It's amazing what you might find in your box of photos and letters that just might fit a Sepia Saturday prompt. When I saw the one of the prison inmate, I remembered a wonderful photo that I once found in an antique store. The identification card above is from Joliet Prison from 1912. Nothing could be found on the internet about this poor man. I wonder what ever happened to him.
Mr. Hudson sure looks a lot older than 25. And look at that nice suit he's got on with the stiff crisp collar. He doesn't look like a criminal to me.
Look at the 4th column from the left where it says "Color of Left Eye". Don't they want to know the color of the right eye?
According to this ID card, he escaped from prison in 1913 and there was a $50.00 reward for his capture. Was he ever found? I picture him running through the swamps with the bloodhounds after him. Let's hope he escaped and lived a long crime-free life.
There's nothing on the card about his crime. Maybe he was in for arson - since it states that he had burns on his face and forearm. mmmm. Could this be?
I might have been able to find out more about Mr. Hudson if that lazy prison guard had asked him for his birth date or even measured his cheek width. I just didn't have enough info to work with. So I guess we'll never know what happened to him. Maybe he escaped like this enterprising prisoner:
Escaped Inmate Caught Hiding In Portable Toilet
Authorities
swarm escaped inmate Cesar Sanchez in Rockdale Friday evening several
hours after he jumped from a moving prison vehicle. (CBS/Todd Sherman)
ROCKDALE, Ill. (CBS) – A state prison inmate was captured Friday evening, hiding deep within a portable toilet, several hours after he escaped from a van while being transported to Stateville Correctional Center.
As I dug deeper into my box of goodies, I was looking for a performance review that my mother received when she was working at a prison - another item I could relate to the prompt. But alas I couldn't find it. In the late 1950s she worked as secretary to the superintendent of the California Institute for Men in Chino, California.
The weird thing is that besides her secretarial duties, she also led group therapy sessions for drug addicted prisoners. How this happened I'll forever wonder. She had no experience or training as a counselor. That prison must have been pretty loose. I doubt if this could happen today. But I'll bet she was good at her job. Maybe better than a highly educated counselor.
I found another photo from another member of my family who was briefly incarcerated in a photo booth. It's my daughter, Megan when she was about 6 or 7. I love her variety of expressions. She really seemed to know what it would feel like to be a prisoner.
Walk the corridors and look into other cells by clicking here Sepia Saturday.
I chuckled at your fantasy of poor Mr. Hudson, on his escape from prison, running through the swamps with bloodhounds after him. I don't believe there are any swamps in Illinois or San Francisco, but your imagination painted quite a picture. As for the fellow caught hiding in a portable toilet - Eww! But your daughter was cute in her display of woebegone faces
ReplyDeleteI think the two pictures of Hudson look like two different people.
ReplyDeleteI am always amazed at what can be found at antique shops and junk shops. You could take that one document and spin a fascinating tale from it. Get the imagination going!
ReplyDeleteI like finding interesting and unexplained things as well, and then spending the time searching for the answers! I had to laugh about the one eye thing too, perhaps they figure one eye explains both, although there are some with different eyes!
ReplyDeleteI love the photos of your daughter. So funny. What a card!
ReplyDeleteI must be looking in the wrong place; I couldn’t see the bit about his eye. I do agree he looks an unlikely prisoner, but that would be judging by appearances. I was once called for jury service and acted ad foreman of the jury. I was horrified at some of my fellow jurors and the speed at which they concluded that someone 'looked guity'.
ReplyDeleteGood one...and I like your embellishment on the escape. Children learn from their elders...and with our electronic entertainment (as well as movies) there are so many dramas they can see...just saying, even at 6, I dare say your daughter had some basis for her expressions!
ReplyDeleteThat's definitely an intriguing document that seems to offer enough clues to solve the puzzle but there are still missing pieces. Prisoner escapes were usually reported in newspapers, but I was unable to find anything for the dates in the archives I use.
ReplyDeleteAnother one of this group's little mysteries. At least we're floating our information out into the ether and some day someone will notice it and provide an answer.
ReplyDeleteDo you think Mr Hudson had been mistreated? does the second document say he has 2 long burns? One sort of hopes he never got caught, but I wonder what his original offence was.
ReplyDeleteYou have so many treasures in your stash. Your mother was a wonder! And Megan looks hilarious. She must have been a delightful child. The escape in the toilet is horrible to think about...maybe not so much if you got away with it.
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