DUANE
Duane's take
Here's the story as the official marker tells it — and it's one worth tellin' right. Way back when, a man was born near Washington-on-the-Brazos — a place already steeped in Texas legend before he ever drew his first breath. His name was James Sidney Talley, and in 1901 he packed up and made his way to Ochiltree County, out there on the high plains where the wind doesn't ask permission.
Now, you might think a man heading to the frontier edge of Texas had some kind of ambition burning in him. Turns out, you'd be right — but not the kind you'd expect. In 1908, James Sidney Talley became sheriff of Ochiltree County.
And he held that job until 1944. You heard me. From 1908 to 1944.
When he finally retired, he held the record for longer continuous service than any other Texas sheriff. Thirty-six years of keeping the peace in one county — and here's the part that'll make you set down your coffee — he never carried a gun. Not once.
He used what the marker calls free-wheeling methods, and apparently those methods worked, because nobody ran him off and the county kept electing him. Now, a man like that, you might figure he'd have stacked up a comfortable little fortune over those decades. But it was said that his generosities kept him poor.
That's the kind of line that tells you everything about a person without explaining a thing. He just kept giving it away. On top of all that lawman work, Talley ranched throughout his career — because apparently one demanding job wasn't quite enough — and he was considered an expert judge of livestock.
After retirement he did considerable welfare work, still pouring himself into the community the same way he always had. He was a Mason, and he married Mamie Richardson. James Sidney Talley — born near Washington-on-the-Brazos, settled in Ochiltree County, unarmed and generous and absolutely unmovable for thirty-six years.
The plains have a way of revealing what a person is really made of. Talley didn't leave much doubt.
What the marker says
Born near Washington-on-the-Brazos; moved 1901 to Ochiltree County. As sheriff, 1908-1944, he used free-wheeling methods and never carried a gun. It was said that generosities kept him poor. At retirement he held record for longer continuous service than any other Texas sheriff. An expert judge of livestock, also ranched throughout career. Did considerable welfare work in retirement years. A Mason, he married Mamie Richardson. Recorded, 1967.