The Franklin County Sheriff's Department possesses a long and distinguished history of service to the community.  Beginning in 1803, when Franklin County was created, the election of the sheriff was held every two years.   For the present this page will contain little more than a list of names and dates. Hopefully, with time and research, additional information will appear for each man who has held the office. It is no small task to be the chief law enforcement officer in any community--here are the men who were elected to that position.

  Information about the early sheriffs has been taken from early histories of the county; a complete bibliography will be included as the page progresses.  Click on the underlined name for additional information. (If you have a pop-up stopper you might need to turn it off.)

SHERIFF SERVED NOTES
Benjamin White 1803 Appointed as the county's first sheriff until an election could be held.—Martin, W. T.
Adam Hosack 1803 - 1808 First elected sheriff; he served two terms.
Elias N. Delashmut 1808 - 1811 Served two terms.
John M. White (1787-1833) 1811 - 1813  
Samuel Shannon 1813 - 1815 Served two terms.
Francis Stewart (1788-1874) 1815 - 1818 Served two terms.
Jacob Keller 1818 - 1819 First term.
John McElvain 1819 - 1821 First term.
Jacob Keller 1821 - 1822 Second term
Andrew Dill 1822 - 1823  
Aurora Buttles 1823 - 1825  
Peter Sells 1825 - 1826  
John McElvain 1827 - 1829 Second term.
Robert Brotherton (1792-1837) 1829 - 1833 He also served as county coroner for one year beginning in 1818.
Andrew McElvain 1833 - 1837  
James Graham 1837 - 1841  
William Domigan (1812-1884) 1841 - 1845 Called the "hanging sheirff"
John Graham (1819-1894) 1845 - 1849  
John Greenleaf (1812-1884) 1849 - 1853  
Thomas Miller (1817-1879) 1853 - 1855  
William Miner (1817-1869) 1855 - 1857  
Silas W. Park (1825-1893) 1857 - 1859  
George W. Huffman (1817-1875) 1859 - 1863  
William Domigan (1812-1884) 1863 - 1867 Second term
George H. Earhart (1833-1868) 1867 - 1868 Died on 27 Nov 1868, before his term ended; his position was filled by, Elias Gaver, the county coronor until the regular election in 1869.—Williams Bros., p. 45
Elias Gaver 1868 County coronor; he filled in as sheriff until the regular election in 1869.
James Wright 1869-1971  
Samuel Thompson 1871 - 1873  
William E. Horn (1835-1912) 1873 - 1877  
Josiah Kinnear (1834-1904) 1877-1880  
John U. Rickenbacher (1822-1892) 1880 - 1881 Elected Columbus police commissioner in 1877, resigned when elected sheriff.
Louis Heinmiller (1839-1899) 1881 - 1885  
William H. Barbee (1841-1897) 1885 - 1887  
Brice Custer (1831-1904) 1887 - 1891  
James Ross (1862-1923) 1891 - 1895  
Wheeler J. Young (1854-1906)* 1895 - 1899 *Disappeared 11 Dec 1899, never found, declared legally dead, 1906.
Charles A. Pearce (1854-1916) 1897  
George J. Karb (1858-1937) 1903 Mayor of Columbus (1891-1894) and after serving as sheriff was elected mayor again (1912-1919)—Columbus Citizen-Journal Entombed at Greenlawn Abbey.
Albert Edward Sartain (1869-1942) 1909  
Charles L. Resch (1871-1944) 1913 - 1917  
William Madison Slack (1875-1946) 1917 - 1921  
Frank L. Holycross (1879-1937) 1921-1924  
Ben Boyer 1924-1925  
Walter Forest Gump (ca. 1875-1958)    
Harry T. Paul (1872-1942) 1928 - 1933  
Ross E. Anderson 1933 - 1937  
Jacob E. Sandusky (1895-1947) 1937 - 1947  
Ralph J. Paul (1901-1972) 1947 - 1957 Retired as sheriff in 1957.
Dale V. Thibaut (1895-1966) 1948 - 1949 Served as sheriff when Ralph Paul was reactivated by the military.
Stacy Hall, sr. (   -1971) 1957 - 1971 Appointed in 1957 to fill vacancy.
Stacy Hall, jr. 1971-1972 Appointed to fill his father's term.
Harry Berkemer (1920-1996) 1973-1984 Veteran WW II & Korea. Buried Green Lawn Cemetery
Robert Berry 1984 - 1985  
Earl Smith (1931-2001) 1985 - 1993  
James Karnes (1940- ) 1993 - Sheriff Karns is the 50th man to serve in this position.


Bibliography:
Green Lawn Cemetery Records (Interment cards & gravestones)

Martin, William T., History of Franklin County: A Collection of Reminiscences of the Early Settlement of the County (Columbus, 1858).

Newspapers: The Columbus Dispatch and Columbus Citzen-Journal.

Williams Brothers, publishers, History of Franklin and Pickaway Counties, Ohio (1880).
 


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