The word “Sheriff” is derived from the words “shire” and “reeve”. Shire meaning “county” and reeve meaning “an agent of the king”. Over 700 hundred years ago, the King of England appointed the sheriffs to serve as his state men. The sheriffs’ primary duty was collecting taxes; which he did, with methods of collection that were considered by most as “less than ethical”.

Today’s sheriff is by definition a county law enforcement officer. He is the chief law enforcement officer of his county by virtue of public acclaim, in the form of an election every four years. When you hear an individual refer to the sheriff as “High Sheriff” this means that the sheriff is regarded as the “High Law” in that area. The citizens of a county depend upon their sheriff for the law; therefore, the sheriff must see that criminals are caught, laws are enforced, and that the citizens of his county feel safe and secure.

 Talladega County Sheriffs

Year Elected/or Took Office	Name
1833	Jame H. Beavers
1835	William Blythe
1839	David A Griffin
1842	Solomon Spence
1844	William Easley
1848	Josiah Terry
1850	Andrew Lawson
1854	Thomas P. Renfroe
1856	H.P. Oden
1860	Andrew Lawson
1862	John C. Henderson
1864	N.P. Plowman
1868	F.M. Shouse
1871	Joseph I. Nix
1874	J.F. Warmick
1876	James Gillesby
1880	James A. Edwards
1884	B.F. Powell
1886	Arthur T. Wood
1888	Arthur T. Wood
1890	W.E. Dickenson
1892	Willis A. Glover
1900	Willis A. Glover
1903	John P. Edwards
1907	R. Middleton
1911	Coleman Comett
1913	Coleman Comett
1915	John W. Thweatt
1919	J.C. Comett
1923	George W. Burk
1927	Sylvan O. Wesley
1931	George W. Burk
1935	Sam Burns
1937	Sam Burns
1941	George W. Burk
Filled Office	Kyser Leonard (Coroner)
1942	Ernest T. Campbell (Appointed by Governor Dixon)
Appointed	R.D. Rutledge (Chief Deputy)
1943	John W. Robinson
1947	Earl O. Howell
1949	Earl O. Howell (Died in office; Eunice Howell filled out term--first woman   sheriff in Alabama.)
1951	John W. Robinson
1955	John W. Robinson
1959	L.D. "Luke" Brewer
1963	L.D. Brewer
1967	L.D. Brewer
1970	L.D.Brewer
--	Jimmy Curtis (Coroner) (Served thirty days.)
--	H.E. "Gene" Mitchell (Elected) (Griffin Holcombe appointed Jimmy Curtis and he served seven days.)
1978	Hoyt Cabaniss
1978--2013	Jerry Studdard (Elected nine consecutive terms;longest serving Sheriff of Talladega County.)
2013--Present	Jimmy Kilgore (Appointed by Governor Robert Bentley upon Jerry Studdard's Retirement.)

 

Sheriff Jimmy Kilgore joined the Sheriff's Office in 1988, after serving as a police officer for the City of Talladega for nine years. After joining the agency, he worked as a Patrol Deputy and began ascending through the ranks as an Investigator, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, and Chief Investigator, appointed as the Chief Deputy in 2001, and was appointed Sheriff by Governor Robert Bentley in 2013.