{"id":2009,"date":"2019-05-09T00:22:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T00:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/?p=2009"},"modified":"2024-03-27T19:21:55","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T00:21:55","slug":"sheriff-robert-jones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/","title":{"rendered":"Somerset County Sheriff Robert Jones Recalled Nearly 40 Years of Law Enforcement Work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Somerset County Sheriff Robert Jones, Maryland\u2019s longest serving sheriff, has been the long arm of the law in Somerset County for 39-years.  Since starting his career working in an antiquated jail built for henhouse robbers, drunkards, horse thieves, and criminals from another era in 1975, he has devoted a lifetime of work to combating crime.  He kept jailbirds behind bars, prowled the dark night looking for problems, chased reckless drivers, corralled troublemakers, and oversaw the development of a modern law enforcement agency, as the decades flew by.  Although he recalls a different time, place, and era for policing in Somerset County, the very popular sheriff successfully bridged the gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones started in law enforcement almost by accident.  Sheriff Thomas H. Foxwell, Jr. while out fishing on the Chesapeake Bay, caught a tub of Spanish Mackerel.  \u201cOn his way home, the sheriff stopped by to offer the fish to the people at the Oyster shucking house where I worked. While he was there I asked him if needed any help,\u201d Jones recalls.   \u201cIt wasn\u2019t too long before I got a call asking me to work some weekends and holidays as a deputy.   When I started that December, I went over to a deputy\u2019s house to pickup an old badge and gun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sheriff
The Grey Lady, the Old Somerset County Jail in Princess Anne is now the headquarters for the police department.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The county slammer<\/a> was built in 1850 and rebuilt after a disastrous 1902 fire.\u00a0 The place, designed to handle 16 inmates, averaged about twenty prisoners a day at the time.\u00a0 \u201cWe often worked alone, and we had some dangerous prisoners, from the Western Shore and elsewhere.\u00a0 \u00a0Murders, work release, you name it.\u00a0 \u00a0If they were incarcerated in Somerset County, we had them.\u00a0 If you opened that cell door for whatever reason to move some of those inmates around, you wondered what might happen sometimes,\u201d the sheriff recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Foxwell decided not to run Jones entered the race and was elected Sheriff in 1986.\u00a0 With eleven years experience, he assumed command of a department that had three deputies to assist the top cop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheriff Robert Jones<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The pace of law enforcement in those early decades was a bit like life in general, a little bit slower and more predictable for major drug busts and gangs were unfamiliar to the thin blue line in Princess Anne. Still, with nearly forty years in the criminal justice system, Jones recalls many remarkable incidents, humorous and serious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sheriff recalls one man whom one could imagine being Otis Campbell, the town drunk in the Andy Griffith Show.  This man got tanked up so frequently that he had his own cell.  In those days we had trustees so they\u2019d run errands and help out in the kitchen and things.   So we\u2019d let this man go downtown to cut grass or earn a little money doing odd jobs.  We\u2019d warn him not to come back drunk or we wouldn\u2019t let him back in his cell for the night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce he came back really tanked up so when the jailer asked what we should do, I said let him sleep it off outside.\u00a0 He\u2019ll be out there in the morning.\u201d\u00a0 Well, the next day he was nowhere in sight.\u00a0 \u201cWe started looking around and soon noticed a broken window in the basement.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0The inmate decided he didn\u2019t want to sleep under the Maryland stars that night so he broke into the building.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s the first time we ever charged someone with breaking into the jail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another time, he was in court for something and the judge said I\u2019m giving you 30-days, but it\u2019s suspended.  The man protested, saying your honor you can\u2019t do that.  He went out, got drunk, and fell asleep in the courthouse door. \u201cWe arrested him and put him in his cell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During trials, one judge would occasionally call the sheriff over to the bench to whisper this prisoner is going to cost a lot of money if we lock him up.\u00a0 \u201cTake him over to the Greyhound Bus Station and buy him a ticket to Norfolk,\u201d the judge told me.\u00a0 Jones followed orders, but when he handed the troublemaker over to the bus driver, I\u2019d put a little twist on the story just to make sure we got him far out-of-town.\u00a0 I\u2019d say now the judge has ordered you to take this man to Norfolk.\u00a0 He says you\u2019re responsible for getting him there, so don\u2019t drop him off over the line in Virginia.\u00a0 Make sure he gets to Norfolk. \u00a0\u00a0You\u2019ve got to come through here every day and if he gets back here tomorrow, the judge isn\u2019t going to be happy.\u00a0 Those drivers always got the convicts to their destination, as far as I know,\u201d Jones recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the road, a large part of the department\u2019s job in the 1970s was serving papers.\u00a0 \u201cWe used citizen band radios to communicate, and they didn\u2019t cover the entire county.\u00a0 We had handled such as sugar bear and names like that.\u00a0 When I was out on Deal Island serving papers, I\u2019d say come in \u201cgreat wizard\u2019 this is sugar bear. \u00a0Everybody monitored the CB radios in those days.\u00a0 When someone on the island answered, I\u2019d say call the office and tell them I\u2019m going over to Crisfield to serve papers, I\u2019m finished out on Deal.\u00a0 That person would call the office and let them know. \u00a0That was our communications system.\u00a0 It worked because everybody was listening to the CBs in those days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make no mistake about the easy-going style of the time, for Jones periodically faced dangerous moments, such as when a weapon was pulled or when he had to worry about being jumped in an attempted jailbreak.\u00a0 In those early day officers were often on duty alone and backup was far away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had some tough characters, but I remember this one man who would fight an officer in a minute. One time we got a call that there was trouble at his place and he had a gun. When I got there a couple of officers were already on the scene.  He was inside the house creating a ruckus so I shouted, put the weapon down, it\u2019s Bobby.\u201d  We exchanged some words, but in a few minutes he shouted \u2018Bobby is that you out there.   Come on in, I\u2019ve put the gun down\u2019. While he\u2019d fight most men, he always listened to me.\u201d  That could be because the sheriff mentioned that he always treated everyone with as much respect as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One night a prisoner started a fire in the jail, after I was sheriff.  We managed to get the inmates out safely, but there we were across the street with these prisoners in this little frame building.  I had to do something to cut the population, so I started pardoning people on the spot.  I said how many of you are on work release.  Okay you guys get out of here.  How many of you have terms that are ending tomorrow.  Okay, hit it.  That way we cut the population down, until we could manage it and arrange safe lockups for the remainder of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Robert (Bobby) N. Jones,<\/a> a Somerset County trailblazer, oversaw a department transitioning from an earlier time to the modern agency that serves the county today.  He was first elected to the county\u2019s top law officer\u2019s post, an agency with four full-time officers (including the sheriff) in 1986.  It now has 26 sworn personnel.  Having decided not to run for an eighth term, the 74-year-old will wrap up a long career in law enforcement on Dec 2, 2014, at 3 p.m.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His chief deputy, Ronnie Howard, will serve as the next sheriff of Somerset County<\/a>.  His personal philosophy of \u201ctreat the people with respect,\u201d must have had a lot to do with his success, which filtered down to the force.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"sheriff
The Somerset County Sheriffs Office in the early first half of the 1980s. Deputy Bobby Jones is the third from the left and Sheriff Foxwell stands behind the door.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Note<\/strong>: I was saddened to see that Sheriff Robert Jones passed away on May 6, 2019. About fourteen years ago, I did extensive fieldwork in Crisfield <\/a>and Somerset County and met the sheriff in the course of completing those research investigations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was an unforgettable officer, and helped me with my work, introducing me to other remarkable Somerset County retired officials and people in the community. One was Judge Lloyd “Hot Dog” Simpkins, a retired 80-something circuit court jurist. There were many other people as “Bobby” knew practically everyone in the county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sheriff was always generous with his time and I ended up writing a couple of magazine articles about him in major regional publications. All these years later, I still fondly recall Sheriff Jones’ stories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was published in 2014 a few months before Sheriff Robert Jones retired. Since he passed away, I thought I would reshare this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Somerset County Sheriff Robert Jones, Maryland\u2019s longest serving sheriff, has been the long arm of the law in Somerset County for 39-years.  Since starting his career working in an antiquated jail built for henhouse robbers, drunkards, horse thieves, and criminals from another era in 1975, he has devoted a lifetime of work to combating crime. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[206],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-criminal-justice"],"yoast_head":"\nSomerset County Sheriff Robert Jones Recalled Nearly 40 Years of Law Enforcement Work -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sheriff Robert Jones of Somerset County recalls nearly 40 years of law enforcement work in Somerset County. He started working in an antiquated jail.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Somerset County Sheriff Robert Jones Recalled Nearly 40 Years of Law Enforcement Work -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sheriff Robert Jones of Somerset County recalls nearly 40 years of law enforcement work in Somerset County. He started working in an antiquated jail.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mike's History Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-09T00:22:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-03-28T00:21:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/crisfield-004-1024x768.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mike\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@dixonhistory\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@dixonhistory\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mike\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/sheriff-robert-jones\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/sheriff-robert-jones\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mike\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5c3eab0b11cf9e25c353fd304278ed6a\"},\"headline\":\"Somerset County Sheriff Robert Jones Recalled Nearly 40 Years of Law Enforcement Work\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-09T00:22:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-28T00:21:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/sheriff-robert-jones\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1554,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5c3eab0b11cf9e25c353fd304278ed6a\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/sheriff-robert-jones\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/crisfield-004-1024x768.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Criminal Justice\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/sheriff-robert-jones\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/sheriff-robert-jones\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/sheriff-robert-jones\\\/\",\"name\":\"Somerset County Sheriff Robert Jones Recalled Nearly 40 Years of Law Enforcement Work -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/sheriff-robert-jones\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/sheriff-robert-jones\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/crisfield-004-1024x768.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-09T00:22:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-28T00:21:55+00:00\",\"description\":\"Sheriff Robert Jones of Somerset County recalls nearly 40 years of law enforcement work in Somerset County. He started working in an antiquated jail.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/sheriff-robert-jones\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/sheriff-robert-jones\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/sheriff-robert-jones\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/crisfield-004-1024x768.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/crisfield-004-1024x768.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/sheriff-robert-jones\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Somerset County Sheriff Robert Jones Recalled Nearly 40 Years of Law Enforcement Work\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mike's History Blog\",\"description\":\"Reflections & News About Working With the Past\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5c3eab0b11cf9e25c353fd304278ed6a\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dixonhistory.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5c3eab0b11cf9e25c353fd304278ed6a\",\"name\":\"Mike\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b3288a2c884d3b3a326864a1928f04094551b5cfcc972298b58143e9df2011a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b3288a2c884d3b3a326864a1928f04094551b5cfcc972298b58143e9df2011a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b3288a2c884d3b3a326864a1928f04094551b5cfcc972298b58143e9df2011a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mike\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b3288a2c884d3b3a326864a1928f04094551b5cfcc972298b58143e9df2011a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Somerset County Sheriff Robert Jones Recalled Nearly 40 Years of Law Enforcement Work -","description":"Sheriff Robert Jones of Somerset County recalls nearly 40 years of law enforcement work in Somerset County. He started working in an antiquated jail.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Somerset County Sheriff Robert Jones Recalled Nearly 40 Years of Law Enforcement Work -","og_description":"Sheriff Robert Jones of Somerset County recalls nearly 40 years of law enforcement work in Somerset County. He started working in an antiquated jail.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/","og_site_name":"Mike's History Blog","article_published_time":"2019-05-09T00:22:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-03-28T00:21:55+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/crisfield-004-1024x768.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Mike","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@dixonhistory","twitter_site":"@dixonhistory","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mike","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/"},"author":{"name":"Mike","@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/5c3eab0b11cf9e25c353fd304278ed6a"},"headline":"Somerset County Sheriff Robert Jones Recalled Nearly 40 Years of Law Enforcement Work","datePublished":"2019-05-09T00:22:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-28T00:21:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/"},"wordCount":1554,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/5c3eab0b11cf9e25c353fd304278ed6a"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/crisfield-004-1024x768.jpg","articleSection":["Criminal Justice"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/","name":"Somerset County Sheriff Robert Jones Recalled Nearly 40 Years of Law Enforcement Work -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/crisfield-004-1024x768.jpg","datePublished":"2019-05-09T00:22:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-28T00:21:55+00:00","description":"Sheriff Robert Jones of Somerset County recalls nearly 40 years of law enforcement work in Somerset County. He started working in an antiquated jail.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/crisfield-004-1024x768.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/crisfield-004-1024x768.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-robert-jones\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Somerset County Sheriff Robert Jones Recalled Nearly 40 Years of Law Enforcement Work"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/","name":"Mike's History Blog","description":"Reflections & News About Working With the Past","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/5c3eab0b11cf9e25c353fd304278ed6a"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/5c3eab0b11cf9e25c353fd304278ed6a","name":"Mike","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b3288a2c884d3b3a326864a1928f04094551b5cfcc972298b58143e9df2011a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b3288a2c884d3b3a326864a1928f04094551b5cfcc972298b58143e9df2011a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b3288a2c884d3b3a326864a1928f04094551b5cfcc972298b58143e9df2011a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mike"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b3288a2c884d3b3a326864a1928f04094551b5cfcc972298b58143e9df2011a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g"}}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2IGzo-wp","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31,"url":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/badges-of-honor-tales-of-easern-shore-lawmen-published-in-chesapeake-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":2009,"position":0},"title":"Old Eastern Shore Lawmen in Feature Article Published in Chesapeake Life","author":"Mike","date":"August 23, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I just had a full length feature article published in the October\u00a0issue of Chesapeake Life. Called\u00a0\"Badges of Honor: Tales of Eastern Shore Lawmen,\"\u00a0the piece\u00a0features\u00a0five law enforcement officials from the Shore.\u00a0 They are Sheriff Louis Andrews, 80,\u00a0Caroline County; Chief Thomas N. McIntire, 83, Elkton; Officer Marshall L. Purner, 81, North East;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Published Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Published Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/category\/published-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2054,"url":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/sheriff-was-the-hangman\/","url_meta":{"origin":2009,"position":1},"title":"When the Sheriff was the Hangman","author":"Mike","date":"June 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A LECTURE -- For the Hereditary Order of the Signers of the Bush Declaration, I was recently asked to examine the era in our criminal justice system when the sheriff was the county executioner or hangman. This gruesome responsibility was eventually centralized in the state prison systems, but the duty\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Criminal Justice"","block_context":{"text":"Criminal Justice","link":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/category\/criminal-justice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"the sheriff was the hangman","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/55914241_2409909875688583_7604504661474672640_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/55914241_2409909875688583_7604504661474672640_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/55914241_2409909875688583_7604504661474672640_n.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/55914241_2409909875688583_7604504661474672640_n.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":977,"url":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/somerset-county-library-digitizes-newspapers-other-historical-materials\/","url_meta":{"origin":2009,"position":2},"title":"Old Digitized Somerset County Newspapers a Great Help to Genealogists and Historians","author":"Mike","date":"March 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Somerset County Library system has digitized its collection of research materials in order to make the resources more broadly and easily available to researchers.\u00a0 The just released e-products include newspapers from Princess Anne and Crisfield, and records from the county court system.\u00a0 The old, original microfilm was\u00a0professionally scanned and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Archives & LIbraries"","block_context":{"text":"Archives & LIbraries","link":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/category\/archives-libraries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Crisfield Times from Dec, 12, 1941 is an example of a page from the digital collection at the Somerset County Library","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/3-26-2013-2-35-16-PM1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1874,"url":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/hangings-in-salem-county-nj\/","url_meta":{"origin":2009,"position":3},"title":"Hangings by the Salem County Sheriff","author":"Mike","date":"May 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It was a gruesome, emotionally draining responsibility, one most officials preferred to elude on their watch, but occasionally the Salem County Executioner had to carry out a hanging. Once the wheels of justice turned and the bench handed down the death warrant the ghastly duty, dispatching a condemned man, fell\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Salem County, courthouse, criminal justice","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/salem-old-courthouse-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2416,"url":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/lamonte-cooke-kent-county-deputy\/","url_meta":{"origin":2009,"position":4},"title":"LaMonte Cooke Got His Start in the Old Days as a Rookie Kent County Deputy.","author":"Mike","date":"June 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Deputy LaMonte Cooke of the Kent County Sheriff\u2019s Office on Patrol When 25-year-old LaMonte Cooke, a Philadelphian, joined the Kent County Sheriff\u2019s Office in 1975, the entire seven-man force was white. \u201cThe day I interviewed for the deputy\u2019s job with Sheriff Bartus Vickers, he had four questions for me. He\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Criminal Justice"","block_context":{"text":"Criminal Justice","link":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/category\/criminal-justice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/law-enforcement-cook-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/law-enforcement-cook-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/law-enforcement-cook-3.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/law-enforcement-cook-3.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/law-enforcement-cook-3.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2032,"url":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/salem-county-executioner\/","url_meta":{"origin":2009,"position":5},"title":"The Salem County Executioner and His Grim Task","author":"Mike","date":"May 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The old Salem County Courthouse where trails took place It was a gruesome, emotionally draining responsibility, one most officials preferred to elude on their watch, but occasionally the Salem County Executioner had to carry out a hanging. Once the wheels of justice turned and the bench handed down the death\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Salem County NJ Jail","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/salem-jail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/salem-jail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/salem-jail.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/salem-jail.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2009\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}