Dallas County Sheriffs, 200 Yrs

DALLAS COUNTY SHERIFFS IN TWO CENTURIES

James Edward Barkley was elected Sheriff following J. M. Brown's second period as Sheriff 1870- 1873. Barkley had gone to California in 1849, and won Civil War honors as a Confederate Army major. He came to Dallas in 1867, and operated the Crutchfield House hotel. He became a police officer in 1868, and was elected sheriff in 1873, as the railroads were arriving in Dallas. He served until 1876, with a deputy named June Peak, later a Texas Ranger captain. Barkley died in 1884 and is buried at Pioneer Cemetery. His term made use of the third Dallas County courthouse, a two-story stone- face building, in use from 1871 to 1879.

William Marion Moon came in 1845, became a deputy in 1856 and Dallas City Marshal in 1858, replacing Andrew M. Moore (who shot and killed Alexander Cockrell). Moon was a lieutenant in the 3rd Texas Cavalry. He was wounded and captured, and imprisoned at Johnson's Island until the war ended. He came to Dallas and was in the hardware business. He was elected Sheriff in 1876 and resigned early in 1880. He was a deputy in 1882, a Dallas police officer in 1889, and a T&P Railroad security officer in 1892. He died in 1895 and is buried at Pioneer Cemetery.

Benjamin F. Jones was appointed to fill Moon's unfinished term in 1880, then won election to his own two-year term. He had served during the Civil War in Darnell's 18th Texas and then Stone's 2nd Texas Regiments. He was then a constable and deputy, and participated in the chase which killed bandit Sam Bass. After serving as sheriff, he left Dallas and did not return. The fourth stone courthouse which served from 1880 to 1890 when it burned was erected at this time.

William H. W Smith came to Dallas in 1873 at age 18. He became a deputy in 1878 and was elected sheriff in 1882, the first to serve two normal two-year terms since Trezevant Hawpe in 1854. Smith was later Oak Cliff City Marshall and Tax-Assessor-Collector. He died in 1924.

William Henry Lewis served as a deputy under Jones and Smith, and was elected sheriff in 1886. He served until 1892, the first-ever three-term sheriff in Dallas County. He supervised the first hanging of a white man in Dallas County in 1891, for raping a child. He was later in the real estate business, and died in 1946 at age 95. He is buried at Oakland Cemetery. The "Old Red" courthouse was built in 1890 during his period in office.

Benjamin E. Cabell came to Dallas at age 14 with his father. Confederate General William L. Cabell, who was Dallas mayor 1874-1882 and then U. S. marshal here. Ben served as Deputy U. S. Marshal 1885-1889 and was elected Sheriff in 1892. He became the first four-term sheriff, resigning in 1900 to become Dallas Mayor. During Cabell's tenure, Deputy Al Pate was killed by a band of outlaws. Cabell tracked them down and arrested them. As mayor, Ben oversaw the building of Bachman Dam, providing water for Dallas for years to come. Ben died in 1931 and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery. His son Earle Cabell was later Dallas Mayor and a U. S congressman.

Leander "Lee" Hinton Hughes was born in Dallas County in 1856, the first native-born Dallas County sheriff. He was the son of Rev. William H. "Uncle Buck" Hughes, an early pioneer Methodist minister. Lee attended Vanderbilt and the University of Virginia, served two years as Dallas County Clerk. He became sheriff in 1900 when Cabell resigned, and finished out that term before becoming a real estate dealer. He died in 1933 and is buried at Cochran Chapel Cemetery in Dallas.

J. Roll Johnson came to Dallas County as a 10 year old with his father in 1858. They farmed near Lancaster, and later J. Roll served as sheriff from 1901 to 1904. He died in 1918 and is buried at Grove Hill Cemetery.

Arthur Lee Ledbetter, the twentieth Dallas County Sheriff, was born in Dallas County in 1863, and served six years as a deputy before 1900. He was once shot through the shoulder while making an arrest. He was elected Sheriff in 1904 and served until 1910. During his term in office, he hanged a convicted murderer. In 1910, a crowd stormed the jail, took out a prisoner being held for rape and hanged him at Main and Akard. This was the last lynching ever in Dallas County. Ledbetter died in 1916 and is buried at Oak Cliff Cemetery. An early photo shows Ledbetter, 16 deputies and two motorcycles at the "Old Red" courthouse. This building would still be there in 1991, amid a complex of later Dallas County buildings.