Major County Sheriffs

LEWIS P. BURWELL

Sheriff of Major County, well-known and highly respected citizen of Fairview, Lewis P. Burwell was born in New Jersey, July 12, 1865, son of George and Anna (Post) Burwell, both of whom were natives of that State, George Burwell having engaged as a farmer. Lewis P. Burwell was second-born in a family of five children. When he was seven, his parents came West, settling at Ottawa, Kansas, where he attended school. Later, when they removed to the vicinity of Lawrence, Kansas, he assisted his father on the farm, and engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1895.

It was in 1895, when he was thirty, that Mr. Burwell came to Major County to engage in farming and stock raising. In 1907 he was elected sheriff, being the first to hold that office in the county, and served in its responsibilities for five years. When he retired from sheriff-ship he assumed the duties of marshal of Fairview until 1922, then was reelected sheriff. Reelected for a third term, he continued to serve the people most worthily. He has been affiliated with the Woodmen of the World for thirty years.

Mr. Burwell married, in February of 1891, Nellie Hill, of Lawrence, Kansas, and their children are: 1) George, now in the United States Army. 2) Marjory, wife of Walter Cash, of Ridgwood, Oklahoma. 3) Lawrence, of Winston, North Carolina. 4) Nelson. 5) Josephine, wife of Willis Smiley, of Fairview.

All enterprises which appeal to citizens of loyal public spirit interest Mr. Burwell, who supports such movements with generosity, whether the call be for funds or personal effort. His handclasp is firm, his smile of the kind that warms and makes men friends, his word his bond. An Oklahoman for nearly thirty-five years, he is one of the State's pioneers, an honored member of his community.