MIJACKSO-L Archives

From: Carolyn Ybarra <>
Subject: Asa SOUTHWELL, SPSM
Date: Tue, 22 May 2001 16:23:46 -0700

My G Grandfather Asa SOUTHWELL was 21 in 1870. In the 1870 Michigan
census I only find one Asa SOUTHWELL, in 4th Ward Jackson, Jackson
County. I found this on the online searchable 1870 MI census site at
the State Archives site. The page was full of single individuals on
one line each, so I thought it was a boarding house or school.
Occupation just had a line through it. A couple days ago I finally
looked at previous pages to find out if there was any indication of
what the institution was, and GULP! It says "State Prison, " in the
margin! The first person listed is a "matron, State Prison." Since
none of the others have occupations they are probably all inmates.

Now, this may not be my Asa. (I have mixed feelings about this,
because while it's no fun to have a skeleton in the closet, it's
great fun to have court records, etc. on an ancestor!) There was
another Asa SOUTHWELL in the 1840 census (I believe in Macomb cty),
and one (could be the same) in the 1850 census in Lapeer Cty.
Meanwhile my GGrandfather was only 1 year old in 1850 and 11 in 1860,
and on the census with his parents both years in Henrietta Twnshp,
Jackson Cty. The Asa in prison has as his age 39, while my Asa would
have been only 21 in 1870.

My father, fellow family historian, will be searching the prison
records in the state archives in Lansing. Many of the later ones
have photos of the prisoner, so consider yourself lucky if you find
an inmate ancestor!

The funny and ironic thing is, my grandfather, Asa's son, Charlie
SOUTHWELL, was a prison guard at the State Prison of Southern
Michigan. My father was a guard, and later a parole board advocate
at the State Prison, and retired as a parole officer. My brother is
currently a guard at the State Prison.

Carolyn
Redwood City, CA

This thread:

• Asa SOUTHWELL, SPSM by Carolyn Ybarra <>