Elliot D. Coleman
Encyclopedia
Elliot d’Evereaux Coleman, I (1881-May 26, 1963), was from 1936-1960 the sheriff
of Tensas Parish
in northeastern Louisiana
. Earlier, he had been a state police bodyguard of U.S. Senator Huey P. Long, Jr., on September 8, 1935, the night of Long's assassination
.
in southern Tensas Parish. He was educated in the Waterproof public schools, which have since closed. Youngsters in Tensas Parish now attend school in St. Joseph
.
and was a member of the Tensas Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body akin to county commission
s in other states. He was a delegate to the 1921 Louisiana Constitutional Convention, superseded by the conclave that met in Baton Rouge
in 1973.
As one of the bodyguards of Huey Long, Coleman testified that he twice shot Carl Weiss
, the young Baton Rouge
physician
confirmed as Long's assassin, though the Weiss family has long disputed the official version of events.
Coleman was a prohibition
agent when he was elected sheriff in 1936. He defeated incumbent John Hughes, who had served since 1905, when Coleman's father-in-law vacated the post. There was a third Democratic primary candidate named Dan Morris of Newellton, who made a strong showing. Coleman won the position, however, because Hughes declined to pursue a runoff election, reasoning that much of Morris' votes would likely switch to Coleman in a second race. Hughes, closely identified with the planter aristocracy, lost support from both political factions when he was forced to deny that he was anti-Long
.
After his victory in 1936, Coleman was reelected in 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, and 1956. In 1960, however, he was unseated by his fellow Democrat
William M. "Max" Seaman, the younger brother of Louisiana State Representative
J.C. Seaman, also from Waterproof. At the time of his retirement, Coleman was at seventy-nine the oldest serving sheriff in Louisiana. Max Seaman was elected sheriff again in 1964 and 1968 but died in office in October 1968 and was succeeded by his chief deputy, Theo "Bill" Poe (1912-1988) of Newellton
, who served until 1984.
During his long tenure as sheriff, Coleman directed several attempts to hold the Mississippi River
within its levee
s. At the Tensas Parish centennial ceremony on April 6, 1943, Coleman delivered a speech "High Lights of High Waters", which recounted several occasions during which the river tore through the levees to inundate the alluviual farming area of Tensas and adjoining parishes. On that occasion, then District Attorney
Jeff B. Snyder of Tallulah
in neighboring Madison Parish
, echoed Coleman's observances, saying that he could recall the time when there were "no levees, no bridges, ferries nor
roads, but the richest soil
in the world, more fertile than the Valley of the Nile River. It was a hunter's paradise."
Coleman was a delegate to the 1948 Democratic National Convention
in Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania
, which nominated the Truman/Barkley ticket.
in Concordia Parish
, from which Tensas Parish was carved in 1843. He is interred at the Natchez City Cemetery in Natchez
, Mississippi
.
Some Coleman descendants still reside in Tensas Parish. His great-grandson, Elliot Coleman, IV, who was born some four years after Coleman’s passing, died in 2009 at the age of forty-two.
In 2005, Ferriday newspaper publisher Sam Hanna, Sr.
, filed one of his "One Man's Opinion" columns about Coleman's historical legacy.
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
of Tensas Parish
Tensas Parish, Louisiana
Tensas Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is St. Joseph. In 2010, the population of Tensas Parish was 5,252; it is the least-populous of all sixty-four parishes....
in northeastern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. Earlier, he had been a state police bodyguard of U.S. Senator Huey P. Long, Jr., on September 8, 1935, the night of Long's assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
.
Early life
Coleman was born to E. D. Coleman and the former Lou Ellen Pollard on the Live Oak Plantation in WaterproofWaterproof, Louisiana
Waterproof is a town in Tensas Parish, Louisiana, United States with a population of 834 as of 2000 census. Waterproof is approximately seventeen miles north of Ferriday, one of the two principal communities of Concordia Parish...
in southern Tensas Parish. He was educated in the Waterproof public schools, which have since closed. Youngsters in Tensas Parish now attend school in St. Joseph
St. Joseph, Louisiana
St. Joseph is a town in and the parish seat of Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,340 at the 2000 census. The town is 69 percent African American. St. Joseph is the entry community to Lake Bruin State Park located on Lake Bruin, a relatively clear oxbow...
.
Career as sheriff
At the age of seventeen, Coleman became a deputy sheriff under W. C. Young, the sheriff from 1880-1905 and Coleman's future father-in-law. Coleman served as a justice of the peaceJustice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
and was a member of the Tensas Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body akin to county commission
County commission
A county commission is a group of elected officials charged with administering the county government in local government in some states of the United States. County commissions are usually made up of three or more individuals...
s in other states. He was a delegate to the 1921 Louisiana Constitutional Convention, superseded by the conclave that met in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
in 1973.
As one of the bodyguards of Huey Long, Coleman testified that he twice shot Carl Weiss
Carl Weiss
Carl Austin Weiss was a young Baton Rouge, Louisiana physician who assassinated U.S. Senator Huey Pierce Long, Jr. on September 8, 1935.-Baton Rouge doctor:...
, the young Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
confirmed as Long's assassin, though the Weiss family has long disputed the official version of events.
Coleman was a prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
agent when he was elected sheriff in 1936. He defeated incumbent John Hughes, who had served since 1905, when Coleman's father-in-law vacated the post. There was a third Democratic primary candidate named Dan Morris of Newellton, who made a strong showing. Coleman won the position, however, because Hughes declined to pursue a runoff election, reasoning that much of Morris' votes would likely switch to Coleman in a second race. Hughes, closely identified with the planter aristocracy, lost support from both political factions when he was forced to deny that he was anti-Long
Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
.
After his victory in 1936, Coleman was reelected in 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, and 1956. In 1960, however, he was unseated by his fellow Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
William M. "Max" Seaman, the younger brother of Louisiana State Representative
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
J.C. Seaman, also from Waterproof. At the time of his retirement, Coleman was at seventy-nine the oldest serving sheriff in Louisiana. Max Seaman was elected sheriff again in 1964 and 1968 but died in office in October 1968 and was succeeded by his chief deputy, Theo "Bill" Poe (1912-1988) of Newellton
Newellton, Louisiana
Newellton is a town in northern Tensas Parish in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population is 1,227 in the 2010 census, a decline of 255 from 2000. Newellton is some 65 percent African American. It is just west of the Mississippi River on Lake St. Joseph, an ox-bow lake....
, who served until 1984.
During his long tenure as sheriff, Coleman directed several attempts to hold the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
within its levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
s. At the Tensas Parish centennial ceremony on April 6, 1943, Coleman delivered a speech "High Lights of High Waters", which recounted several occasions during which the river tore through the levees to inundate the alluviual farming area of Tensas and adjoining parishes. On that occasion, then District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
Jeff B. Snyder of Tallulah
Tallulah, Louisiana
Tallulah is a city in and the parish seat of Madison Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 9,189 at the 2000 census...
in neighboring Madison Parish
Madison Parish, Louisiana
-National protected areas:* Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge * Vicksburg National Military Park -Demographics:-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S...
, echoed Coleman's observances, saying that he could recall the time when there were "no levees, no bridges, ferries nor
roads, but the richest soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
in the world, more fertile than the Valley of the Nile River. It was a hunter's paradise."
Coleman was a delegate to the 1948 Democratic National Convention
1948 Democratic National Convention
The 1948 Democratic National Convention was held at Convention Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 12 to July 14, and resulted in the nominations of incumbent Harry S Truman for President and U.S. Senator Alben W...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, which nominated the Truman/Barkley ticket.
Family
In 1907, Coleman married the former Jane Young, and the couple had three children, Louis Coleman, Jane Coleman, and Elliot D. Coleman, II. Coleman died in FerridayFerriday, Louisiana
Ferriday is a town in Concordia Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population, which is three-fourths African American, was 3,723 at the 2000 census....
in Concordia Parish
Concordia Parish, Louisiana
Concordia Parish borders the Mississippi River in eastern Louisiana. The parish seat is Vidalia. As of 2000, the population was 20,247. It is part of the Natchez, MS–LA Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Prehistory:...
, from which Tensas Parish was carved in 1843. He is interred at the Natchez City Cemetery in Natchez
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
.
Some Coleman descendants still reside in Tensas Parish. His great-grandson, Elliot Coleman, IV, who was born some four years after Coleman’s passing, died in 2009 at the age of forty-two.
In 2005, Ferriday newspaper publisher Sam Hanna, Sr.
Sam Hanna
Samuel Andrew Hanna, Sr., known as Sam Hanna , was a Louisiana journalist who owned and published three newspapers: The Concordia Sentinel in Ferriday, the Franklin Sun in Winnsboro, and The Ouachita Citizen in West Monroe.-Early years and education:Hanna was born in Winnsboro, the seat of Franklin...
, filed one of his "One Man's Opinion" columns about Coleman's historical legacy.