Sheriff King Kerley

King Kerley (born 25 September 1814 in Sumner County, Tennessee) was a pioneer, soldier, public servant, and the first elected sheriff of Macon County, Tennessee, serving from 1842 to 1846.

Early Life

King Kerley was born in Sumner County, Tennessee, into an early settler family. His father, William Kerley, hailed from South Carolina and moved his family to Tennessee when King was a young child. King had limited formal schooling—only attending school until age ten—but learned to read and write, though he had little formal education in mathematics.

Military Service

Kerley’s life was marked by military service. In 1836 he volunteered for the Second Seminole War in Florida, serving six months with the 2nd Tennessee Regiment of mounted men. During that campaign, he was wounded by a gunshot to the thigh at the engagement in Wahoo Swamp.

In 1846, at the outbreak of the Mexican–American War, Kerley again volunteered, this time enlisting at Hartsville, Tennessee. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Tennessee Volunteers and saw action in several major campaigns, including at Monterrey, Vera Cruz, and Cerro Gordo.

Public Service and Sheriff of Macon County

When Macon County, Tennessee was newly established in 1842, Kerley was elected as its first sheriff. His term ran from 1842 through 1846, during which he carried out the wide-ranging duties expected of a sheriff in a frontier county—maintaining law and order in a growing community.

Historical accounts note that during his tenure he oversaw difficult and sometimes grim law enforcement duties, including carrying out a legal execution—the hanging of an enslaved woman convicted of killing a child—a reminder of the harsh realities of 19th-century criminal justice in rural Tennessee.

Later Life and Family

After completing his service as sheriff, Kerley continued his military and civic engagement. He served in the Tennessee Legislature in 1847–1849, representing his community at the state level. In 1851, he and his family relocated to Brown County, Illinois, where he took up farming.

Kerley married Elizabeth Brown of Sumner County in 1837, and together they had a family. Tragedy struck shortly after their move to Illinois when several family members, including Elizabeth and her parents, died of illness.

Legacy

King Kerley’s life reflects the experiences of many early American frontier figures: military service, public duty, agricultural life, and the challenges of American expansion in the 19th century. As the first sheriff of Macon County, he played a key role in establishing civil order and local government in a newly formed Tennessee county, helping lay foundations for its development.

Written by: Caleb Fleming, Macon County History Preservation Project