Montague County was created from Cooke County by the Texas Legislature on December 24, 1857, and formally organized on August 2, 1858. From that date, a county sheriff has been an elected constitutional officer of Montague County continuously — responsible for law enforcement, jail operations, civil process service, and (in the early decades) tax collection.
The county’s frontier position along the Red River, bordering what was then Indian Territory, shaped the first generation of the office. Later sheriffs contended with the England murder trials (1876–1880s), cattle theft, Prohibition-era bootlegging, and the extraordinary Henry Lee Lucas serial-murder case of 1983–1984, which brought Montague County national attention.
The roster below documents every sheriff verifiable from publicly available sources. Large gaps remain — particularly 1858–1872 and most of the early twentieth century — that require primary-source research at the Montague County Clerk’s office and TSLAC. Gaps are disclosed explicitly throughout.
Note on archive representation: Montague County’s documentary record overwhelmingly reflects Anglo-settler men who held formal office. The institutional record does not illuminate the full range of people who lived in the county and had their own relationships with law enforcement.
Who Was Montague County’s First Documented Sheriff?
[1858–1872 — UNVERIFIED] The first sheriff of Montague County — elected at or immediately after county organization on August 2, 1858 — is not named in any publicly available source. Nor are any sheriffs verifiable for the Civil War years (1861–1865), Reconstruction (1865–1872), or the fourteen years between county organization and Levi Perryman’s first election in 1873. Tier 1 primary research at the Montague County Clerk’s office is required to fill this gap.
Levi Perryman (1873–1880)
Levi Perryman (born March 29, 1839 — died March 22, 1921) is the earliest Montague County sheriff verifiable from public sources. Orphaned before age one and raised in Texas, Perryman served in the Confederate Army (Company I, 31st Texas Dismounted Cavalry) and participated in frontier campaigns before settling three miles west of Forestburg.
He was first elected sheriff in 1873 — fifteen years after the county was organized — serving simultaneously as tax collector, a common dual role in rural Texas counties of the era. A letter dated April 9, 1875, from Texas Comptroller Stephen H. Darden to the Montague County Presiding Justice addresses “debts drawn on Levi Perryman, Sheriff, for assessing taxes,” confirming this dual capacity.
Citizens circulated a petition urging his re-election when his first term ended; he acceded and won a second term, serving until approximately 1880. During his two terms he pursued outlaws including Wild Bill McPherson, Bob Simmons (extradited from Kansas), and Ike Stowe, and by his obituary’s account harbored a particular contempt for horse thieves.
His sheriff service overlapped with the height of Spanish Fort’s prominence as a Red River cattle-trade crossing. The Levi Perryman Papers (1873–1921, 418 items) are fully digitized at the University of North Texas Libraries and include an 1880 indemnity bond directing “Levi Perryman, sheriff of Montague County” to seize property in a civil suit — confirming his active service at that date.
[1880–1889 — UNVERIFIED] The nine years between Levi Perryman’s departure (~1880) and T.L. Garrison’s attested term (1890) are unfilled in available sources.
T.L. Garrison (attested 1890)
T.L. Garrison is listed as the Montague County Sheriff in an 1890 county officials snapshot preserved by Genealogy Trails. No additional biographical detail is recoverable from available sources. His term boundaries before and after 1890 are not established.
[1892–1915 — UNVERIFIED] The twenty-three-year gap between Garrison and E.W. Perryman is unfilled. A partial roster list from genealogical database aggregates names John W. Wales, R.T. Anderson, and Lee A. Husband in this general span, but none have attached dates or primary source citations. These names are recorded as leads, not confirmed entries.
E.W. Perryman (attested 1916)
E.W. Perryman is listed as Montague County Sheriff in a 1916 county officials snapshot. Secondary sources describe him as Levi Perryman’s son, suggesting a second generation of the Perryman family held the office roughly 35 years after the father’s service — a family dynasty in county law enforcement. This relationship is strongly indicated but not primary-source confirmed. Term boundaries are not established.
[1918–1937 — UNVERIFIED] The gap between E.W. Perryman’s attested 1916 term and Herman Chandler’s death before October 1937 is unfilled except by the partial-list name Dick Lawrence, which appears in this general range without dates.
Herman Chandler (dates of service unknown; died in office before October 4, 1937)
Herman Chandler served as Montague County Sheriff and died in office before October 4, 1937. His start date is not established. His death triggered the appointment of his wife, Kate Chandler, to complete his unexpired term.
Kate (Katherine Elizabeth) Chandler — First Woman to Serve (October 4, 1937 – January 1, 1939)
Katherine Elizabeth “Kate” Wynn Chandler (1896–1962) was appointed Montague County Sheriff on October 4, 1937, to complete her late husband Herman Chandler’s unexpired term. She served until January 1, 1939, making her one of the rare women to hold the office of county sheriff in Texas during the early twentieth century.
Kate Chandler’s appointment followed the practice common in mid-twentieth-century Texas counties when a sheriff died mid-term: the widow was appointed to complete the term rather than trigger a special election. Her tenure stands as one of the most significant moments in the county’s institutional history — a woman exercising the full authority of the sheriff’s office on the Texas frontier’s legacy landscape.
No detail on specific cases or administrative actions during her tenure is recoverable from available sources.
[1939–c. 1977 — LARGELY UNVERIFIED] The gap between Kate Chandler’s departure (January 1, 1939) and W.F. Conway’s tenure is only partially filled. A second widow-successor sheriff — Helen Henley — served after the death of Bedford Henley at an unestablished date in this span, likely in the 1939–1960 range. Additional partial-list names for this period include J.L. Jameson, J.T. Lindsey, and Howard Middleton — none with attached dates or biographical detail.
W.F. Conway — The Henry Lee Lucas Case (c. 1977–1984)
William Franklin Conway (1922–1994) served as Montague County Sheriff for approximately two full terms before seeking a third. He became nationally known in June 1983 when he arrested Henry Lee Lucas in Montague County on a firearms charge. During Lucas’s incarceration in the Montague County jail, Conway drew out a confession to multiple murders — including that of an elderly Ringo, Texas, woman. Working alongside Texas Ranger Phil Ryan, Conway developed the Lucas case that led to conviction.
The Texas Sheriffs’ Association named Conway its 1984 Texas Lawman of the Year for this work.
The Lucas case, however, ultimately cost Conway his job. Montague County voters blamed him for a property-tax increase required to fund attorneys’ fees and medical care during the prosecution. He was defeated in his bid for a third term in the May 5, 1984 Democratic primary by former deputy Harry Walker.
Harry Walker (from January 1985)
Harry Walker, identified as a former Montague County Sheriff’s deputy, defeated incumbent W.F. Conway in the May 5, 1984 Democratic primary. He was the sheriff-elect for the term beginning January 1985. No further details about his service length or successor are recoverable from available sources.
[post-Walker to Thomas — UNVERIFIED] The sheriffs who served between Harry Walker (from 1985) and Marshall Thomas are unknown from available sources. This could represent one or several individuals spanning roughly fifteen to thirty years.
Marshall Thomas (current; sworn January 1, 2025)
Marshall Thomas is the current Montague County Sheriff, contactable at 111 Grand St., Montague, TX 76251 / (940) 894-2491. He ran as a Republican incumbent and was re-elected in the November 5, 2024 general election, taking the oath of office January 1, 2025 for a new four-year term. His first election date is not established in available sources.
Research Gaps and Tier 1 Destinations
The roster above leaves approximately 100 or more years unverified across six major gaps:
- 1858–1872 (14 years): First sheriff unnamed
- 1880–1889 (9 years): Gap between Levi Perryman and T.L. Garrison
- 1892–1915 (23 years): Gap between Garrison and E.W. Perryman
- 1918–1937 (19 years): Gap before Herman Chandler
- 1939–c. 1977 (~38 years): Gap between Kate Chandler and W.F. Conway
- Post-Walker to Thomas (~15–30 years): Unknown
Tier 1 research destinations:
- Montague County Clerk’s Office (Montague, TX) — election records, oath-of-office records
- Montague County Historical Commission — local newspaper runs, genealogical files
- Bowie News archives — coverage from the early twentieth century forward
- Texas State Library and Archives Commission — county officer records series
For Levi Perryman’s individual biography and his fully digitized papers at UNT, see Levi Perryman. For county-seat context and the courthouse history central to sheriff administration, see Montague.