Law Enforcement, 1900-1920

Henderson County Sheriffs 1900 to 1920

1. Reuben Hilliard Staton (1871-1952) – Sheriff: 1900-1902. See Political Events and Leaders 1900 to 1920.
2. Jesse Sherrill Rhodes
(1850-1912) – Sheriff: 1902-1906. See Political Events and Leaders 1900 to 1920.
3. Joseph Loly Freeman
(1869-1907) – Sheriff: 1906-1907. He was born in the Fruitland/Edneyville community, a son of Jerome Benjamin “Rome” Freeman and Elizabeth Ashworth Freeman. He married Nannie Lou Coston. He was a farmer. He died of natural causes after serving one year as sheriff. His grave site is at Fruitland Cemetery.
4. William Redin Kirk (1870-1960)Sheriff: short period of time in 1907. He was appointed the acting sheriff upon the sudden death of Freeman. He only served a short period of time before a sheriff was appointed to fill out Freeman’s term. He was a doctor who had moved to North Carolina from Kentucky, and was also the county coroner. In 1911, he served on the board to build Patton Hospital and was one of five original staff doctors. He later operated the Kirk Sanitarium on Kanuga Road to treat tuberculosis patients. His grave site is at Calvary Episcopal Churchyard  in Fletcher.
5. Robert Patterson Freeman (1875-1974) Sheriff: 1907-1908. He was born in the Fairview community of Buncombe County, a son of Jerome Benjamin “Rome” Freeman and Elizabeth Ashworth Freeman. He married Margaret Esther Shipman. He was the brother of Joseph Loly Freeman and was appointed to fill his brother’s term as sheriff. He was a farmer and school teacher. He moved to Hendersonville in 1900 and operated R.P. Freeman General Merchandise, a general store, on the corner of Seventh Avenue East and Locust Street. His grave site is at Shepherd Memorial Park in the Naples community.
6. Albert Merriman “Branch” Blackwell (1852-1921) – Sheriff: 1908-1912. He was born in the Dana community, a son of Thomas Blackwell and Nancy Justus Blackwell. He married Laura Sarah Jackson. He was a farmer and a school teacher at the Upward School. In 1900 he worked at the Federal Distillery in Gaston County. He resigned at the end of his second term as sheriff because of poor health. His grave site is at Dana United Methodist Church in the Dana community.
7. James Dyer Davis (1855-1919) – Sheriff: short time at end of 1912. He was born in Henderson County, a son of Thomas K. Davis and Mary Morrison Davis. He married Althea R. West and, after her death, Harriet Elizabeth Worley. He was appointed to fill the term at the resignation of Blackwell. Along with his brothers, he was an owner and editor of the newspaper, Hendersonville Times. He was also a merchant. He served as a city commissioner from 1910 to 1912 when he was appointed acting sheriff. His grave site is at Oakdale Cemetery in Hendersonville.
8. Jackson Cleophus Drake (1867-1948) – Sheriff: 1912-1916. He was born in Madison County, a son of John Bryson Drake and Catherine Brigman Drake. He married Mary Finlay.  His family moved to the Big Willow community of Henderson County before 1880. He was a farmer and served as county surveyor for several years, beginning in 1892. His grave site is at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in the Valley Hill community.
9. Marcus Allard Case
(1882-1954) – Sheriff: 1916-1920. He was born in the Edneyville community, a son of James Case and Caroline Garren Case. He married Mary Florence Hood. Before and after his service as sheriff, he was a plasterer, carpenter and building contractor. His grave site is at Tracy Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in the Tracy Grove community.

 Hendersonville Chiefs of Police

1. James Ervin Dotson (1863-1916) – Police Chief: 1900-1901. He was born near the Bat Cave community, a son of Jarrett Glover Dotson and Jane “Jersey” Rymer Dotson. He married Alice M. Justice. In 1910, he had a job related to wagons. He moved to Buncombe County prior to his death and his occupation was listed as officer. His grave site is at Beaverdam Baptist Church Cemetery in Buncombe County.
2. Preston “Press” Plumbley Garren (1862-1921) – Police Chief: 1901-1902. He was born near the Edneyville community, a son of Wilburn Garren and Cynthia Louise Plumbley Garren. He married Philomena Bauer. He was a house painter. His grave site is at Oakdale Cemetery in Hendersonville.
3. Brownlow Jackson (1872-1956) – Police Chief: 1902-1904, 1906-1907. See Political Leaders 1900 to 1920.
4. Edwin Wexler “Wex” Israel (1853-1923) – Police Chief: 1904-1905. See Law Enforcement 1860 to 1900.
5. William M. “Bill” Hill (1867-1946) – Police Chief: 1905-1906. He was born in the Bat Cave community of Henderson County, a son of Allen L. Hill and Nancy Conner Hill. He married Ola Eva “Ollie” Collins and, after her death, Mary Druscilla Collins. He was a government and real estate tax collector. His grave site is at Ebenezer Baptist Church Cemetery in the Clear Creek community.

6. Jesse J. Reese (1870-1916) – Police Chief: 1907-09. He was born in the Crab Creek community, a son of William P. Reese and Annie Susan Bryson Reese. He married Catherine Jo “Kate” Byers. He was a house painter and plasterer. His grave site is at Oakdale Cemetery in Hendersonville.
7. Joseph (John) Wilson McCarson (1871-1916) – Police Chief: 1909-10 and 1912 to 1915. He was born in Hendersonville, a son of Arthur M. McCarson and Margaret Liverett McCarson. He married Mary “Mamie” McGuire. He remained a policeman after his terms as police chief (served two different terms). His grave site is at Shepherd Memorial Park in the Naples community.
8. William “Will” Absolum Garren (1870-1954) Police Chief: 1910-1912. He was Henderson County Sheriff from 1928 to 1934. He was born in the Hooper’s Creek community, a son of Wilburn Garren and Margaret Lanning Garren. He married Lillie Forrest and, after her death, married Mary Louise Roberts. He served 49 years in law enforcement. In addition to his years as sheriff and police chief, he was constable of Hendersonville in 1897, a city police officer, a sheriff’s deputy and, at the time of his death, the jailer. He was also famous as the producer of “Garren’s Tonic,” a “secret” formula made from a mixture of mountain herbs that was reportedly a “cure” for scrofulia, a tuberculous infection of the lymph nodes in the neck, usually seen in persons exposed to tuberculosis. With the decrease in TB cases today, it is now rarely seen, but in the early 1900s it was common. In the 1890s, Garren was selling the tonic as a traveling “medicine man.” In 1919, he formed the Garren Medicine Co. and by 1921 the tonic was being manufactured in large quantities. More than 16,000 bottles were sold in Henderson County alone in 1921. At one stop in South Carolina, 500 bottles were sold in 30 minutes. In 1925, the Natural Remedies Co. obtained control of the formula and launched a nationwide advertising campaign. His grave site is at Oakdale Cemetery in Hendersonville.
9. Otis Vernon Powers (1886-1940) – Police Chief: 1915-40. He served 25 years as Hendersonville Chief of Police, from the age of horses and buggies to the automobile. He also served as chief of the Hendersonville Fire Department and the head of public works for Hendersonville. He served under seven different mayors. He was born in the Clear Creek community, a son of John Powers and Alice M. Fisher Powers. He married Ruth Faye Reese. During the Flood of 1916, Powers rode horseback all night in the pouring rain to warn people in the low-lying areas to get to higher ground and to drive their livestock with them. Upon his death, Chief Otis Powers was the only person to lie in state in the rotunda of Hendersonville City Hall. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. hundreds of people filed by his casket. His grave site is at Oakdale Cemetery in Hendersonville. To listen to Kermit Edney of WHKP Radio tell more about Powers, visit
http://www.whkp.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/october_2012/60_say_federal_government_does_not_have_the_consent_of_the_governed and click on “Chief Powers Lies in State.”