Sheriff Abner Leonard Board

Abner Leonard Board

Former Sheriff A. L. Board was assassinated in 1913 by the brother of a man the sheriff and a deputy killed during a lawful arrest in 1901.

On August 18, 1901, Arnold Bruce and another man were camped on Wagner Creek in Throckmorton County just over the county line from Baylor County. Bruce was acting irrational and several people went to Seymour in Baylor County for the sheriff. Sheriff A. L. Board and Deputy S. Suttlemeyer responded. The two men were standing while their horses drank from the creek. The lawmen ordered them to surrender and consider themselves under arrest. Bruce ran to a wagon and reached for a gun. Again, he was commanded to surrender, but ignoring the command, started to raise his gun, when Deputy Suttlemeyer shot and killed him.

On October 21, 1913, P. J. Bruce of Ranger, brother of Arnold Bruce, arrived in Seymour on the morning train. Bruce went to the second floor of the First National Bank where former Sheriff A. L. Board worked selling real estate and shot him six times, killing him instantly. Bruce ran down the steps and opened fire on Baylor County Sheriff W. L. Ellis. In the ensuing shootout Bruce was shot two times and killed. Sheriff Ellis was seriously wounded. Bruce had a letter on his body addressed to his wife and children to have the people of Seymour ship his body back to Ranger. Although Sheriff Ellis survived this shooting incident, on August 6, 1916 he was shot and killed in the line of duty by a prisoner.

A. L. Board was survived by his wife and two children. He was buried in the Seymour Cemetery in an unmarked grave. He had served as sheriff from 1884-1888 and again from 1900-1902.