Gone, but not forgotten: Early coroners of Newton County

Five men served one term each as Newton County Coroner during the 1880s.
The first was James C. Hensley, a blacksmith born in Indiana in 1846. He moved from Indiana to Kentucky and then Missouri before settling in Arkansas by 1880. By 1900 he had moved to Carroll County with his family. He later moved to Boone County, where he died in 1921.
The next coroner was the first one who was a doctor. He was James Legrand, born in Indiana in 1843. He moved to Newton County in the late 1870s from Missouri, and married Julia Hudson in Newton County in 1877. In 1880, he made his home in Union Township. By 1900, he was practicing medicine in Jasper. By 1910, he had moved to Boone County, where he died in 1923.
T. F. Sutton was the next coroner, serving from 1884 to 1886.

William Braden was the next coroner. He was born in Tennessee in 1821. He was a farmer and lived in Mill Creek Township by 1860. He served in the Missouri Confederate Cavalry during the Civil War, but returned to Newton County. He lived on his farm in Mill Creek Township the rest of his life, dying in 1901.
J. M. Casteel was coroner from 1888 to 1890. After that, the office was vacant for some time.

Barbara LeRoy is the author of “Which Side Were They On?,” a new 302 page book listing biographical sketches of the Newton Countians who were involved in the Civil War, available for sale either in the Bradley House Museum or by purchasing online at www.newtoncountyar.com. The book sells for