Born to William Sterrett and Isabelle McCormick., [1] He passed away in Shreveport, Caddo, Louisiana
Caddo Parish came into being just as the town of Shreveport did two years earlier. Namely, because of the clearing of the Great Raft, a mighty logjam that had engulfed the Red River for centuries. The Raft's removal meant the fertile land along its banks could be economically cultivated since the opening of the river allowed for the rapid shipment of agricultural products to market.
The first sheriff of Caddo Parish was Alexander Boyd Sterrett. At the time Caddo Parish was carved out of Natchitoches Parish, Sterrett had served as the Natchitoches Parish sheriff's deputy for this area. Being familiar with the area and already performing the duties of sheriff in the territory of the new parish, Sterrett was appointed Caddo Parish sheriff by Governor Edward Douglas White in January, 1838.
The appointment came despite some allegations of the mishandling of local taxes in 1837. According to state records, Deputy Sterrett, then tax collector for the sheriff of Natchitoches, failed to pay into the treasury $792.31 collected by him. He was ordered to do so, with interest added, by the Seventh Judicial Court, and apparently did. After that there appear to have been no further problems and, in all fairness to Sterrett, there was never any evidence of actual wrongdoing cited, only of alleged negligence in turning over the taxes collected in a timely manner.
Sheriff Sterrett had formerly served as a public official in both Natchitoches and Rapides parishes and had resided for a time in Alexandria. His wife, Martha, was the sister of Jim Bowie, the Texas revolutionary who fell in the defense of the Alamo.
Sterrett served as Caddo sheriff from the parish's creation until his death in a gunfight with Shreveport merchant Charles Albert Sewall in August, 1840. According to court records, Sterrett had entered Sewall's store on Texas Street demanding payment on a bill for a shipment of paper that Sterrett, a merchant as well as the sheriff, had delivered to him. Sewall claimed the shipment was short and would only pay part of the bill. Sterrett insisted and the encounter took a violent turn. Sewall grabbed a seven-inch knife and threatened the sheriff with it. The sheriff grabbed the knife but Sewall ran to the rear of the store, returning with two cocked pistols, one in each hand.
Witnesses said that Sewall told Sterrett he was trespassing and ordered him out but Sheriff Sterrett hurled a Bowie knife at Sewall, just missing him. Sewall fired, killing Sheriff Sterrett instantly. Sewall was indicted in state court for the murder of the sheriff and was released on $20,000 bond collected by friends and relatives, a staggering sum in those days when one dollar had approximately the buying power of twenty dollars today.
Sewall claimed self-defense and numerous witnesses who had seen the altercation unfold from the street and the porch of Porter's Hotel agreed. Two attempts at convicting Sewall ended in mistrials and a third resulted in the dismissal of the case in 1841. Sewall was released and lived as a free man and respectable Shreveport merchant for another five years until he died. Sterrett, Caddo's first sheriff, was also the first and only sheriff of the parish to be killed, though whether technically in the line of duty or not is disputable. In any case, it would be another 79 years before the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office would lose another lawman to gunfire.
Sheriff Alexander Boyd Sterrett was evidently buried in the first Shreveport City Cemetery, located at the northeast corner of Fannin and McNeill streets. Graves in this cemetery were moved to the Oakland Cemetery by 1866. Presumably Sheriff Sterrett's grave was moved as well but it is now unmarked and its location unknown.[2]
Children of Martha Bowie and Alexander Sterrett are:
William Sterrett (1830-1859)
i. Matilda Sterrett Gooch. (1836-1859)
ii. Emily Sterrett Austin Ivy. (2839-1859)
iii. Rezin Bowie Sterrett. (1832-1855)[3]
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