Milam County Historical Commission
Milam County, Texas
Milam County, Texas
Sheriffs of Milam County, TX
Researched and written by
Greg Kouba
William Edward Mitchusson
#20 - Sheriff William Edward Mitchusson was elected on November 8, 1872 and served until
February 15, 1876.
William Edward Mitchusson was born November 12, 1842.
On January 9, 1870 he married Margaret Ivy Conoley in Milam County. She was born April
7, 1851.
At the age of 19, Mitchusson enlisted as a volunteer, serving four years in the
Confederate Army, and he was wounded in a skirmish.
About 1900, William and his wife moved to Bartlett.
Margaret was born in the frame building which housed the First Texas Legislature in West
Columbia, Texas in 1846.
She was the daughter of Rev. Malcolm Campbell Conoley, a Presbyterian minister and
teacher. He established the Conoley Community and a church south of Thorndale which
still exists today.
Sheriff Mitchusson and his wife had twelve children, William E. (b.1871), Jennie P. (b.
1874), Edgar P. (b. 1876), Juanita (b. 1877), and Myrtle (b. 1879), Katie Belle (b.
1/11/1881—1964), Mary Lou (Mae, b. 1885-1972), Bess Ann, Birdie Agnes ( b. 1887—1953)
and Elouise Lorraine (b. 8/3/1892—7/1/1973). Two children died as infants.
He died April 20, 1917 and was buried in the old Bartlett, Texas City cemetery.
Mitchusson was Sheriff when the Milam County Courthouse burned in 1874. He donated fifty
dollars of his own money to help with the rebuilding.
Mitchusson was reported to be a self-educated lawyer. Toward the end of his term, family
members state that there was a black man accused of murder and there was an outcry for a
hanging by the citizens of the county. Sheriff Mitchusson came to Cameron to investigate
the evidence. Family history states that he found that there was not enough evidence to
support hanging the accused black man. He reportedly went back home to think about it
overnight. When he returned to Cameron the next day, he found that the people had
already hung the man. Family members say that Mitchusson immediately resigned his office
as Sheriff in outrage.
Former Milam County District Judge Graham Gillis is a nephew of Margaret Ivy Conoley
Mitchusson.
William Edward Mitchusson
.