2. Mississippi 1817 Sheriff, Claiborne County
3. Mississippi 1817 Sheriff, Franklin County
4. Mississippi 1817 Sheriff, Greene County
5. Mississippi 1817 Sheriff, Hancock County
6. Mississippi 1817 Sheriff, Jackson County
7. Mississippi 1817 Sheriff, Lawrence County
8. Mississippi 1817 Sheriff, Marion County
9. Mississippi 1817 Sheriff, Warren County
10. Mississippi 1817 Sheriff, Wayne County
11. Mississippi 1819 Sheriff, Adams County
12. Mississippi 1819 Sheriff, Covington County
13. Mississippi 1819 Sheriff, Lawrence County
14. Mississippi 1820 Sheriff, Perry County
15. Mississippi 1821 Sheriff, Adams County
16. Mississippi 1821 Sheriff, Claiborne County
17. Mississippi 1821 Sheriff, Covington County
18. Mississippi 1821 Sheriff, Franklin County
19. Mississippi 1821 Sheriff, Greene County
20. Mississippi 1821 Sheriff, Hancock County
21. Mississippi 1821 Sheriff, Jackson County
22. Mississippi 1821 Sheriff, Jefferson County
23. Mississippi 1821 Sheriff, Lawrence County
24. Mississippi 1821 Sheriff, Marion County
25. Mississippi 1821 Sheriff, Monroe County
26. Mississippi 1821 Sheriff, Pike County
27. Mississippi 1821 Sheriff, Warren County
28. Mississippi 1821 Sheriff, Wayne County
29. Mississippi 1821 Sheriff, Wilkinson County
30. Mississippi 1822 Sheriff, Covington County
31. Mississippi 1822 Sheriff, Hinds County
32. Mississippi 1822 Sheriff, Wayne County
33. Mississippi 1823 Sheriff, Adams County
34. Mississippi 1823 Sheriff, Bainbridge County
35. Mississippi 1823 Sheriff, Claiborne County
36. Mississippi 1823 Sheriff, Covington County
37. Mississippi 1823 Sheriff, Franklin County
38. Mississippi 1823 Sheriff, Hinds County
39. Mississippi 1823 Sheriff, Jefferson County
40. Mississippi 1823 Sheriff, Lawrence County
41. Mississippi 1823 Sheriff, Monroe County
42. Mississippi 1823 Sheriff, Pike County
43. Mississippi 1823 Sheriff, Warren County
44. Mississippi 1823 Sheriff, Wilkinson County
45. Mississippi 1824 Sheriff, Covington County
46. Mississippi 1824 Sheriff, Franklin County
47. Mississippi 1824 Sheriff, Simpson County
48. Mississippi 1824 Sheriff, Simpson County
The Mississippi Territory was established on April 7, 1798 from land ceded by Spain to the United States in 1795. The original area comprised about half the present states of Alabama and Mississippi. The size of this Territory grew substantially in 1804 with the cession of land from Georgia, and again in 1812 with annexation of the Mobile District from Spanish West Florida. With this final land acquisition the territory would encompass the entire present day states of Alabama and Mississippi.
Members of the Territorial Legislature were elected by popular vote, but other State and Federal officials were appointed either by the President, Congress or the Territorial Legislature. The first popular election for a Territory Delegate to Congress took place in October 1808.
The first Territorial Governor, appointed by President Adams was Winthrop Sargent, a Federalist from Massachusetts. With the election in 1801 of Thomas Jefferson as President, Winthrop Sargent was replaced by William C. Claiborne, a Republican from Tennessee.
During the term of Winthrop Sargent, Natchez was the Territorial capitol. It was moved to nearby Washington shortly after the appointment of William C. Claiborne, and in 1822 to accommodate the rapidly expanding population; the capitol was permanently moved at Jackson.
By Federal statues of March 1, and 3, 1817, a plan to divide the Mississippi Territory into two separate entities was set in motion. After setting boundaries, the western area began the process of organizing for statehood.
On July 7, 1817 a Convention of 48 delegates convened at Washington, Mississippi to write a State Constitution, which was adopted on August 15, 1817. The first state elections were held on September 1 and 2, 1817. Mississippi was admitted to the Union on December 10, 1817.
Under the State Constitution, future state elections would take place in early August. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor were chosen by popular vote, serving for two years. Members to the House of Representatives were elected annually and State Senators for three years. Local officials like Sheriff and Coroners were also chosen at this time. Various other state officials were chosen by the Legislature. On the federal level, Mississippi’s one Congressman was also elected in August and their Presidential Electors were to be chosen at large by popular vote.
For the first decade of statehood, much of Mississippi was still Indian land, and with the exception of northern Monroe County, which had been cut off from Madison County, now in Alabama, all the organized counties were in the southern part of the state or along the lower Mississippi River.
Although the state was politically Republican, there still may have been some lingering Federalist influence around the Natchez area from the days of Winthrop Sargent. It is interesting to note that in the 1824 election for President, two thirds of the vote for John Adams, came from the five oldest counties in the state, being Adams, Claiborne, Jefferson, Warren and Wilkinson, all of which were along the Mississippi River.
Bibliography
- Bettersworth, John K.
Mississippi: A History. Austin: The Steck Company, 1959. - Bettersworth, John K. and James W. Silver, eds.
Mississippi in the Confederacy. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1961. - Bunn, Mike and Clay Williams, "Capitals and Capitols:The Places and Spaces of Mississippi’s Seat of Government"Mississippi History Now
- Clark, Thomas D. and John D.W. Guice.
The Old Southwest, 1795–1830. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996. - Cox, James L.
The Mississippi Almanac. Yazoo City: Computer Search and Research, 2001. - Cross, Ralph D., Robert W. Wales, and Charles T. Traylor.
Atlas of Mississippi. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1974. - Gleason, David K., Mary Warren Miller, and Ronald W. Miller.
The Great Houses of Natchez. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 1986. - James, D. Clayton.
Antebellum Natchez. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1968. - Lowry, Robert and William H. McCardle.
A History of Mississippi . Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Company, 1978. - McCain, William D.
The Story of Jackson. Jackson: J.F. Hyer, 1953. - McLemore, Richard A., ed.
A History of Mississippi, Vol. 1. Jackson: University & College Press of Mississippi, 1973. - Rowland, Dunbar.
History of Mississippi. Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Company, 1978. - ________.
Mississippi Territorial Archives, Vol. 1. Nashville, TN: Press of Brandon Printing Company, 1905. - Sansing, David G., Sim C. Callon, and Carolyn V. Smith.
Natchez: An Illustrated History. Natchez, MS: Plantation Publishing Company, 1995. - Skates, John Ray.
Mississippi’s Old Capitol: Biography of a Building. Jackson: Mississippi Department of Archives and History, 1990. - Sydnor, Charles S.
A Gentleman of the Old Natchez Region: Benjamin L. C. Wailes. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1938.
Sheriff
Sheriff: executes civil and criminal process throughout the county, has charge of the jail and prisoners, attends courts and keeps the peace.
Oxford English Dictionary
In many states, the Sheriff was also an election official and their signature can be found on copies of Original Documents, ranging from state to federal elections. In Congressional districts having more than one county, the Sheriffs of each county would meet in a designated County Court House, compare the returns and certify the results. If the Sheriff of a county did not appear, the votes from his county would not be counted.
1787 - 1824: Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina
Office Scope: County / City / District (Pennsylvania, South Carolina)
Role Scope: County / City / District (Pennsylvania, South Carolina)