The office of sheriff existed in England at least as far back as 1066. At that time, as it is today, England was divided into several counties. The king appointed law enforcement officers to safeguard these counties and to carry out his will. The chief law enforcement official was known as "sheriff," from the Saxon words "scyre," or county, and "reve," or keeper. Thus, the sheriff was the keeper of the county.

As keeper of the county, early sheriffs possessed vast powers to preserve the peace and carry out the king's commands. They arrested and committed felons to jail, executed the process of early English courts, returned impartial juries for the trial of men's lives, and, at times, commanded citizens to form a "posse comitatus" to defend their territory. Through the exercise of such power, the sheriff's office quickly became one of great utility and responsibility. The holder of the office of sheriff was held in high respect.

When the English colonists crossed the Atlantic and settled in the New World, they brought with them many of the legal developments of English jurisprudence, including the office of sheriff. Early settlers subdivided their territory into counties and elected a sheriff to oversee peaceful development within the sheriff's jurisdiction. The sheriff's office carried with it all the powers and duties associated with that of the ancient English keeper of the county. With this grant of power, the sheriff sought to preserve the peace and enforce the law in the spirit of the new age.

Despite dissatisfaction with most other forms of English administration, after the Revolution all of the American states provided for the maintenance of the office of sheriff. Through constitutional provisions and charters, the sheriff was vested with the authority to act as an executive of the state within his county. As a result, the sheriff was often the highest governmental official within the sheriff's county.

Today, the office of sheriff has changed only slightly from its medieval origins. The sheriff still retains ancient duties to preserve the peace and execute the law through the exercise of power as an officer of the sovereign government. The office of sheriff is still the chief law enforcement office of the county, although the growth of local police departments has shifted some of the sheriff's responsibilities. Most importantly, the office of sheriff has not lost the dignity it has enjoyed since its inception. Like their Middle Ages counterpart, a sheriff today continues to hold the respect and admiration of the citizens they protect.

 

Autauga County

1819   Jacob P. House
1821   Joel Tatom
1825   Jordan Abbott
1828   Duncan McLean
1831   Edmund Thackleford
1837   Alexander Samples
1840   Samuel J. Wallace
1842   Moses Clepper
1846   James Clepper
1849   John K. Terry
1852   James A. Lauler
1861   John Ricker
1864   William B. Jackson
1866   A.G. Stewart
1868   Thomas G. Hill
1868   P.H. Witstone
1872   W.I. Boone
1874   B.H. Boone
1877   J.B. Simisson
1878   Thomas L. Faulker
1880   George C. Spigner
1896   H.W. Slaughter
1900   P.A. Dunn
1903   G.A. McWilliams
1907   Joe A. Chambliss
1911   V.A. Spenney
1915   D.B. Chambliss
1919   G.P. Wall
1923   D.B. Chambliss
1927   R.H. Week
1931   D.B. Chambliss
1935   A.E. Stewart
1949   Glynn Jones
1951   George A. Grant
1967   Phillip B. Wood, Jr.
1971   Robert L. Turner
1991   Herbie Johnson

 

Baldwin County

1821    Edmund Freeman
1821    Lee Staughter
1823    James Conwey
1828    Joseph Hall
1834    William Wilkins
1840    John Dolive, Jr.
1843    William Wilkins
1846    John W. Bates
1847    Henry S. Harris
1849    Joseph Hall
1850    Young Charles Hall
1853    Thaddius C. Barlow
1853    Robert Z. Barlow
1865    Gerald B. Hall
1867    Robert Z. Barlow
1868    Charles Stassleton
1868    G. B. Hall
1872    David A. Monica
1874    A.C. Chandler
1875    David A. Moniac
1878    W.H. McDavid
1880    Grisby T. Long
1886    Young C. Hall
1896    William J. White
1900    Thomas A. Booth
1903    George B. Bryant
1907    Thomas A. Booth
1911    O.B. Richerson
1915    C.E. Eubanks
1919    O.B. Richerson
1923    W. Ramsey Stuart
1927    C. Irwin
1931    W.R. Stuart
1935    M.H. Wilkins
1939    W.R. Stuart
1947    Taylor Wilkins
1975    Thomas H. Benton
1987    James B. Johnson
2007    Huey "Hoss" Mack

(Work in progress - More counties to be listed soon)