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[[Image:{{Infobox Biography| subject_name =James Cornelius Van Pelt| image_name =JCVanPelt1904pic.jpg|thumbimage_size =225px| image_caption =From ''The Bliss Magazine'', March [[1904]]|rightdate_of_birth =[[February 8]], [[1864]]|180pxplace_of_birth =Alabama|Photo of date_of_death =[[July 31]], [[1927]]| place_of_death =| occupation =Farmer, [[Escambia County Sheriff James C. ]]| religion =| spouse =Mattie Jane Shepherd| parents =John Smiley and Sarah Van Pelt from the 1904 issue of The Bliss Magazine]]| children =James Lester, Margaret Caroline, Annie, Jessie}}
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'''James Cornelius Van Pelt''' ([[February 8]], [[1864]] - [[July 31]], [[1927]]) served two terms as [[Escambia County Sheriff]], [[1903]]-[[1913]], and [[1917]]-[[1919]].
Van Pelt was a farmer, dairyman and merchant by trade. He was named sheriff in [[1903]] after the unexpected death of [[George E. Smith]]. He presided over a eventful and tumultuous period in the history of [[Escambia County, Florida]], from massive construction projects that transformed [[downtown Pensacola]] to events like the [[1908 streetcar operators' strike|Pensacola Streetcar Company strike]] of [[1908]]. In [[1912]], Van Pelt oversaw the completion of the [[Court of Record Building]] and transferred prisoners to the new jail contained therein. Van Pelt was defeated in the [[1912]] election by [[A. Cary Ellis]], but ran again in [[1916]] and won.
In [[1919]], Sheriff Van Pelt was involved in a scandal involving liquor distillation. The Eighteenth Amendment had been ratified at the time, but it would not go into effect until [[January 16]], [[1920]]. Nevertheless, due largely to the administration of Governor [[Wikipedia:Sidney J. Catts|Sidney J. Catts]], a member of the Prohibition Party, Van Pelt was removed from office.
He is buried in [[Clopton Cemetery]].<ref>http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.van-20-pelt/239.1/mb.ashx</ref>
==Leander Shaw Incident==
The documentary film [[Lillie & Leander: A Legacy of Violence]] depicts this incident and its aftermath.
==Electoral history=====[[Escambia County Sheriff]], [[1908]]===''This election was held [[May 19]], [[1908]].'' {{bio| class="wikitable"|-|'''<span style="color:blue;">DEM<span>'''|'''[[James C. Van Pelt]]''' '''(i)'''|'''1,872'''|'''57%'''|-|'''<span style="color:blue;">DEM<span>'''|[[Frank D. Sanders]]|836|26%|-|'''<span style="color:blue;">DEM<span>'''|[[A. Cary Ellis]]|412|13%|-stub}|'''<span style="color:blue;">DEM<span>'''|[[W. H. Kilbee]]|140|4%|}
==References==
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