Franklin County Sheriffs

Charles L. Robbins, Franklin County Sheriff, 1859-1860, 1862-1866, & 1870-1872. He was born in Ohio in 1833 and came to the Centropolis-Minneola area of Franklin County in 1856. He became an Ottawa businessman, later served as County Assessor and later still as a County Commissioner. In 1889 he was elected Justice of the Peace.

Hugh A. Cook, Franklin County Sheriff, 1860-1862 as a young man. Cook was Sheriff of Douglas County before being Sheriff of Franklin County. He and Mrs. Cook came to Kansas in the spring of 1857 and built their log cabin on TauyCreek near Norwood. They later lived on the outskirts of Lawrence.

Hugh A. Cook, Franklin County Sheriff, 1860-1862, as a middle-aged man. In 1864, he was appointed Special Agent for detecting and arresting spies & deserters in southeast Kansas by the Provost Marshal. He served three terms as Sergeant of Arms of the Kansas Senate until he was elected Representative of the 58th District in 1865.

Hugh A. Cook, Franklin County Sheriff, 1860-1862, as an elderly man.

Hugh A. Cook, Franklin County Sheriff, 1860-1862, with his family, 1865.

Hugh A. Cook, Franklin County Sheriff, 1860-1862, with his family, 1866.

Richard E. Jenness, Franklin County Sheriff, 1866-1870 & 1872-1876.Photo taken from 1877 Kansas Legislative panel. Mr. & Mrs. Jenness came to Franklin County in 1859 and had a hotel first at Mount Vernon, then Minneola, and finally in Ottawa. He was a member of the Kansas Legislature in 1876-77. They left Ottawa for Columbus, Kansas in 1879. In the 1880s he was one of the founders of Leoti, Kansas in Wichita County.

John N. “Curly” Harrison, Franklin County Sheriff, 1884-1886. He came to Franklin County shortly after the Civil War and was a farmer. He served as County Treasurer as well as Sheriff. He built the commercial building at 322 S Main that bears his name.

John N. “Curly” Harrison, Franklin County Sheriff, 1884-1886. In addition to the activities cited with the previous photo, he was President of the Kansas State Historical Society and was Kansas Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), the Union Civil War veterans organization.

James A. Elwell, Franklin County Sheriff, 1890-1894.Photo taken from an 1895 group photo of Franklin County employees on the courthouse steps. Elwell was a Civil War veteran. He and his wife moved from Iowa to a farm in Lincoln Township where they remained until moving to Baldwin in 1900.

Solomon P. Costigan, Franklin County Sheriff, 1900-1905. He came to the county in 1874 and settled on a farm in Ottawa township. While sheriff he won praise for heroic work in saving the Main ST bridge during a major flood. He also served as Ottawa’s chief of police for three years, retiring in April 1926.

Solomon P. Costigan, Franklin County Sheriff, 1900-1905. Image taken from a campaign pamphlet, possibly from a 1916 re-election attempt.

William R. Cody, Franklin County Sheriff, 1905-1909, as portrayed by nationally-syndicated newspaper cartoonist Camillus Kessler, an Ottawa native.

Sheriff William P. Latimer, Franklin County Sheriff, 1909-1913. Photo taken from an interior view of his office in the courthouse. See next photo. He was born in Ohio in 1849 and moved with his parents to Harrison Township in the fall of 1867. Buried in Princeton Cemetery, Princeton, KS.

Franklin County Sheriff William P. Latimer and deputies in his office in the courthouse.

Franklin County Sheriff William P. Latimer on patrol, 1911.

Sheriff William S. “Billy” Barnett, Franklin County Sheriff, 1917-1921.He was born in Indiana in 1864 and came to this county in a covered wagon with his parents in 1868. They settled on a farm on Walnut Creek northeast of Ottawa. He was a city mail carrier for 13 years. After serving as sheriff, he entered the tire business with his sons and retired from that in 1938.

Lewis C. Geiger, Franklin County Sheriff, 1929-1933.

William Alan Wantland, Franklin County Sheriff, 1933-1935.

Olin C. Minckley, Franklin County Sheriff, 1935-1939

Harry G. Cochrane, Franklin County Sheriff, 1939-1943.

Franklin County Sheriff Roy B. Church and Deputy Leod Becker in 1946. Church was a lifelong Franklin Countian.

Roy B. Church, Franklin County Sheriff, 1943-1947. He later worked for Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), 1947-1964. This photo is from that period. Among the more notable cases investigated were the Clutter murders at Holcomb. He later served as technical advisor for the movie dealing with the event, “In Cold Blood,” based on the book by Truman Capote.

Virgil M. “Pete” Kinnison, Franklin County Sheriff, 1947-1951.

John E. “Jack” O’Neal, Franklin County Sheriff, 1951-1955. He was born in Iowa, played football and ran track at Ottawa University 1937-1940, and was a salesman of large construction equipment for Bucyrus-Erie Co. .

A. Jay Brown, Franklin County Sheriff, 1955-1959.

Max R. Gilmore, Franklin County Sheriff, 1959-1963.

Joe Ferns, Franklin County Sheriff, 1963-1973.

Lewis Ashcraft, Franklin County Sheriff, 1973-1975.

Rex A. Bowling, Franklin County Sheriff, 1975-2001. After graduating from Ottawa High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force where he trained as an air traffic controller. His tour of duty included service in the Vietnam War.

Rex A. Bowling, Franklin County Sheriff, 1975-2001. He began his law enforcement career in 1970 as a deputy in the Ottawa Police Dept. He was active in the community and also served as president of Kansas Sheriff’s Assoc.

Craig A. Davis, Franklin County Sheriff, 2001-2010. He was an Ottawa High School multi-sport athlete and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Emporia State Teachers College. He taught high school business education in Topeka and in Baldwin City, where he also started the girls’ athletic program. After joining Franklin County Sheriff’s Dept., he was instrumental in starting the criminal justice program at Ottawa High School and at Neosho County Community College.

Jeffry D. Curry, Franklin County Sheriff, 2010-2013.

Jeff Richards, Franklin County Sheriff, 2013-