Sheriff Thomas Wooldridge was shot and killed as he walked down Sixth Street in Jasper by a man who operated an illegal still on his farm two miles from town.

   In an unprovoked attack in the evening, the suspect shot him through the heart from an upstairs window of his home on the northwest corner of Sixth and Clay streets.

   The 40-year-old man, who was a justice of the peace, was tried for murder in a change of venue to Gibson County. He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison but was pardoned by Governor Samuel Bigger in 1843.

   Sheriff Wooldridge, from Jasper, was in the first year of his two-year term in office as the ninth sheriff of Dubois County. He was survived by his wife and infant son.

Military Service Indiana State Militia Lieutenant Colonel (LTC)

Historical Notes • Sheriff Wooldridge is the third known law enforcement line of duty death in Indiana. • He held the shortest term in office, at 33 days, of the 21 sheriffs with line of duty deaths in Indiana.

Read more on our research at Honoring Our Fallen Sheriffs.