Bullitt County History

Sheriffs of Bullitt County

1796-1797 Benjamin Summers 5
1798-1799 Joseph Saunders
1800 Benjamin Summers
1803 Thomas Saunders
1804 Joseph Saunders
1805 James Caldwell
March 1808 William Simmons11
April 1810 Nicholas Crist Jr.
April 1812 Christian James Sanders
April 1814 David Grable
May 1816 Wilford Lee
May 1818 Elemelech Swearingen
August 1820 Joseph Hedges
February 1823 Jesse Wilson
August 1824 James Alexander
November 1825 William Caldwell
August 1826 Clifton Hall
September 1828 Samuel Brown
September 1830 James Samuels
September 1832 Rodolphus Bukey
September 1834 William Hill
October 1836 Jacob Peacock7
November 1838 Nathaniel P. Saunders
November 1840 Henry F. Kalfus
November 1842 John Graham
November 1844 Wilford Lee
November 1846 James Samuels
June 1847 Henry C. Thomas
November 1848 Thomas J. Joyce 3
November 1850 William Wallace Swearingen 2
1851-1852 Henry C. Thomas
1854 Henry C. Thomas
1855 J. D. Peacock
1859 H. Trunnell
1860 Westley Phelps
1861-62 W. Phelps
1863 Wesley Phelps 1
1864 W. Phelps
1865-66 Thomas J. Hall
1867 W. Phelps

1870-74 J. F. Smith
1875-76 W. N. Simmons
1877 Warren Smith
1878-80 James H. Hays (Hayes)
1881 James Q. Hughes & J. H. Hays
1881-82 Warren Smith
1883-86 William Dawson 9
1887-90 J. W. Rogers (J.H. Rogers)
1891-94 W. B. Cundiff
1895-98 J. B. Monroe
1898-1901 James Franklin Collings
1902-05 Bert Hall
1906-09 W. B. Campbell
1910-13 J. B. Myers
1914-17 W. S. Rouse
1918-21 J. W. Croan 6
1922-25 A. L. Roby
1926-29 W. F. “Frank” Monroe 4
1930-33 P. H. Croan
1934-37 R. E. McAfee
1938-41 W. F. “Frank” Monroe 4
1942-45 Fred Smith
1946-49 Hobart L. Roby
1950-53 Allen R. Hawkins
1954-57 H. G. “Jack” Bleemel
1958-61 Tom Hibbs 8
1962 Hillary G. "Jack" Bleemel
1963-66 William R. French
1967-73 Leonard J. Light
1974-77 Buddy Shepherd
1978-81 George Rummage
1982-98 Lloyd Hill “Shot” Dooley
1999-2006 Paul Parsley
2007-2010 Donnie Tinnell
2011-28 Feb 2017 David Greenwell
1 Mar 2017-2018 Donnie Tinnell 10
2019 Walter A. Sholar


Resources

  1. Wesley Phelps, sheriff during the Civil War period, is buried behind the Melton’s IGA store in the Settler’s Gap Cemetery.
  2. William Wallace Swearingen, 1803-1869, is buried in the Shepherdsville Pioneer Graveyard.
  3. Thomas J. Joyce, 1811-1879, is buried in the Shepherdsville Pioneer Graveyard.
  4. Frank Monroe, before becoming sheriff twice, was also county jailer in 1918.
  5. The first fiscal court meeting of Bullitt County was held February28, 1797 at the home of Benjamin Summers. The county of Bullitt had been authorized by the state on December 13, 1796.
  6. J. W. Croan had been State Representative from Bullitt County in 1889-90.
  7. Might be John Jacob Peacock, born 12/8/1765 in New Jersey; died 11/3/1845 in Bullitt County. He migrated to Bullitt in 1785. Buried in Hessey Cemetery in Mt. Washington, on the corner of Highway 44 and Branham Way. Peacock’s daughter, May, married her cousin (also named John Peacock, who is buried in the Peacock Cemetery on Watergate Drive).
  8. Tom Hibbs was also jailer about 1943-1957. Shepherdsville Marshal 1962-1964. Died 1967.
  9. Dawson that lived at Pitts Point, and was a private in Co. H 6th Ky. Inf. CSA during the Civil War? He was a member of the “Orphan Brigade”. When he became sheriff, several of his deputies had also been members of the Orphan Brigade.
  10. David Greenwell resigned, effective 28 Feb 2017; Donnie Tinnell was appointed as interim sheriff to serve the remainder of the term.
  11. William Simmons through William Wallace Swearingen are identified by the Month/Year they presented their commissions to the County Court and were officially accepted. Jesse Wilson was late getting his commission due to the refusal of James Alexander to accept one in 1822. Alexander was then selected sheriff in 1825, but died sometime prior to November 1825 when his deputy William Caldwell was commissioned to complete the two-year term. Then James Samuels died in 1847, and his deputy Henry C. Thomas completed his term.

This list of Sheriffs of Bullitt County, Kentucky has been drawn from several sources researched by Betty Darnell, Charlie Long, David Strange, Bobby Darnell, and Brenda Rittman.


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The Bullitt County History Museum, a service of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is located in the county courthouse at 300 South Buckman Street (Highway 61) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. The museum, along with its research room, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday appointments are available by calling 502-921-0161 during our regular weekday hours. Admission is free. The museum, as part of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and is classified as a 509(a)2 public charity. Contributions and bequests are deductible under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Internal Revenue Code. Page last modified: 12 Jan 2024 . Page URL: bullittcountyhistory.org/bchistory/sheriffs.html