Florida Sheriffs Association

Only 3 of Florida's 16 women Sheriffs have been elected to the Office - including two who were recently re-elected.

Story by Victor R. Silvestri

Prior to 1997, all of Florida's women Sheriffs won the office first by appointment upon the death of their husband Sheriffs. It was considered an honorary appointment at the time - a sign of respect for the newly widowed. It also was a way to provide continued financial support and dignity for the deceased's partner, since the profession is so demanding.

There were 13 women Sheriffs appointed to the Office of Sheriff prior to 1997 and most of them served only for a short interval - usually until the next county election, when they were replaced by a professional law-enforcement officer with more experience. The one exception was Marguerite Prigden Baldree of Sumter County. Marguerite was the wife of Sheriff Mose W. Baldree, who was killed in a hunting accident in December 1945. Reports show that Marguerite Baldree was the fourth woman to have earned that honor in Florida when Governor Caldwell appointed her to office in January 1946. She later won a special election and served from 1946 to 1949.

Previous ladies afforded the title of Sheriff were Eugenia Simmons of Okeechobee County and Celia Jernigan Adkinson of Walton County, both in 1938. Eugenia Simmons won the honor of being the first by virtue of her appointment on February 4, while Celia Adkinson was appointed on April 18th. Both had signed agreements with Governor Fred Cone to the understanding that this would be a temporary appointment and they would voluntarily resign upon the election of a suitable successor. Sheriff Adkinson changed her mind, though, once she got the feel of the power of the office, and tried to retain it beyond the election.

Celia Adkinson had an agenda. Her husband, Sheriff "Dorie" Adkison had been shot to death during a showdown at an illegal liquor still operation in the city of Defuniak Springs. Moonshine was the term used for this operation and Adkinson pursued the moonshiners with a passion that bordered on obsession. She made many trips to Jacksonville to confer with Sheriff Rex Sweat for advice on how to conduct her law-enforcement campaign. Sweat had been a close friend of the Adkinson-Adkison marriage prior to the death of Dorie.

Some readers may note that I have spelled the surname in two ways - and that was no mistake. Due to Celia's disapproval of the marital actions of some of Dorie's ancestors, she had decided that she would use the Adkinson spelling for her name as opposed to the Adkison (no "n") spelling that Dorie preferred. The rumor was that she was not content with the spelling of the family name due to the fact that Grandpa Thomas Jefferson Adkison had two wives. Celia wished to make a distinction between the two families, thus spelling the surname differently. The spelling distinction still exists in the family today. This affectation is explained only to emphasize what a determined woman Celia was. If she had been successful in her political campaign I am confident she would have made extensive law-enforcement history on her own account. As it was, she soon buckled under to the wishes of Governor Cone and resigned in favor of the next elected Sheriff, Monroe Prescott.

The next most powerful lady Sheriff was never given the full recognition she so appropriately deserved. In 1997, Broward County Sheriff Ron Cochran died while still in office. Susan McCampbell was the Chief Deputy at the time and therefore she was the choice of Governor Lawton Chiles to serve as the ad interim Sheriff until an election or a more suitable appointment could be made. Unfortunately for her, Ken Jenne was appointed and McCampbell very discretely backed off. Jenne was later convicted of federal tax evasion and mail fraud and is currently serving time in a federal penitentiary.

In 2004, another woman Sheriff came into the spotlight. Susan Benton was elected Sheriff of Highlands County. In many reports, she was acclaimed mistakenly as the first lady Sheriff to be elected in Florida. The fact is that after Marguerite Baldree of Sumter County became an appointed Sheriff in 1946, she decided to campaign for the office in a special election, just as any other resident is able to do. She had some impressive qualification, too. Baldree had worked in various departments of county government for more than 15 years. She was a native of Citrus County, where she worked at the courthouse in Inverness and rose to the position of Chief Deputy in the office of Clerk of the Court. As the Sheriff of Sumter County she attended the St. Augustine Convention and then ran her successful campaign for election.

While serving as Sheriff during the next four years, Bauldree served her own warrants for arrest, attended court and at the same time kept house for her three children: Marjorie, age 8; M. W., Jr., age 6; and Aurelia, age 4.

Former Sheriff Marguerite Baldree died on May 15, 1957 at the age of 55 in Inverness, Florida. At the time of her death she was the City Clerk of Inverness. Baldree was widely known during her terms as Sheriff for having won the office by election on her own merit over the field of three male opponents. She was reputed to have nearly wiped out all vestiges of moonlight activity in Sumter County during her term. Her three children survived her, along with her mother, mother, Mary Prigden; a sister, Vanita Williamson; and a brother, Albert K. Prigden.

In November 2006, Alachua County added the state's third elected lady Sheriff - Sadie Darnell, a 30-year veteran of the Gainesville Police Department. Both Sheriff Darnell and Highlands County Sheriff Benton are still in office. This past summer, Sheriff Benton added to the story of women Sheriffs by being elected Chairperson for the Florida Sheriffs Association Board of Directors. She is the first woman to be elected to the position in the Association's 117-year history.

This article is an excerpt from the forthcoming book, “The Encyclopedia of Florida Sheriffs and Their Families: 1821-2008: A Genealogical Excursion into Florida Law Enforcement.” If you have information on any Sheriffs and their family roots, please contact Victor R. Silvestri, 561 Tall Oaks Road, Defuniak Springs, Florida 32435-8972. Call 850-891-6962 or e-mail: summers@gdsys.net.


Lady Sheriffs of Florida

1938 -Eugenia Hollingsworth Simmons, Okeechobee County (First in Florida)
1938 - Celia Jernigan Adkinson, Walton County
1942 - Eva Hutches, Manatee County
1946 - Margaret Pridgen Baldree, Sumter County (First elected in Florida)
1949 - Minnie J. Cooksey, Jefferson County
1954 - Clyde Stone Barnes, Jackson County
1954 - Myrtle G. Revels, Putnam County
1956 - Margaret Pressley, Glades County
1956 -Alice Lovett, Jefferson County
1959 - Annie R. Broxson, Santa Rosa County
1960 - Agnes McGehee, Marion County
1965 - Inez Holton, Desoto County
1970 - Ethyl Cornelia McDuffy Anderson, Walton County*
1997 -Susan W. McCampbell, Broward County*
2004 - Susan Benton (Second elected in Florida)
2007 - Sadie Darnell, Alachua County (Third elected in Florida)

* = Not recorded in the Florida Sheriffs: A History 1821-1945