Reports of the Inspectors and Warden of the Maine State Prison and of the Physician and Chaplain, also the Report of the Commissioners, 1879. 67 page booklet printed by S. F. Pillsbury & Co., State Printers, 1879, Augusta, Maine.
See another post that features the names, ages, nativities and crimes of the 254 prisoners at the prison in 1879.
The booklet contains:
- Two pages naming the administrative staff at the prison - see images of pages 3 and 4 at the end of this post
- Commissioners' Report - by B. F. Morse; I. P. Waterhouse; G. W. Ricker; Edward Hills
- Warden's Report - by new Warden George Tolman. Includes the fact that Warden Tolman had become warden in April 1879 and found many deficiencies; that the prison enjoyed brisk sales of the carriages constructed at the prison; that convict, William D. Blake, who had spent many years in the carriage shop, was hired as an overseer after his pardon; list of prisoners [see the link mentioned above] and statistics on them - see images of page 23-26 at the end of this post; convicts that records show as received into the prison but not there - see image of page 27 at the end of this post.
- Physician's Report by Henry C. Levensaler, M.D., with a list of the various ailments the prisoners suffered and mention of four deaths - Owen F. Young died of pththisis pulmonalis on March 30; Marshall F. Young died of endocarditis with effusion on August 20; James Stone died of typhoid fever, complicated with tuberculosis on October 30, after having been removed from the prison; Alexander Clifford died of hanging in his cell on November 29, after having received news of the death of his father
- Report of Chaplains - by G. P. Mathews and W. H. Williams, ministers at Thomaston, Maine
- Instructor's Report - David J. Starrett - contains his belief "that no money expended for the welfare of these men gives better returns, than that devoted to their moral and intellectual well-being. Maine was the first state to lead off in giving to her prisoners the means of rectifying the neglects of childhood, and it is gratifying to notice that other states are imitating her example in this respect." "It is a mistake to believe that because a man is in prison, all the better feelings of his heart are dead. No. They are men yet, and by kind treatment and good advice, maybe, many of them are lead back again to better ways of life, and restored to society and friends to wander nevermore." He also noted that the prison had received 13 prisoners who couldn't read; 27 who couldn't write and only three who had received a fair, common school education. He singles out benefactors to the prison: Nelson F. Evans, Esq., of Philadelphia; the American Bible Society of New York; Tract Society, Boston; Joshua Nye, Esq. of Augusta; T. G. Stickney, Esq. of Bangor; Eastern Express; Bangor & Machias Steamboat Company; editors of The Zion's Herald, the Eastern Watchman; the Banner; H. L. Hastings of Boston; Deacon Steven Thurston of Winthrop, in his 86th year, who made with his own hands a "very neat tablet of Scripture mottoes and presented them to the prison"
- The Council Committee - submitted by H. H. Monroe
- the Commutation Law
- Prison and Jail Inspectors' Report - by Edward Cushing and George W. Martin - a many-page report, including a table of Maine's jails - see image of page 57 at the end of this post.
- Minority Report - by Rufus Prince
Administrative Staff:
Names of the men above, in alphabetical order:
| Jacob Bolton | 3 years sentence |
| John Bragdon | 5 years sentence |
| Frederick Brett | 3 years sentence |
| Frank M. Briggs | 3 years sentence |
| William Chapman | 1 year, 6 months sentence |
| Peter Corneil | 1 year sentence |
| Reuben H. Day | 3 years sentence |
| William R. Duff | 1 year sentence |
| Frederick Edwards | 2 years sentence |
| John Haggerty | 2 years sentence |
| Edward H. Hoswell | 9 years sentence |
| Edward Ingalls | 1 year sentence |
| Lewis H. Jellison | 1 year sentence |
| Simon Katzinstein | 3 years sentence |
| Thomas Lawler | 3 years, 6 months sentence |
| Francis H. Lowell | 1 year sentence |
| James Perkins | 1 year, 6 months sentence |
| Daniel Peters | 2 years sentence |
| James Quimby | 1 year sentence |
| Jeremiah Ragan | 4 years sentence |
| Simon P. Raynolds | 3 years sentence |
| Rudolph Suess | 2 years sentence |
| George Tracy | 3 years sentence |
| Edward F. Walsh | 2 years, 6 months sentence |
| William W. Willard | 1 year sentence |
| Henry York | 3 years sentence |
From the report of Maine State Prison Physician, Henry C. Levensaler, M.D.:
From the Report of the Inspectors, Edward Cushing and George W. Martin; a table of the 13 jails in Maine:
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