BJ Alderman is a native of Kansas and has spent the past five years researching the life and times of Sheriff Jim and Kate Weakley. Articles written by BJ have appeared in the November 2002 and March 2003 issues of the Chronicle of The Old West and the Winter issue of Cumberland County History of Carlisle, PA.

Readers may also enjoy articles by this author in other fine Old West publications. Her most current article appears in the May/June issue of Kansas Cowboy.

Recently, BJ also received the Tihen Research Grant for 2003-2004 from the Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka.

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READER INVITATION: An old sheriff once stated that there was more to being a sheriffs wife than anyone knew. For many counties in the United States, the duties of "Mrs. Sheriff" continued well past the middle of the 20th Century. These are stories worth preserving. The author invites anyone who has had the experience of serving her community as the volunteer matron, communications officer, unpaid deputy and caterer to share those stories with her. Likewise, if you have the journals or letters of an ancestor who served in that capacity and you wish to share, please . Your stories deserve to be added to those of the Mrs. Sheriffs of the past three hundred years.

When Kate Weakleys husband won his election as sheriff of Russell County, Kansas on November 2, 1875, she was pregnant with their fifth child. There was very little time in which to pack up their household goods and create a new home twelve miles from their homestead as Sheriff Weakley took over his new office in Russell City within the week. Kate took up her new responsibilities as Mrs. Sheriff Weakley at the same time.

For over three hundred years in America, the sheriffs department consisted of the sheriff, a deputy, and the sheriffs wife. Since 1634, when Charles I reigned as King of England and appointed Lord William Baldridge his Sheriff of St. Marys County in Maryland, there have been sheriffs and their wives working together to fulfill the duties of this ancient office. In England, the office of sheriff dates back to nearly a century before William the Conqueror sailed in and took over in 1066. We all know the story of Robin Hood of Saxon England and how he fought the Sheriff of Nottingham. In at least one version of the story, Robin withheld his lethal arrow meant for the Sheriff solely because he knew firsthand the kindness of the Sheriffs wife.

For three centuries, Mrs. Sheriff served as matron, cook, and communications officer, to put it into modern parlance. The county jail served mainly as a pre-trial holding facility until the inmates were brought before the judge and, if found guilty, taken to prison. Mrs. Sheriff joined the wives of other elected officials as social hostess for civic events. She might also serve as volunteer tax collector and on occasion, unpaid deputy sheriff. In 1897, one such deputy discovered a prisoner trying to pry the bars from his cell window. Sarah Rihle of Ingham County, Michigan, informed prisoner Al Stone that if he continued to use his knife in such a rude fashion, she would shoot him. When he looked over his shoulder, he was staring down the barrel of her gun.

Because it was the law in many states that the counties had to provide lodging for the jail matron, and it was convenient to have the Sheriff near the prisoners, it was common for the Sheriffs family to be housed in the jail building. The family quarters often provided a social space for the community to gather as well as house the residents. The matron, in charge of feeding the prisoners and handling the housekeeping aspects of running the jail often made use of the prisoners to assist her. In the days of no running water, wood-fired cooking stoves, outdoor privies and chamber pots in the cells, one could often find the sheriff and deputy away from the jail and an inmate cleaning cells, washing the dishes or tending to other chores, with or without the direct supervision of Mrs. Sheriff. When chores were completed, the prisoner confined himself once again to his cell.

Living in the jail had its pros and cons in more ways than one for the family. On the plus side, escape attempts were more easily detected and food didnt have to be toted very far. Prisoners who required confinement due to the severity of their alleged crime or because they were perceived to be a flight risk, ate from a tray or a basket in their cells while others ate at the table with the family. There were occasions in which the jail was occupied by one or two prisoners, the husband and wife team and one to nine children. The wife cooked for all, plus deputies, visiting lawmen who were in town to pick up some hombre wanted back home, and any jurors who had to stay in town during a trial. In many cases, those jurors and lawmen also stayed the night with the family to save their counties the cost of a hotel.

Another drawback to living in the jail was the noise of drunken or disgruntled prisoners, and the danger of the occasional attempted breakouts. Friends of the inmate were known to not only pull the bars from a cell window with a rope and a horse but also to set fire to the outside wall of a cell to create a hole large enough through which to crawl. What was most dangerous to the family living in the jail was the angry mob hell-bent on a lynching. There is an account from Pike County, Missouri about how Mrs. Sheriff Hawkins confronted an angry mob in her home in the middle of the night. They had come to lynch Harrison Rose being held for murder, arriving at 1 in the morning with shouts and blood in their eyes. Sheriff Hawkins escaped out the back in order to round up 50 good men and true to form a posse to retrieve Mr. Rose before the mob could get the rope over the tree. Mrs. Hawkins, however, nipped the whole thing in the bud by convincing the mob that they really didnt want to lynch Rose after all, and saved her prisoner, home and family from further incivility. By the time the posse gathered their guns, saddled their horses, and arrived back at the jail, the mob had completely dispersed.

Living in a home apart from the jail did not ensure that one dined with only ones friends and provided beds for only ones family. Jurors living at a distance from the Court House and visiting lawmen also stayed at the Sheriffs home apart from the jail and ate at his table. In 1876, Kate Weakleys husband caught and held a notorious horse thief named Dutch Henry who was wanted by Sheriff Charles Bassett of Dodge City. The week following the capture, Bassett appointed Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp as deputies to watch Ford County during his absence and rode up to Russell City. Bassett stayed overnight with the Weakley family and departed the next morning with his prisoner.

On rare occasions, the separate family residence might house a prisoner as well. In the case of the Weakleys, circumstances occurred in which a prisoner not only dined with the family, but moved into their home for several weeks. On June 22, 1876, The Russell Record noted only that W.J. Gaines, Esq., is stopping at the Weakley House. What the paper failed to mention was that Gaines, a prisoner in custody, had been illegally released from his confinement in the jail by the County Commissioners. Here is the story from the beginning: Gaines brought suit against a Mr. Waterman in Federal District Court for something or other of little consequence to this story. Gaines lost his suit and was jailed for not being able to pay court costs. After a short stay in the jail, Gaines appealed to the Board of County Commissioners, pleading that his inability to pay was not a just cause for him to sit in jail, leaving his family in a dire predicament. Gaines begged to be released from further incarceration. The wise and learned men of the County Commission instructed the County Clerk to instruct Sheriff Weakley to release Gaines immediately.

Weakley, in a quandary as to what his next course of action should be, knew that the Commissioners had no jurisdiction over Gaines and the Commissioners did not outrank the Federal District Court, but they had given him his instructions. The Quarterly Session District Court that had placed Gaines in Weakleys custody was not sitting and would not do so again until September. Sheriff Weakley came home for his noon meal that day with WJ Gaines in tow. Kate set another plate on the table, moved her four older children into one bedroom, and made Gaines as comfortable as possible for several weeks, grateful that the prisoner was not Dutch Henry or Jesse James.

Eventually, Sheriff Weakley testified before the District Court that Gaines had no material possessions to sell at Sheriffs Sale to recoup the loss, so it was fruitless to keep him in jail for nonpayment of court costs. The judge agreed that it served no purpose other than to spend the Courts money. Gaines was allowed, at long last, to return to the welcoming arms of his wife and family once again.

The money for feeding prisoners, deputies, jurors and visiting lawmen was provided by the County irregardless of whether the family lived in or enjoyed a separate residence from the jail. The County allocated so much per meal, no matter who ate. Everyone ate the same things. If the family enjoyed a special occasion with a fancy dinner, those in their cells and sitting around the table lucked out. If County funds ran short and the family ate chicken necks and gravy, so did the deputies, prisoners, jurors and visiting lawmen.

It was the rare County that could afford to cater food from the local hotel for a sitting jury, so they too were fed by the Sheriffs wife. In late Victorian times, new jails were built with family quarters plus an upper story that held the jury deliberation room. Some of these were built with the inclusion of dumb-waiters used to hoist food to the jury room. These saved trekking up and down with meals and dirty dishes, and were most appreciated by many a bailiff and Mrs. Sheriff.

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Copyright © 2003  BJ Alderman. No unauthorized reproduction or transmission by any means whatsoever permitted under federal criminal law.