• James C. Shellenbarger was the only sheriff of Knox County to die in the line of duty. He was shot and mortally wounded while trying to apprehend Frank Hildreth.

  • Despite being described as intellectual and promising in his youth, Frank Hildreth turned out to be a volatile badman, whose crimes escalated to manslaughter. He spent much of his life in and out of prisons and asylums.

  • The sheriff was the son of Jim Shellenbarger of Howard, a Civil War veteran, who unfortunately ended up outliving his namesake son by almost 30 years.

  • Sheriff James Shellenbarger and his wife are buried in Mound View Cemetery in Mount Vernon.