Thomas Beloat (February 6, 1855 – February 23, 1946) was an American sheriff of Gibson County, Indiana at the turn of the 20th century noted for stopping a lynching in the county seat of Princeton.[1] He was the subject of a June 10, 1901 article in the New York Tribune.[2] Beloat was one of two law enforcement officials whose bravery in preventing lynchings in early 20th-century America was noted by Mark Twain in his 1901 essay The United States of Lyncherdom.[3]
Beloat was born on February 6, 1855 near Fort Branch, Indiana.
A Republican, he served as sheriff from January 1, 1901 to December 31, 1904.[4] He was a charter member of the Gibson County Sons of Veterans organization.[5]
In 1919, he was named as deputy fish and game warden for the first congressional district of Indiana, serving in this capacity for fifteen years.[6]
Beloat died in Princeton on February 23, 1946 at the age of 91.[7]
References
- ^ The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine: Volume LXII. New York: Macmillan & Co. Ldt. 1901. p. 631.
- ^ Mark Twain: Collected tales, sketches, speeches & essays. Vol. 2. The Library of America. 1993. p. 1033.
- ^ Twain, Mark; Justin Kaplan (2004). Great Short Works of Mark Twain. Harper Collins. pp. 193f. ISBN 0060727861.
- ^ "Sheriffs of Gibson County, Indiana". Gibson County Sheriff's Department. 2008.
- ^ Stormont, Gil R. (1914). History of Gibson County, Indiana: Her People, Industries and Institutions, with Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families. Indianapolis, Indiana: B. F. Bowden, & Co. p. 261.
- ^ "THOMAS BELOAT IS NAMED AS DISTRICT DEPUTY FISH AND GAME WARDEN". Princeton Daily Clarion. 23 June 1919.
- ^ "Thomas Beloat, 91, Former County Sheriff, Dies". Princeton Daily Clarion. 25 February 1946.