The Tennessee State Penitentiary opened in 1831.  Prior to that, offenders were held in county jails.  Surviving records of the Penitentiary are housed at the State Library and Archives as Record Group 25.

The following list of inmates is found in ledger volume 43 of those records.  The ledger also includes the date received in the Penitentiary, the prisoner's state of birth, and the date discharged.  Copies of entries are available upon request by mail (records are listed under "State Penitentiary and Record Groups").

Two published volumes by Sherrill and Sherrill, Tennessee Convicts: Early Records of the State Penitentiary, 1831-1870, contain verbatim transcripts of the original records.

A complete list of 1831-1850 inmates is available at the TN State Library & Archives Web Site.