The Office of the Sheriff came down to us from the common law of England, dating from the times of King Alfred (10th century England). The term “sheriff” evolved from the Old English term “shire reave.” For more than 1,000 years, sheriffs have served as peace keepers, tax collectors, keepers of jail, bailiffs of the courts, and chief law enforcement officer of the county. No other office in American history has deeper roots.
During 1821, when Florida was a territory, the first Sheriff, James R Hanham, was appointed in newly formed St. Johns County, and James Pendelton was appointed Sheriff in Escambia County. From these two law enforcement officers came the legacy of Florida ‘s law enforcement. They could not have known each other well, and may never have met. However, they shared a singular distinction: The First Sheriffs of Florida.
Like many other 19th century St. Johns County Sheriffs, no photographs are available of Sheriff Hanham, and only limited information is known about his life. (It is possible he was a captain in the War of 1812 serving in the 62nd Air Defense Artillery, Company K. It is also possible he was present at a meeting of the Florida Legislative Council on July 22, 1822.*)
He served as Sheriff for a little over two years and resigned because there were no funds available to operate his office, no jail to house his prisoners, and he was facing four lawsuits over failing to pay for feeding his prisoners. (No mention is found as to where he may have been keeping the prisoners.) Sheriff Hanham was appointed by Major General Andrew Jackson, who had inadvertently misspelled Hanham’s name as “Hannum” in the appointment letter.
After Sheriff Hanham left office, there were times when St. Johns County had no sheriff. Among those who succeeded Hanham were the following, about which little is known.
Date: 2005-2021
Sheriff Shoar not only has a long and distinguished law enforcement career, but an equally distinguished career in the Military.Date: 1985-2005
Sheriff Perry tackled the challenge for needed change in the Sheriff’s Office that had begun with his predecessors. With vision and forethought, Sheriff Perry diligently and conscientiously led the Sheriff’s Office through a series of improvements to the crowning achievement of attaining nationally accredited status in 1991.Date: 1981-1985
A St. Augustine City Police Officer for more than 20 years, Sheriff O’Loughlin settled in St. Augustine after a tour in the US Navy. He was well known in the county and was committed to upgrading and improving the Sheriff’s Office operations. As he took office, the promise of change and growth was in the air.Date: 1970-1980
Sheriff Garrett served as an Alachua County Deputy Sheriff, working his way up to Patrol Commander there before going to work as an investigator for the State Attorney’s Office, 7th Judicial Circuit. Sheriff Garrett’s tenure saw unprecedented growth in St. Johns County. A quiet man, he was known for his relentless pursuit of drug dealers, a developing crime problem of the 1970s, which plagues law enforcement to this day.Date: 1949-1970
Sheriff Davis held office for 21 years. During those years, society saw a changing culture. In 1952, a new jail was completed, and Sheriff Davis moved his headquarters from the old jail on McWilliams Street to a new jail on Lewis Speedway.1942 to 1949
In 1946, Sheriff Shepard was responsible for extensive experimental work in the use of the new two-way radio. It proved exceptionally valuable to county law enforcement. The first system consisted of a low band transmitter and two cars having two-way radio sets. Sheriff Shepard was also the first Sheriff to put his deputies on light (8) hour shifts.1919 to 1942
The next era in law enforcement here was headed by Sheriff Elmer Boyce. He took office in 1919 and held the office for twenty-three years. He was very well thought of in the community, according to the local newspapers at the time. Under Sheriff Boyce’s leadership, moonshiners and other illegal, homemade liquor manufacturers were aggressively pursued.1889 to 1897 and 1901 to 1919
Although Sheriff Joe Perry served split terms, he was the longest serving Sheriff of our county’s history, having been elected and reelected seven times for a total of 26 years as Sheriff. Before becoming Sheriff, he served as deputy sheriff in Putnam county and in St. Johns County under Sheriff Floyd. By all available accounts, he was known for being a “big, bold man,” at 6’6″ and weighing 300 pounds. He was apparently very popular and reputed to have gone on the most dangerous calls right along with his deputies until the last couple of years of his term, as he was very ill. He died in office on February 7, 1919, at the age of 56.1897 to 1901
It must have been a great honor to have served as Sheriff at the turn of the Century. Sheriff Silas Davis had a distinguished career in law enforcement. He was also St. Augustine’s Town Marshall and Chief of Police. His legacy in law enforcement continues today. Sheriff Davis’ son, Silas Davis Jr., served as Police Commissioner for the City of St. Augustine and his sons, Silas Davis and Mark Davis, were deputies with the St. Johns Sheriff’s Office in the 1970’s through the early 2000’s. Sheriff Davis has 2 great grandsons in law enforcement, one being Silas E. Davis III, who is with the University of Las Vegas Police Reserve. In addition, great-great grandson Kevin Mark Davis is police officer with the Liberty University Police Dept in Lynchburg, VA. The law enforcement tradition is a continuing tradition in Sheriff Davis’ family.1888 to 1889
1881 to 1888
Sheriff Hernandez held the distinction of having served longer than any of his predecessors. The politics and rigors of the job during the early years were doubtless contributors to their short terms in office.1877 to 1881
A. Pacetti was a second generation descendant of the Minorcan and Italian families that migrated to Saint Augustine after the failure of the British colony in New Smyrna. Born in 1829, he worked as a sea captain and served in the United States Navy during the Seminole Indian Wars. Pacetti was initially opposed to Southern secession from the Union, and when war broke out, he volunteered to transport Northern visitors to safe haven in US occupied Key West under a flag of truce. On one such journey, his flag was ignored by the Union Navy. Pacetti’s vessel was seized, and he was charged with treason. While being held for trial, he jumped overboard and escaped to the mainland with the help of many friends on the Keys. He enlisted in the Confederate Navy the next day and served as a Captain in Tampa, Florida and Mobile Bay, Alabama.1874 until 1877
1857 to 1861 and 1866 to 1867
A D Rogero, Sheriff – 1857 until 1861 and 1866 until 1867. Sheriff Rogero was one of only two Sheriffs in St. Johns County’s history to have served split terms, it appears that Sheriff Rogero’s first term was interrupted by the Civil War. During the Civil War, St. Augustine was occupied by Federal troops and marshal law was imposed. From 1861 until 1864, there are no records of a Sheriff serving in St. Johns County.1855 to 1857
1864 to 1865
William Felilx Mickler, Sheriff 1864-1865. One of the most dashing of St. Johns County’s earliest Sheriffs, William Felix Mickler, served next. He was a civil engineer by trade who fought in the Seminole Indian Wars and served in the State House of Representatives in 1860 and 1861. He was also a member of the secession convention, which voted to withdraw Florida from the Union. With the advent of the Civil War, he joined Captain William Cone’s Company in Scott’s Battalion and was later appointed Lieutenant in the artillery. He helped plant torpedoes in the St. Johns River and fought in the Battle of Olustee. He eventually rose to the rank of Colonel. Sheriff Mickler became the last survivor of the state’s secession convention when he died April 24, 1927, at the age of 90.1848-1853
A number of St. Johns County Sheriffs descended from the Minorcans, and Sheriff Canova would not be the last. The 1850 census shows Raphael Canova, 29, as Sheriff and Tax Collector who owned real estate valued at $300. He was the father of four children and was elected Mayor of St. Augustine on November 17, 1860, serving until 1867.1854 until 1855.
1848
Sheriff Usina’s roots are traced to the Minorcan settlers of Turnbull’s New Smyrna colony, who subsequently came to St. Augustine. It appears that he was a kindly man, as city records indicate he offered to pay for the schooling of four poor children of the city.1847
Jose Simeon Sanchez was sheriff from ? until 1847. Some years before Florida became a state, Sheriff JS Sanchez took office and became the first Sheriff of St. Johns County after statehood was achieved. He was a delegate to the 1838 Constitutional Convention from St. Johns County and signed the Florida Constitution, January 11, 1839. Sheriff Sanchez was from a family with deep roots in Florida history, and his mother, Maria del Carmen Hill Sanchez, once owned the historic Sanchez house at 105 St. George Street, St. Augustine. He was born January 4, 1797, and besides serving as Sheriff, he also served as one of the State’s first legislators.1827 – until ?
Sheriff Smith had served as a US Marshal assigned to St. Augustine for some years before his appointment as Sheriff. During that time, his headquarters and jail was the Castillo de San Marcos. In July 1825, he was ordered by Secretary of War James Barbour to allow Sheriff Streeter to hold prisoners there, Marshal Smith apparently ignored Barbour’s orders. There was “bad blood” between him and Sheriff Streeter who complained harshly about the Marshal’s refusal.1847 to 1848
James Marcus Gould served as sheriff from 1847 until 1848. The fiery editor-publisher of a 19th century St. Augustine newspaper was St. Johns County’s next Sheriff. James Marcus Gould was a man historians describe as brash and outspokenly belligerent toward his enemies. Like his father, who served as the Mayor of St. Augustine and as a county judge, the younger Gould had a busy life as public office holder. These positions included: Sheriff, County Commissioner, Justice of the Peace, State Legislator, and Registrar of Public Lands. Like many of St. Johns County’s young men, Gould rallied to the cause of the Confederacy and was mustered into the 3rd Florida Infantry, “St. Augustine Blues,” in August 1861. He later moved to Jacksonville, where he died February 4, 1878.1825 – 1827
Squire Streeter – 1825 – 1827Unknown Dates
Francis J. Alvice became sheriff. His actual dates of service were not recorded.
In 1513 Don Juan Ponce de Leon first set eyes on the North American continent. He claimed the land he saw for Spain and called it La Florida or land of flowers.
Historical St. Augustine, located in St. Johns County, is the oldest European city in the United States. It was founded in 1565 and settled by Pedro Menendez de Aviles several decades before the pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock or the settlers established Jamestown, Virginia.
The little Spanish settlement met with many hardships including attacks by the English. It was during these times of attacks that the Castillo de San Marco was built. Amazingly, St. Augustine came under British rule peacefully. During 1783-1821, St. Augustine was given back to the Spanish under the Treaty of Paris. In 1821, Florida became a US territory and then in 1845 gained statehood.
St. Johns County’s history begins in 1821, when Colonel Robert Butler received Spanish East Florida from Captain General Colonel Jose Coppinger. Butler represented Major General Andrew Jackson, Governor of the Provinces of the Floridas, exercising the powers of the Captain General and the Intendents of the Island of Cuba and the Governors of the said provinces, respectively, who ordained that all of that country lying east of the Suwannee river should be designated as the County of St. Johns.
St. Johns was established along with Escambia County on July 21, 1821, just eleven days after Butler received Florida for the United States, and only five days from the time St. Augustine was incorporated. The name St. Johns was created from the Spanish Mission (1590) San Juan del Puerto/St. John’s of the Harbor. The apostrophe was dropped in 1932 by the Department of the Interior because the apostrophe showed ownership.
It was a huge county, encompassing more than 39,000 square miles, 475 miles long by 165 miles wide. Further, except for Maine, St. Johns County was larger than all eleven states of the Union at that time. Much of the county was uninhabited. St. Augustine was the oldest European permanent settlement, and there were Native Americans in the county as well.