Sheriffs

Holmes County sheriffs were elected for two-year terms from 1848 (when the county was created) until 1865. Holding that office was usually considered the most prominent and perhaps the most powerful of all county offices. No records are available for the years 1867 to 1873, a "twilight" or "political wilderness" era that followed the War Between the States. It often has been called the Reconstruction Era, a period of uncertainty reflecting at the local level a bitter struggle for political control of the state. That era was effectively ended with the election of Democrat George F Drew as governor in 1876 to succeed Republican Government Marcellus B Stearns.

The sheriffs are listed below in alphabetical order, along with their term of office.

Andrews, Cletus ~ term of office 1957 - 1968
Andrews, J S ~ term of office 1917 - 1918
Belser, Harvie J ~ term of office 1969 - 1972
Braxton, John ~ term of office 1989 - 1997
Brown, Jesse R ~ term of office 1945 - 1949
Brown, Lon F ~ term of office 1933 - 1941
Brown, William M ~ term of office 1885 - 1893
Brownell, Daniel J ~ term of office 1857 - 1859
Chance, J R ~ term of office 1949 - 1953
Driver, W B ~ term of office 1928 - 1933; 1941 - 1945
Ellis, Thomas N ~ term of office 1881 - 1885
Galloway, Drew ~ term of office 1981 - 1985
Golden, Robert R ~ term of office 1851 - 1855
Hewett, Etheldred
Hickman, H E ~ terms of office 1877 - 1881; 1893 - 1897; 1905 - 1913
Johnson, T W ~ term of office 1918 - 1928
Jones, W C (Ben) ~ term of office 1977 - 1980
Lee, Dennis ~ term of office 1997
Mattox, J H ~ term of office 1917
Mayo, J Z ~ term of office 1913 - 1917
Neel, John ~ term of office 1873 - 1877
Paul, D J ~ term of office 1897 - 1905
Pittman, Thomas ~ term of office 1865 - 1867
Raley, Wilburn ~ term of office 1973 - 1976
Steverson, H L ~ term of office 1953 - 1957
Strickland, Thomas Franklin ~ term of office 1985 - 1989
Turner, James E ~ term of office 1848 - 1849
Vaughn, John A ~ terms of office 1855 - 1857; 1859 - 1865

Source: West Florida Footprints, No 5, 1987, published by The West Florida Genealogical Society, Inc; transcribed by Cathy Strickland Popp.

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