Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1865-12-08

HIlu bHelT way W buc OHdpc1 VI snO = CDA
tentiary to witness the. really impressive.
religious services, under the direction Of
Chaplain Byers. Many go with good
motives, MANY to satisfy curiosity, but alb
are interested. Right back of this Chapel 81
is enacted every day scene in seause 3
quite as worthy of being patronized.--
This occurs in the school room, where
each, day gathers a certain number OF
prisoners to con over books and learn of a.
science. These pupils form a modley
group. Stern, half-visaged men, eripples,
negroes, and a few youthful personages,
compose the school, but we venture TO
say that it will be difficult to find more
earnest students than these, or teachers
more proud of their charges than are the
worthy Chaplain and his assistants -
During the year there have been sew
enty-seven pupils in school, ffty-one white
and twenty-six colored. Twenty-seyen- of
these were under twenty years of age;
Forty-two were over. twenty and under
thirty. Six were under forty and over
thirty, and two were over forty. a
When they entered school thirty-four
had no education, eight could SPELL nine
teen could read, sixteen could read and
write. Now all can read but five, and
nearly all are writing, many Of them being
excellent penmen. a eeH
The whole number of prisoners con-
fined in ten years, is 2,643; males, 2,75e,
females 119. Of these, fifty-nine were
sentenced for life, twenty-one of whom
were pardoned. The number sentenced
for five years and less than ten, is SIS,
100 of whom were psrdohed; eighty-one
prisoners were sentenced for terms of over
ten and less than fifteen years, and twen-
ty-three of them pardoned. Sixteen per-
sons were sentenced for terms over fifteen
and less than twenty years. Of this class
only three were pardoned. The whole
number of pardons granted is 535; the
average length ofimprisonment, five years,
four months and eight days. .cs
Of the seven persons whose terms of
imprisonment extended beyond twenty &
years, only one man was pardoned, and
he was imprisoned five years, eight
months and ten days.
Nine hundred and ffty-four of the pris-
oners, when admitted, were masters of
trades, and 1889 had no knowledge of
any trade. 3,
Sixty per cent. of those imprisoned,
were charged with crime against property,
thirty per cent. with crime against persons,
and ten per cent. with forgery.
Of the convicts, 2, ,l24 were native born,
and 720 of foreign birth; l,l39 were mar
RED 1854 unmarried; and 10S widowed;
727 had families; 873 are reported as hav-
ing been orphans, and 594 as half orphans.
Two thousand five hundred and thirty
one of the prisoners were white, three
hundred colored and two were Indians;
five hundred and seventy-seyen could not
read; four hundred and twenty-eight
could read only; one thousand seven hun
dred and fifty-eight could read and write,
and forty-fve had acquired superior edu-
cation. sn
Seven hundred and eighty-three claimed
to be temperate; nine hundred and twen-
ty-four professed to be moderate drink
ers, and one thousand and eighty-six
plead guilty to downright intemperance.
Five hundred and nine were under
twenty years of age, one thousand three
hundred and thirty-nine under thirty, five
hundred and ffy-four under forty, three
hundred and two under fifty, one hundred
and fourteen under sixty, and thirty-fve
over sixty. Two of these were over eigh-
ty, and six oyerseyenty. $50. O.
So much for the past, and now for the
i present. There are now in the Peniten-
tiary six hundred and 6fty-one convicts,
thirty one of these being females. Since
August lst 1855, sixty-six prisoners have
been discharged, not including the eighty
} two military prisoners released since that
time by order. of the War Department. s
The prison has sill It's notables, though
| St Leger Grenfel mas taken a apilgrimage
} to Dry Tortugas, and other gentlemen of
his class have been disposed of in various
ways. DR.. Bowles, the Indian conspirator,
is still a kitchen dignitary, and appears 10
good advantage in cross-barred clothes.
The baby that commenced its life IN the
} Penitentiary, has served its time, and with
: its mother is now free. Baby viii not re-
member much of its prison experience,
and as we are quite willing that such
, should be the case, we drop the subject,
} leaving mother and baby without histo-
ry and without name. sol9E zts 81
There are many peculiar cases of re-
committal to prison life, but we can mem
ton but one. An old gentleman familiar
; ly called Uncle Dick, over seventy years
of age, has been sentenced five times, each
l time for horse stealing. He has served
four terms of imprisonment, and is now
serving his fifth. Just previous to his last
release he was patient in the hospital,
9 was discharged, went to Cincinnati, then
to some rural district and stole number
3 of horses He was arrested, tried, SEN
3 fenced, and was in his old place in prison
3 in two months. The time of his absence
: from the hospital was so short that when
! he returned the person in charge spoke to
a him as regular patient, whereupon Dick
informed him that he had been out, had
/, seen the world and started new again.
' The Guard Room is kind of halfway
: ground between prison life and freedom,
s to the convicts. Here they meet their
friends and relatives, and, under the eye
of the guard, hold those communions of
low converse that are so precious because
3 so rare. But a few days ago we saw a
: woman meet here her husband, who was
a prisoner for life, and could but regard
] with kindly feelings the emotion with
which they met They sat for many mo-
: ments hand-in-hand, she in her fashiona-
: bic dress, he in his prison garb-then
S came the farewell. The next day he was
crushed to death by the machinery.
: A week later we saw three ladies enter
r the same guard-room, two to meet their
/, brothers, and one husband. The three
: couples formed an interesting groupe, and
: we thought erich in history is the old