Susan Parker: The state of Florida's early sheriffs
Controversy has surrounded Duval County Sheriff Mike Williams' moving out of the county that is his bailiwick. Bailiwick is the old term, usually English, for a sheriff's jurisdiction. Williams is now living in Nassau County. He initially refused to step down from his Duval County elected position although he was no longer a resident of Duval.
Not a problem in Florida's early American days, as St. Johns County was the only county east of the Suwannee River for a while. The sheriff could have lived anywhere between that river and Key West. James Hanham became St. Johns County's first sheriff in 1821.
Florida's Legislative Council (forerunner of the Legislature) right away began slicing up St. Johns and Escambia counties into additional counties. Escambia County stretched west from the Suwannee River to the Perdido River. Duval County and Jackson County (west to today's Tallahassee) were the first two formed.
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At first, Florida's Territorial governor appointed the sheriffs. After 1829 these lawmen were elected to office. It was only a two-year term. It was difficult to attract persons to be sheriff because the pay was low, very low. Research by my colleague Mike (James M.) Denham at Florida Southern College revealed that most sheriffs served for only one or two years. They could not afford to continue as sheriffs.
For the most part sheriff's had to raise their own money to pay expenses of the office as well as any "salary." Duval County Sheriff Benjamin Frisbee said it flatly: "the State don't pay."
Not only did sheriffs pursue criminals, but they had to transport them to court for trial and usually without funds appropriated for the expenses. Prof. Denham notes in his book A Rogue's Paradise that "lawmakers expected the criminal justice system to pay for itself. It never did."
Florida's legislators imposed very strong punishments on sheriffs for wrongdoing. Sheriffs could be fined up to $10,000 if found guilty of malfeasance. That was a huge sum of money in early 19th-century Florida. They could be jailed. It surprised me that the legislators also included whipping of up to 39 lashes as a possible punishment.
The data on crimes prosecuted between 1821 and 1861 gives us an idea of what lawbreakers were doing and who the sheriffs had to apprehend. The years 1821 to 1861 date from Florida's 1821 acquisition by the United States to Florida's secession from the U.S. in 1861.
The numbers raise several questions. On their face, the data portray St. Johns County as more law abiding than many other counties. Was that the influence of the long-established city of St. Augustine (since 1565) rather than a new frontier town? Or, is the portrait of St. Johns County based on under-reporting? Statistics on crime were not kept consistently from county to county in the early 19th century.
Don't be too harsh on the Floridians' record-keeping of past centuries. Florida still has notable problems with keeping and reporting important data.
Still, we must work with the information that we have. The two most prosecuted crimes in St. Johns County were assault and battery and carrying arms secretly (concealed weapons).
How did St. Johns County look in comparison to other counties? No one was prosecuted in this county for adultery and fornication. Yet across the St. Johns River in Putnam County there were 18 prosecutions of that crime. But Putnam could not compare to Escambia or Alachua with 50 and 51 prosecutions, respectively. Was the recording keeping better or were neighbors nosier than in this county and more cases were reported?
Sheriffs in early American Florida dealt with actions that will probably always be considered crimes, such as robbery, murder and manslaughter. As society changes some crimes go "off the books" and new ones are added. In the first half of the 1800s sheriffs apprehended persons involved in dueling, buying soldiers' uniforms and maliciously pulling down fences.
Other crimes that brought arrest and prosecution were cheating at cards, selling liquor to a Native Indian and performing a marriage between a white man and a Black woman.
It is timely to note that even in these early years "trespassing on school land" was a crime.
Susan R. Parker holds a doctorate in colonial history.
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Susan Parker: The state of Florida's early sheriffs
