SHERIFF, TOWN MARSHAL, OR MARSHAL? by Marisa Masterson

US Marshals, East Texas

 I like accuracy, don't you? As I wrote Davis's Debt, I started to wonder. Have I been using the correct title for any lawmen that I include in my novels. So what was the difference between a sheriff and a marshal in the Old West?

After some digging, I found that many people use the titles of sheriff and marshal interchangeably. I'm not alone in relying on western novels and old movies as the source of my understanding those titles. Really, they were very different.

If we want to be technical about it--and we do for accuracy, right?--a sheriff was elected. He would have jurisdiction over a county. His role was to keep the peace in that area, so he was known as a peacekeeper.

There were two different marshals. Neither was elected.

The first was a town marshal. This man was appointed by city officials and had no power outside the town line. In some instances, the town marshal was limited to overseeing public safety. 

The second was the US Marshal, appointed by government representatives, like judges. They often acted as the sole law in new territories of the West. 

Wyatt Earp was appointed as Deputy

US Marshal,but only to deal with the problem

in Tombstone.That makes him more like a town

marshal, except hewas authorized to kill men. 

So, there we have it. Yet, I found that some towns still used the terms interchangeably in their infancy. It could be that our old movies were not that far off.

Please, take a look at this excerpt from Davis's Debt. You will see how I have applied this information.

“Don’t see you in town much, Davis. Whatcha up to?”

The raspy tones of Marshal Chapford’s voice sent a frisson of alarm down Ike’s spine. Almost unwillingly, his head turned in the man’s direction. The wink of light on the man’s tin star deepened his apprehension.

“Got business is all, Marshal. Nothing to worry the law.” He mumbled the words, moving away toward the stage office. He would ask about routes.

The man put a hand on his arm, stopping the other's retreat. “Hold up. I wanna ask if you’ve heard about the rustlers. They’ve been troubling your neighbors.”

He gave Chapford’s hand a meaningful look. His cold gaze rose to meet the lawman’s and the hand slipped away. The marshal glowered as he took a step back.

“Just wanted you to know what’s happening. Hope those rustlers won’t bother you.”His tone said he wished the opposite. One more thing that did not make sense to Ike about the man.

At the rancher’s continued silence, Chapford sputtered, “I know you’re a hard man, tough enough to deal with rustlers on your own. Only, it’s my job to warn you about such things.”

Ike scowled. “Your job ends at the town line, you being a town marshal and not the county sheriff. What’re you doing, chasing after cattle thieves?”

Chapford met his scowl without flinching. “Heard about the rustling. That’s all. If folks ask for my help, I’ll give it.”

With a snort, Ike Davis narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, and it don’t hurt that any rustlers more’n likely have a bounty on their head.”

The smarmy man smiled. “That’s a fact. Helps pay my bills to round ‘em up. Money’s important to a man.”

Davis's Debt releases June 20th. It's available now for pre-order! 

 

Ike Davis struggles to understand what the people around him mean by their expressions. He realizes that about himself. It's one reason he has for staying away from the town and its residents. Will marrying really change that?

Mae Williams arrives to claim what is owed to her father. They had saved Davis during the war. Now marrying Mae becomes his way of paying back the debt.
But marriage!

Can anything good come when the man is forced by honor to marry a woman who is not like he expected?

Tracking A Relative in the 1870s

For the past couple of decades, people have become interested in searching for their ancestral roots. Lucky for them, the search is easier with companies like Ancestry, 23 and me, Family Tree DNA, CRI Genetics (to name a few). But what did someone do in the late 1800s when tracking down a relative? My heroine Ciara Morrissey in Dreams of Gold, while still grieving the loss of her mother, discovers a stack of letters in her mother’s possession. She thought he’d disappeared years earlier and is surprised to learn her parents had been in constant contact. Using the address of the most recent letter, she sets out for Wyoming Territory to find her father.

Newspaper articles were also helpful in locating someone. In my research for this story, I discovered that back then just about any snippet of news hit the papers. Relatives visiting from out of town, someone being taken to hospital, a speech given at a garden club meeting, a new hire at a company, someone with an item to be sold, and, of course, engagements, births, and weddings could all be found in a newspaper. One had to be a bit of a detective because many newspapers in the 1870-1880s weren’t organized in the same format as today’s are. I found a personal ad for the sale of a lamp placed at the bottom of a column touting the opening of a bank complete with a list of its officers and their expertise. Obviously, the ad was the right size to complete the column. Pull up an image on Google images of newspapers from a certain year or target a topic like Billy the Kid or Jesse James. You’ll be amazed at what you find surrounding the lead article. Like this one for P.T. Barnum’s circus has an ad for fabric to the left and an announcement of a talk at a literary society to the right. Reading must have been so entertaining.

Dreams of Gold is included in Beneath a Prairie Sky: A Western Historical Romance Sampler, which includes the first chapter of novels by ten authors. A sampler is a great way to discover new authors and try out a story before buying.


99 cents (should price match soon)

Amazon  https://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Prairie-Sky-Western-Historical-ebook/dp/B07T81V1PQ

Free elsewhere

Barnes & Noble  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beneath-a-prairie-sky-wild-rose-press/1132125986?ean=2940163118953

KOBO Books  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Beneath+a+Prairie+Sky

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 BLURB for Dreams of Gold

In 1871, Easterner Ciara Morrissey travels west to honor a sacred promise to her mother and locate her fortune-seeking father. Caretaker to her grandparents and mother until their deaths has created a thirst in Ciara to see the wider world.

Sheriff Quinn Riley hunts the Irish charlatan who swindled half of Bull City, Wyoming’s residents. He’ll stick close to the newly arrived opinionated woman. Within only hours, easterner Ciara Morrissey upsets the townspeople by making inquires about his prime suspect. He’s duty-bound to keep her safe but being near the green-eyed beauty sets off a stampede in his heart.

Lawkeepers of the Old West

As the stories go, many cities and towns in the old west were rowdy places where even the law of the land was hard to enforce. But these areas started growing. Families moved in. People wanted stability and safety for their children. They demanded more. They demanded help.

As the settlements grew, sheriffs and marshals were in high demand. Integrity and dedication were key elements in the make up of these men – and a few women – who helped tame the wild west. They made a difference every day they put on the badge.

Those who stood for right and stamped down wrong were heroes, plain and simple. These men of valor make us proud when we come across their stories. They didn’t back down from a fight with notorious outlaws. In fact, they thrived on it and in the process, they created the ideal for the perfect western hero.

These brave and well respected men didn’t have a motto. They just did their jobs. To protect and serve is a motto used by police forces across the country today. If the lawmen legends of the west were to have an opinion on that matter, I imagine they’d adopt To protect and serve as their own.

Inspired by the contributions to folkore and storytelling made by the legends of the law in the old west, a brand new series is starting soon. Four authors have teamed up to bring myth and legend together and then mix it with a touch of sweet romance. Come along with us as we tell The Lawkeepers stories and help them fall in love.

Along with my partners, Jenna Brandt, Lorana Hoopes, and Kate Cambridge—I can’t wait to share our new series with you. The first four books will be available on February 8, 2018. 

Follow The Lawkeepers page on Facebook as we begin sharing more information as the launch approaches.

 

Is a sneak peek of a cover in order? Of course it is!

~~~~~

Annie Boone writes sweet western historical romance with a happy ending guaranteed in every single story. Inspiration comes in many forms and Annie finds more than one way to make her stories entertain and inspire.

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The Lawkeepers - don't miss it!