Just as this year marks the 225th anniversary of Steuben County… and the six original Steuben towns of Addison, Bath, Canisteo, Corning, Dansville, and Wayne… AND the Benjamin Patterson Inn… it also marks the 225th anniversary of the Steuben County Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriffs were appointed back in 1796, rather then elected, and that system continued until 1822. William Dunn (served 1796-1800) was Steuben County’s first sheriff. Like many of the early sheriffs, he was a prominent man in his own right. Sheriff Dunn was a member of Bath’s first Masonic lodge. He also owned a tavern, which was more than a bar in those days. Taverns were gathering places where business and politics were conducted, where mail was delivered, and where travelers brought the latest news. The tavernkeeper was at the center of all this activity.

His horse Silk Stockings raced Virginia Nell in Charles Williamson’s 1796 “World’s Fair,” which brought potential land buyers to Bath from as far as Virginia, Boston, and Montreal. He also, ugly to relate, owned slaves, and so did George McClure (1815-1819). Other sheriffs may have been slaveholders too, but these are the ones I’ve been able to identify.

Third sheriff Dugald Cameron is the first one for which we have a likeness… an oil portrait that hangs in the Magee House (built by our 12th sheriff, and now the Steuben County History Center). Dugald Cameron and Lazarus Hammond were prominent enough (and owned enough land) to have municipalities named after them – the Town of Cameron, and the Village of Hammondsport.

At least two sheriffs, Cameron and McClure, were immigrants.

McClure, like most of the others, was a very busy guy. He served as postmaster, town supervisor, and Surrogate Court judge. He was a significant miller and “arker”, shipping produce down the Susquehanna and eventually to Philadelphia or Baltimore.

He was also a brigadier general in the militia, and served in the War of 1812. So did John Kennedy of Kanona (1825-1827), who volunteered to enter Canada when his superior officer refused, and distinguished himself at Lundy’s Lane. John Magee was twice a P.O.W. in that war. Both men are in the Steuben County Hall of Fame.

Magee was the last appointed sheriff (1820-1822) and the first elected sheriff (1822-1826). He later served two terms in Congress, besides making a fortune in banking, highways, canals, coal, and the Fall Brook Railroad – not bad for a guy who started out his working career cutting wood for twenty-five cents a cord.

Kennedy was the first sheriff to be elected without having previously been appointed. Cornelius Younglove (1811-1812) is probably the first sheriff for whom we have a photo, though taken many years later. Jack Lisi (1970-1987) was our longest-serving sheriff. For thirty years the Jack Lisi Youth Award has annually given non-cash assistance to multiple Steuben youths who are often overlooked, who overcome obstacles, and who exhibit a desire to succeed.

Lynn W. Kellogg (1921-1924 and 1928-1930) was the third sheriff in New York to hire a woman deputy. When he died in 1930, his wife Alva stepped in as acting sheriff for the rest of the year.

Coming up to 1999, when Dave Taylor Smith’s doctor banned him from any further “jumping in the lake” (Salubria) to raise money for youth programs, Sheriff Walt DeLap stepped in and jumped in at less than 24 hours notice. Jim Allard, our 59th and current sheriff, followed him in 2017.

In the early days, sheriffs conducted (rare) executions along with their other duties. Here in the 21st century the Sheriff’s Office is detailed to provide “Law Enforcement, Corrections, Civil, Court Security, School Safety and Navigation Safety”… more sedate, perhaps, but certainly far more busy.