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Lawman of Cheyenne County, NE  written by Ada Schulz Ammerman and contributed by the Cheyenne County Genealogical Society   In the 131 years of the existence of Cheyenne County, there have been 19 different Sheriffs.   I'll go through the list and add a few comments on some of the sheriffs.   In August 1870, Governor Davis Butler issued a Proclamation setting the boundaries of the new County   of Cheyenne, designating Sidney as the County seat and Officers were appointed.     JOHN J. ELLIS (Appointed), 1870     Date of Cheyenne County's First Election - October 8, 1871.     GEORGE C. COOK was elected but did not qualify, so JOHN J. ELLIS was appointed.     JOHN J. ELLIS served 5 yrs, 4 mo, 1870-1875     CON McCARTY served 2 yrs, 1876-1877        While Sheriff, McCarty was the owner of the Capitol Saloon, a gambler, politician and cattleman.    In the 1880's, it was rumored that he was the leader of Sidney's under-world and the main suspect in the   1880 Gold Bullion Robbery in Sidney.         HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE GREAT GOLD BULLION ROBBERY IN SIDNEY, WHERE 4 BARS OF GOLD BULLION WORTH $80,000.00 WAS STOLEN?    As the story goes, the stage from the Black hills arrived too late to catch the east bound train, and Mr. Allen,    Express Agent, locked the bullion, totaling $120,000.00 in the freight room and went to lunch.  When he returned,    he a hole had been sawed through the floor which led to a tunnel to another building, which had required several    days of digging.     Robert Law, U.P. Superintendent, and James "Whispering" Smith, a R.R. Detective from Cheyenne, were called     into the case.  Upon investigation of the robbery, it was found that  all but 4 bars of gold bullion were recovered     within two hours of the crime.  The case boiled down to 4 suspects: McCARTY, the former Sheriff, then operating     the Capitol Saloon & Gambling House; PATSY, one of McCarty's bartenders; MR. ALLEN, the station agent;     and a barber named O'FLANAGAN.     McCARTY had extreme influence in the county and was friendly with the tough element in the town.     "Whispering" Smith always suspected McCARTY, but in spite of his urgings  to have McCARTY hanged at the     nearest telegraph pole, the jury restrained him.  After a series of violent gun fight between Smith and McCARTY's     crew, McCARTY was arrested by a Vigilante Committee and jailed.     That night, the prisoner was told that he would be hanged in the morning, and that the best thing for him to do     was to mount aa saddled hors standing outside the jail and leave the county!  The jail door was opened by the     Sheriff and the Vigilantes, and McCARTY left.     McCARTY never came back to Sidney, and it was told that "Whispering" Smith had trailed him and disposed     of him since Smith disappeared for 2 days after McCARTY got away.  Later on, when McCARTY's Saloon was     torn down, one gold brick was found buried under it, but it was not a gold brick but a brick painted gold!      Several of us who have lived around Sidney for some time will remember about the gold-painted brick just above     the door of Tobin's Capitol Saloon, now the location of Wilson & Tobin Drug Store, 10th and Illinois.    Changes in the building have covered the gold-painted brick.              Back to the list of Sheriffs (These are all 2-year terms.)     JOHN ZWEIFEL & ROBERT C. HOWARD, each served 2 yrs, 1878-1881     SAM O. FOWLER served 4 yrs, 1882-1885     W.T. EUBANK served 4 yrs, 1886-1889     While FOWLER was Sheriff, James & Son John Pinkston were murdered in 1885 by his partner, James Reynolds.     One thing that came up when EUBANK died, the fact that the only legal hanging in Sidney was when Reynolds     was hanged, but Sheriff EUBANK did not hang him -- he gave a young man $5.00 to pull the lever.     CHARLES W. TROGNITZ served 4 yrs, 1890-1893     JOHN DAUGHERTY & DANIEL McALEESE, each served 2 yrs, 1894-1897     FRANK H. KING served 4 yrs, 1898-1901     S.H. BABB & J.W. (BILL) LEE, each served 2 yrs, 1902-1905     JAMES W. McDANIEL served 11 yrs, 1906-1916, & 10 yrs, 1919-1928 for a total of 21 yrs.          Jack Lowe's column of 4-19-93 tells us about Sheriff McDANIEL, "McDANIEL ruled over Cheyenne County     with an iron hand.  He had one Deputy and a powerful black horse, and he always carried a big stick.  If someone     offended him or talked back, he would hit them with the stick.  This was before Miranda.  Sheriff McDANIEL     cleaned up  the Hobo Camps along the railroad.  Hoboes knew about McDANIEL from coast to  coast and avoided     Cheyenne County,  just to keep away from McDANIEL and the big stick.  A curfew for kids was not needed.     Sheriff McDANIEL would ride his big black horse down the streets at night, so kids stayed home."     My oldest sister told me that she remembered Sheriff McDANIEL - he was a very kind person - when he would see     kids on the street, he would come up and talk - pat you on the head and give you a shiny dime!     JAMES M. NELSON served 1 yr, 2 mo 1929-1930 (he was killed in 1930)     W.W. (BILL) SCHULZ served 36 yrs, 10 mo, 1930-1966          I believe everyone know that Sheriff SCHULZ was my father.  In April 1929, SCHULZ started working for     Sheriff NELSON as a part-time Deputy.  (SCHULZ & Uncle George Griswold ran a Pool Hall in Sidney.)  Ten     months after he was hired as a Deputy, Sheriff NELSON was shot and killed by a man who had escaped from the     Hastings State Hospital.  Sheriff NELSON died on Feb. 22, 1930, and three days later, SCHULZ was appointed     Sheriff of Cheyenne County.     More comments from Jack Lowe: "SCHULZ became a legend in law enforcement in the Panhandle of Nebraska.     He retired on Jan 1, 1967, after nearly 38 years in law enforcement and almost 37 years a Cheyenne County Sheriff.     He decided not to run for the 10th term.  He was one of the best vote-getters - out of 9 elections, he lost only 2     precincts to opponents."     Here are some of the happenings:  In Jan 1931, SCHULZ & his Deputy, George Sheldon, were searching for men     suspected of a robbery in Kimball.  (Remember, this was before radios were in use by police officers.)  They waited     on Highway 30 and the vehicle with the suspects came along and the authorities pulled along side of the suspect car.     SCHULZ got to the driver's side and was leaning with his hand on the car, when the driver pulled a gun and shot at     him, but the bullet went between two of his fingers, cutting his glove but not hurting him.     (The glove is on display in the Cheyenne County Museum.)  In the meantime, Sheldon opened the door on the     other side and the other 2 men dropped their guns.  Sheldon shot the driver, but he recovered.     Another incident in the late 30's involved an estranged couple.  The wife came to Cheyenne County to be with her     family after leaving her husband.  Then, early in the morning, the husband came to the farm and shot his wife in the     arm and barricaded himself in the upstairs room with their 14-month old daughter.     SCHULZ & other authorities tried all day long without success to get the man to come down, but he refused.     They were afraid to shoot because of the child and finally decided to send in tear gas and rush him.  When they     thought he was nearly out of bullets, tear gas was shot and SCHULZ & Joe Parano (NE State Patrolman) ran into     the house and up the stairs.  SCHULZ grabbed the child and Joe fired shots in the direction of the closet where the     man was reloading his gun.  They waited for a time and after hearing no sounds, they went back upstairs and found     the man was dead.      In later years, the mother brought the young lady to meet Sheriff SCHULZ and they exchanged Christmas Cards     for many years.     One more item _ SCHULZ was involved in a shooting when some bank robbers from Fort Morgan, CO,     wound up in Sidney,  The Sidney Police were out to meet them and plenty of shooting was involved since the     bandit's car hit a telephone pole.  Harvey Vizina was a Police Officer and one of his shots killed one robber but the     other kidnapped a Sidney motorist (Glenn Oldenberg) and forced him to drive to Garden City, KS.  That night,     the motorist called SCHULZ from Garden City, and after SCHULZ called and advised authorities in Garden City,     the fugitive was located and killed in a gun battle.     There were hardships in the Depression Days of 1930 and 1931, when as Sheriff, Cheyenne County did not have     money to pay salaries for several months.  The County paid in script, and it was hard to buy groceries and pay rent     with just a piece of paper.              Back to the Sheriffs (When SCHULZ was Sheriff, they changed the term to 4 years.)     KERMIT BRUMBAUGH served 8 yrs, 1967-1974     OREN COX served 4 yrs, 1975-1978     DARRELL J. JOHNSON served 22 yrs, 8 mo, 1979-PRESENT [about 2000]            I hope you enjoyed the information on the Cheyenne County Sheriffs.                               ADA SCHULZ AMMERMAN   Please see corrections and additions by another writer below.

12/09/2008 Hi, I have just read your take on the Lawmen of Cheyenne County. I note some errors, and would appreciate you updating your records, as documented accuracy is of prime importance. Sheriff McCarty was a suspect in the robbery by James "Whispering Smith," but Cheyenne County court records show that on the day ;of the robbery, March 10th, 1880, McCarty and wife were in court before the Judge. His appearance ended at about the same time that the robbery occurred. He had nothing to do with it! The robbery was worth $119,000.00 at that time, 6 bars of 75 pounds each, found within 24 hours, and four 8 pounds bricks, totaling 480 pounds of gold bullion, with a leather pouch of over $1100.00 in minted coins, 20-10-5-and 21/2 dollar coins. Patsy Walters was a bar keep in the Capitol Salon, and at about 3AM while all were drunk, Smith shot Walters, not killing him at this time. 3 years later Hugo Hoppy had that honors. The barber, Dennis Flanagan was working in Omaha when this robbery occurred, and did not locate to Sidney until late May or early June, same year. The night of fright in Sidney was a year later, April 1, 1881, and "Con" was rounded up with 14 other men and was to be the second one lynched, they did lynch "Red" McDonald, but "Con" was set free when his 22 year old wife appeared with $500.00 cash, and they stated that they would never return to Sidney, and they did not, as old "Con" headed to Oregon and went into the bar business there. James "Whispering" Smith was also going to be lynched, but ran to the westward bound freight leaving Sidney at that time, and he was only seen in Sidney once, some 25 years later. Thanks for doing all you have, and can for us folk here in Sidney. Loren Avey 12/09/2009 Hi Betty,       I have found court records in the District Court, Cheyenne County, that James Whispering Smith received his divorce in Sidney in 1885. Smith has three appearances in Court here, his wife never showed, and subsequently was granted his divorce. He lists his occupation as a lawman in Sioux County, Nebraska. It appears that Smith did show up in Sidney at least on these three occasions. I am doing a book on Cornelius McCarty, the sheriff, and have found so much documentation of his real character, and he has been portrayed falsely by the rumor mill of Sidney. Loren Avey