Here is another of our posts from the past. This one appeared in the Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog on the 20th of Feb 2020. If you share it with anyone, please remember to give credit to the Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog.
Being the Jailer in 1875 in Lyon County, Kentucky consisted of more than carrying the keys to the cells. Other duties were required and were spelled out in a document found among loose county court papers in the courthouse in Eddyville. How do these rules compare to the duties of present-day jailers?
Rules for the government
of the Jailer
"The Jailer is required to Keep the Jail
perfectly clean, & suffer no filth of any Kind to accumulate in or about
it.
He is required to clean out the privy valt [sic], or Sink, under the Jail, immediately and as often as may be necessary to prevent a stench in the Jail.
He is required to whitewash both the upper and lower cells and to use in the cells and in the Sink under the Jail, chloride of lime or other disinfect out in such quantities and often enough to destroy the Scent and purify the air of the Jail.
He is required to Keep the clothing and bedding of prisoners perfectly clean.
He is directed to feed the prisoners confined in the Jail at regular intervals three times a day with a sufficiency of wholesome food and to keep them supplied with fresh water."
Filed in open Court and ordered to be spread at large upon the order book of this court and delivered to the Jailer April 26, 1875.
