, rape, forgery, arson, poisoning, rioting, embezzlement, kidnaping, perjury, and keeping a disorderly house, to name a few. The more routine larceny, assault, and robbery are very well represented.

Letter to District Attorney, in Peo. v McCoy, 1878. New York District Attorney Indictments Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Thanks to widespread availability of digitized newspapers, combined with the felony indictment index database, patrons can now access case files that previously would have been exceedingly difficult to identify. Armed with the name of a defendant and a date of the criminal transgression (usually from a newspaper article), these patrons are rewarded with unique and detailed information.

For family history researchers, it is not necessarily the criminal offenses that are of interest, but rather the other details about the defendants, their families, residences, occupations, possessions—information typically found in the files—that is so valuable and not available from any other source.

The large quantity of these records suggests that criminal activity was a significant and unfortunate fact of life in New York City at that time. However, the records which are the written legacy of that world now provide a windfall for scholars and other researchers as they seek to illuminate the past.

What may not be evident from this description of the records is the level of detail concerning daily life illuminated by the written account of the circumstances of a crime. The description also does not convey the emotions and passions that are revealed in the records. Many attachments in the files, such as letters from family and friends to the district attorney or the courts, are poignant and telling.

Check, evidence in Peo. V. Plunkett, 1878. New York District Attorney Indictments Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Returning to Mr. Plunkett, the notation on the Bill of Indictment indicates that he pled guilty to Grand Larceny and was sentenced to the penitentiary for two years. One additional document in the file, dated October 7, 1879, Albany, N.Y. from the New York State Executive Chamber to the New York District Attorney provides further evidence of the outcome. The letter stated that an application had been made to the Governor for the “Pardon of Richard Plunkett” and requested the District Attorney to furnish to the Governor “…with a concise statement of the case as proven on the trial, together with any other facts or circumstances which may have been a bearing on the question of granting or refusing a Pardon.” There is not any documentation in this file on whether the pardon was granted.

The drama of Mr. Plunkett’s predicament and those of the many thousands of other defendants in the Municipal Archives’ collections are unique records that in many instances are the only extant documentation of that person’s existence. Given the value of this series the Municipal Archives believes devoting resources to expanding access is a worthwhile endeavor.