In 1862, when Kendall County was brand new, its people chose a young man — just 28 years old — to wear the star. The story of Kendall County’s first Sheriff…John William Sansom right after this.

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John William Sansom wasn’t just any lawman. Born in Alabama, raised in Texas, he’d already seen his share of frontier fights. He was a scout, a soldier, a man who could track through cedar and rock and not lose his way. And when the Civil War broke out, he was opposed to leaving the Union but stayed loyal to Texas. Sansom traveled to Austin and met with Governor Sam Houston to offer his services. Houston gave him a Colt revolver instead.

As sheriff, he rode against rustlers and bandits. Later, as a Texas Ranger captain, he faced far greater dangers — Comanche raids, border outlaws, and even the infamous Nueces Massacre, where neighbors turned on neighbors in a time of bitter division.

John William Sansom survived it all. He kept the peace when there was precious little of it. And he lived until 1920 to the age of 86 — and rests next to his wife Victoria in Mission Burial Park South in San Antonio.

I’m Tom Allred with Boerne Texas History

and this is Boerne Radio 103.9FM.

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