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People

Meet the many people who argued for and against carceral, institutional, and interpersonal confinement in the petitions filed in County and District Courts throughout the American West over the long nineteenth century. Browse or search people by name, demographic characteristics, case role, and/or relationships described in each petition. Our encoding practice for people features data pulled from the available case files and in some instances additional data from supplemental sources is also included. Only people with case roles are indexed here, while all persons named in a case are listed on the case page. The Glossary defines the attributes used to structure data from the habeas petitions. The Code Book explains the relational structure of the data and functionality of the database website.

Clara Martínez holding her grandson, Robert Marron Romero. Links to Lucía Martínez's story.

Featured story: Lucía Martínez: Yaqui Arizona, 1854-1900

Basic Search

Simply enter the word you wish to find and the search engine will search for every instance of the word in the journals. For example: Fight. All instances of the use of the word fight will show up on the results page.

Wildcard Searches

Using an asterisk (*) will increase the odds of finding the results you are seeking. For example: Fight*. The search results will display every instance of fight, fights, fighting, etc. More than one wildcard may be used. For example: *ricar*. This search will return most references to the Aricara tribe, including Ricara, Ricares, Aricaris, Ricaries, Ricaree, Ricareis, and Ricarra. Using a question mark (?) instead of an asterisk (*) will allow you to search for a single character. For example, r?n will find all instances of ran and run, but will not find rain or ruin.

Capitalization

Searches are not case sensitive. For example: george will come up with the same results as George.

Phrase Search

Searching for a specific phrase may help narrow down the results. Rather long phrases are no problem. For example: "This white pudding we all esteem".

Subsequent Searches

Because of the creative spellings used by the journalists, it may be necessary to try your search multiple times. For example: P?ro*. This search brings up numerous variant spellings of the French word pirogue, "a large dugout canoe or open boat." Searching for P?*r*og?* will bring up other variant spellings. Searching for canoe or boat also may be helpful.

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Age Category : Adult

4268 results

Lewis, Joseph R.

  • Birth date: January 1, 1830
  • Birth place: Ohio
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Judge, authority ordering detention

Dundy, Sr., Elmer Scipio

  • Birth date: March 5, 1830
  • Birth place: Ohio, United States
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: Unknown
  • Case role(s): Judge

Sullivan, Julia

  • Birth date: September 1, 1830
  • Birth place: Ireland
  • Sex: Female
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Respondent, holding party

Johnson, Napoleon

  • Birth date: January 1, 1831
  • Birth place: Missouri
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: Black
  • Case role(s): Bound party, petitioner

Butler, Alexander S.

  • Birth date: January 1, 1831
  • Birth place: Pennsylvania, United States
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: Black
  • Case role(s): Bound party, petitioner

Davis, Sarah M.

  • Birth date: January 1, 1832
  • Birth place: Kentucky
  • Sex: Female
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Respondent, holding party, responding party

Voullaire, Seymour

  • Birth date: January 1, 1832
  • Birth place: Guadeloupe
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Petitioner attorney

Schooner, Elihu (Eli Schooner)

  • Birth date: December 1, 1832
  • Birth place: Ohio, United States
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: Multiracial, Indigenous, Black
  • Case role(s): Bound party

Caton, Nathan Thomas (Caten)

  • Birth date: January 1, 1833
  • Birth place: Maine
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Petitioner attorney, respondent attorney

Woolsey, King S.

  • Birth date: January 1, 1833
  • Birth place: Alabama
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Respondent

Kirk, George Washington (George Washington Kerr)

  • Birth date: January 1, 1834
  • Birth place: Unknown
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: Multiracial, Black
  • Case role(s): Bound party, petitioner

Harris, Coley A. D. (Chloe Ann Harris)

  • Birth date: January 1, 1834
  • Birth place: Unknown
  • Sex: Female
  • Race or ethnicity: Black
  • Case role(s): Bound party, petitioner

Peel, J. J. L. (Paul)

  • Birth date: January 1, 1834
  • Birth place: United States, Tennessee
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Authority ordering detention

Lacy, O. P.

  • Birth date: January 1, 1835
  • Birth place: Ohio
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Authority ordering detention, justice of the peace

Langford, William G.

  • Birth date: January 1, 1835
  • Birth place: Ohio
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: Unknown
  • Case role(s): Judge

Bellamy, John

  • Birth date: January 1, 1835
  • Birth place: Missouri, United States
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: Black
  • Case role(s): Bound party

Chandler, George

  • Birth date: January 6, 1835
  • Birth place: Vermont, United States
  • Sex: Unknown
  • Race or ethnicity: Unknown
  • Case role(s): Petitioner attorney

Ball, Mottrom D.

  • Birth date: June 23, 1835
  • Birth place: Fairfax, VA
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Respondent attorney

Struve, Henry G.

  • Birth date: November 17, 1836
  • Birth place: Germany
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Petitioner attorney, petitioner

Lawson, Nelson

  • Birth date: January 1, 1837
  • Birth place: Pennsylvania, United States
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: Black
  • Case role(s): Bound party, petitioner

Vetter, Fred

  • Birth date: January 1, 1837
  • Birth place: Saxony-Weimar
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: German
  • Case role(s): Petitioner, interested party

Ross, E. C.

  • Birth date: January 1, 1838
  • Birth place: Ohio
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Petitioner attorney

Weiss, August

  • Birth date: February 28, 1838
  • Birth place: Prussia
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: Unknown
  • Case role(s): Judge

Armstrong, Lydia

  • Birth date: January 1, 1839
  • Birth place: Indiana
  • Sex: Female
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Petitioner

Shrek, Michael (Scherek, Schreck)

  • Birth date: January 1, 1839
  • Birth place: Germany
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White, German
  • Case role(s): Petitioner, bound party

Waughop, John Wesley

  • Birth date: October 22, 1839
  • Birth place: Illinois, United States
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Respondent, holding party, responding party

Armstrong, William W.

  • Birth date: January 1, 1840
  • Birth place: New York
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Holding party

Steen, Richard Perry

  • Birth date: January 1, 1840
  • Birth place: Illinois
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Respondent, holding party, responding party

Judson, John Paul

  • Birth date: May 6, 1840
  • Birth place: Prussia
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Petitioner attorney

Greene, Roger Sherman

  • Birth date: December 14, 1840
  • Birth place: United States
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Judge, petitioner attorney

Church, Martha (Martha Wright)

  • Birth date: January 1, 1841
  • Birth place: Ohio
  • Sex: Female
  • Race or ethnicity: Unknown
  • Case role(s): Respondent, responding party, holding party

McKay, Alice

  • Birth date: January 1, 1841
  • Birth place: Ireland
  • Sex: Female
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Petitioner

Rosewater, Edward

  • Birth date: January 28, 1841
  • Birth place: Bukovany, Bohemia
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: Jewish, White
  • Case role(s): Petitioner, bound party

Hoyt, John Philo

  • Birth date: October 6, 1841
  • Birth place: United States, Ohio
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Judge

Miller, Frances

  • Birth date: January 1, 1842
  • Birth place: Connecticut
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Interested party

Sturdevant, R. F.

  • Birth date: January 1, 1842
  • Birth place: Pennsylvania
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Respondent attorney

Gardner, William L. (W. T. Gardiner, John Doe Gardiner)

  • Birth date: January 1, 1842
  • Birth place: Wisconsin, United States
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Bound party, petitioner

Dobbs, Lemuel M.

  • Birth date: April 1, 1842
  • Birth place: Pennsylvania
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Petitioner

Tharpe, Nathan D.

  • Birth date: May 1, 1842
  • Birth place: Iowa
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Respondent, responding party, holding party

Bowen, Adna H.

  • Birth date: July 21, 1842
  • Birth place: Michigan, United States
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: Unknown
  • Case role(s): Respondent attorney, judge

Berry, Lewis P.

  • Birth date: November 5, 1842
  • Birth place: Indiana
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Respondent, holding party, responding party

Prey, Martha J.

  • Birth date: January 1, 1843
  • Birth place: Ohio
  • Sex: Female
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Respondent, responding party, holding party

Sawyer, Andrew J.

  • Birth date: January 1, 1844
  • Birth place: Illinois, United States
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: Unknown
  • Case role(s): Respondent attorney, petitioner attorney, petitioner

Lunkin, George W.

  • Birth date: August 1, 1844
  • Birth place: Unknown
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: Unknown
  • Case role(s): Petitioner, bound party

Lichtenberg, Isaac J. (Charles Westerfield)

  • Birth date: January 1, 1845
  • Birth place: New York
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Judge

Cooper, J.K.

  • Birth date: January 1, 1845
  • Birth place: Delaware
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Authority ordering detention, justice of the peace

Eastwick, Euphemia M.

  • Birth date: January 1, 1845
  • Birth place: Unknown
  • Sex: Female
  • Race or ethnicity: Unknown
  • Case role(s): Petitioner

Hopewell, Melville Reeves (M. R.)

  • Birth date: March 27, 1845
  • Birth place: Indiana, United States
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: Unknown
  • Case role(s): Judge

Tharpe, Irena

  • Birth date: May 1, 1845
  • Birth place: Iowa
  • Sex: Female
  • Race or ethnicity: White
  • Case role(s): Respondent, responding party, holding party

Thompson, George T.

  • Birth date: January 1, 1846
  • Birth place: Ireland
  • Sex: Male
  • Race or ethnicity: Irish
  • Case role(s): Petitioner attorney, respondent attorney
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