Draft:Timothy Keliher (lawman)

Timothy T. Keliher (August 13, 1868 – February 15, 1954) also known as "Tim Keliher", was a professional lawman having been the Deputy Sheriff, then Lincoln County Sheriff, and a Special Agent for the Union Pacific Railroad.

One of the most accomplished professional lawmen of the old west.

Early Life and Career
Born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania to John Keliher and Joanna Osullivan. When he was 3 his family moved to Archer, Wyoming and then North Platte, Nebraska.

Keliher married Julia Schultz in North Platte, Nebraska on December 31st, 1895. Had a son and 2 daughters.

Second wife Ellen Kennedy in Chicago on September 25th, 1913.

Deputy Sheriff of Lincoln County
1893-1897 under Jake Miller. - Still need to research and complete - in progress June 2024

Sheriff of Lincoln County
Keliher, after serving as the Deputy Sheriff under Jacob Miller, was elected Sheriff on November 10th, 1899 and began his term immediately. Sheriff Timothy T. Keliher had also been the county's Deputy Sheriff (elected in 1897 under sheriff Jake Miller), and was a Union Pacific detective that helped organize UP's mobile ranger corps, and the Chief Special Agent for the Illinois Central Railroad. Between the two of them, Baker and Keliher had more years in law enforcement than the more popular lawmen that history remembers, Wyatt Earp, Pat Garrett, and Wild Bill Hickok, combined. But, comparatively, far less is known and remembered of Baker and Keliher than of the likes of Earp, Garrett and Hickok.

Between 1867 and 1910 there were thirteen different sheriffs. None of them were gunfighters. The closest that the county came to such sheriffs were Asa Bradley, sheriff from 1876–1877, and Con Groner, sheriff from 1878–1883. These two were well known as excellent marksmen and were avid hunters, but neither had occasion to use those skills whilst in office. The electorate seemed to choose men who were known and trusted by the community, with long histories and ties to it, rather than people who were handy with firearms. David Baker and Tim Keliher were professional law enforcers, as mentioned. So also, was sheriff William Woodhust, elected in 1872 (and who resigned the office in 1873 to become warden of Nebraska State Penitentiary), who had been deputy sheriff under the county's first two sheriffs, O. O. Austin and Nathan Russell.

The sheriffs in their forties, with the exception of career law enforcement officer Baker, relied more heavily upon their much younger deputies for tasks other than administrative work,

From David Baker's two terms of office on-wards, sheriffs tended more to seek re-election, and multiple-term incumbents became more of the norm. Miller, Keliher, and Carpenter each held the office for two terms. Miltonberger held it for three. Baker's stint in office marked a turning point, where the office of sheriff became more professionalised. More counties had been incorporated around Lincoln County, making the policing of outlying regions less daunting, there was greater assistance from experienced deputies, and from Union Pacific detectives, who were a more visible presence in the railroad towns of the county by the end of the 1880s.

Almost all sheriffs in the 19th century kept their noses clean both in and out of office, with the two major exceptions being Haley (who, after he had left office, had to pay a fine of $25 for violating a municipal ordinance requiring him to have screens on all of his saloon windows) and Stuthers (who, years after he had been sheriff, in Grand Junction, Colorado shot and killed a highwayman that had attempted to rob him, but with the resultant charges against him dismissed on the grounds of self-defense).

Union Pacific Railroad
After his term as Sheriff, in 1902 he became the Chief Special Agent of the Union Pacific Western Lines out of Cheyenne, Wyoming. There he organised the famous Keliher Railroad Posse to combat train robbers who were over running the area. When a train robbery alarm reached Cheyenne, Keliher would mobilise his posse, load his men and their horses into special railroad cars, and speed to the point of the holdup.

Keliher was the inspiration for "Whispering Smith", fabulous special agent in a series of thrilling stories about rail road pioneers by the late Frank Hamilton Spearman.

Illinois Central Railroad
He joined the Illinois Central in Chicago in 1910. He was instrumental in the round up of gangs charged with bombing trains during strikes in Sangamon and Williamson counties.

Life in North Platte, Lincoln, Nebraska
Leaving more info - Still need to research and complete

He moved back to Chicago, Illinois in 1910.

Death
Keliher died on February 15, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois after being ill for several days.

His funeral mass was held at St. Selicitas Church in Alsip, Illinois at 10AM on Thursday February 18, 1954. Keliher was laid to rest at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.