Malheur County Sheriff

 The office of Sheriff, in one form or another, is centuries old.   It is unclear how far back the duties of Sheriff actually go, but as long as there have been laws or regulations, there has been someone assigned to help enforce them. 

 

Historians hypothesize that ancient Romans or Saxons formulated the first office of Sheriff. Others suggest that an Arab Prince, the direct descendant of Muhammed, was referred to as “Sharif”, meaning illustrious or noble.

 

In 600 B.C., the Chaldean King of Babylon, Nubuchandnezzar made reference to being “in the company of the Sheriff” in the Book of Daniel. A reference to the honorable title over 2600 years old.

 

It is undisputable, that the current customs, traditions and duties of the office of Sheriff come from feudal England. Historian W. Morris wrote that “the office of Sheriff is one of the most familiar and most useful to be found in the history of English institutions…….with the single exception of kingship, no secular dignity now known to English-speaking people is older. Author Walter H. Anderson wrote that “The office of the Sheriff is one of antiquity”. Anderson went on to say that the office of Sheriff “is the oldest law enforcement office known within the common-law system and it has always been accorded great dignity and high trust”.

 

England, under Norman rule was very abusive and corrupt. Appointment to Sheriff was by the king and carried the authority of the king. Taxation was carried out using any means necessary to collect for the king. In 1199, Richard the Lionhearted died and left the throne to his brother John. John brought the corruption in England to a new level. 

 

Then, in 1215 a group of former Sheriff’s, barons and others banded together and wrote the Magna Carta. Latin for “Great Charter”. This group of noblemen rebelled against King John and forced him to sign the Magna Carta, bringing a more orderly and diplomatic rule to England. This document became a guideline for which the British and American governments were to proliferate their power. 27 of the 63 clauses of the Magna Carta specifically mention the duties or authority of the Sheriff.

 

It is believed that the term “Sheriff” is derived from the old English reference to “Shire reeve”. A “Shire”, was a banded group of one hundred families. A “garefa”, or Chief was a person in charge of ten families. The term “garefa” later became “reeve” in the Saxon language. When bands of one hundred families joined to form Shires or Counties, the term “Shire Reeve” was used to distinguish the difference between those in charge of the mere ten families, from those responsible for the whole Shire.

 

The responsibilities of the “Shire-reeve” included maintaining order and the law of the land. Another duty of the Shire-reeve included the “Hue and Cry”. The “Hue and Cry” made every citizen within ear shot of the Shire-reeve lawfully obligated to respond and form a “posse-commitatas”. The “posse-commitatas” would band together for the purpose of apprehending criminals. The term posse commitatas translates to “the power of the county”. That term was later shortened to “posse”.

 

It was the actions of one of America’s first posse’s that inspired the writing of this nations most acclaimed and inspiring anthem.

 

During the war of 1812, while the British Army’s were invading the states, residents of Marlborough, Maryland had an agreement with the invading troops. They would offer no resistance, and in return, the British passed through with little damage or destruction of their town. 

 

As the invaders proceeded inland, however, various battles and the burning of Washington fired up the British troops. When the British army came back through Upper Marlborough, their original agreement was a distant memory and the troops proceeded through town as they had other towns during their invasion, looting businesses and burning homes. 

 

This enraged a local resident named Dr. William Beanes. Dr. Beanes rallied a large group of local residence through the “Hue and Cry” and formed a Posse to arrest the invading troops. Dr. Beanes and his posse located a group of British soldiers at a local tavern and arrested them, taking them to the Upper Marlborough jail. 

 

This information got back to the British Commander and he dispatched an army to locate and arrest Dr. Beanes and his posse. The posse was arrested and held for ransom on a British ship in Baltimore Harbor. 

 

A team of Ambassadors was sent to negotiate the release of Dr. Beanes and his posse for the British soldiers still awaiting trial in Upper Marlborough. One of the ambassadors was a young attorney named Frances Scott Key. During the long negotiation process, Key witnessed the attack by British troops on Fort McHenry. Standing on the deck of an American Ship in Baltimore Harbor, Key was inspired to write the “Star Spangled Banner”.

 

Prior to 1776, Sheriff’s in America were appointed by the King of England. After colonies were established well enough, the king would appoint a Sheriff to

“There is no honorable law enforcement authority in Anglo-American law so ancient as that of the county Sheriff whose roll as a peace officer goes back at least to the time of Alfred the Great”. –Thomas Jefferson- “The Value of Constitutions”,

act as his liaison and release the military forces from that colony. It is a matter of great debate, but most accounts agree that the first Sheriff in the United States was Lord William Baldridge, appointed in 1634 in Maryland as Sheriff of St. Mary's County. Historians believe that Sheriffs began being elected by popular vote as early as 1651, although this was highly irregular at that time.

 

On February 17, 1887, Malheur County, which had formerly been a part of Baker County, was established. “Malheur” had been the name given by French trappers of the river, which still bears that name. “Malheur” or unfortunate  referred to the trouble the trappers had with the Native American’s stealing their furs and other property. Henry C. Murray was appointed as the first Sheriff of Malheur County. 

 

In 1894, T.W. Halliday was elected Sheriff for a two year term, followed by Charles E. Boswel in 1896.