Sheriff Angley
Cochran County, Texas
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Wilson "Prof" Elvie Angley
Entered office: January 01, 1943
Left office: December 31, 1944
Birth: May 12, 1895 in Lipan, Texas
Death: July 07, 1966 in Morton, Texas
Burial: Morton Memorial Cemetery, Morton, Texas
Wilson Elvie Angley, known as "Prof"
was born May 12, 1895 in Lipan, Hood County,
Texas. He, his wife, Mae Ivy, and their
daughter moved to Morton in the fall of
either 1922 or 1923 from Tulia, Texas.
Angley and his wife were to be the new
school teachers, he for the high school and
she the grade school. Mrs. Angley had a
large one room building and he had a
smaller one room building nearby.
They were the only teachers and taught for a year.
At the time the town only had one street
located at what is now the west side of
the square. The street consisted of one
general store and a post office in a frame
building. Next door was another frame
building that served as the court house.
The Angleys moved to Lehman between
1924 and 1925 and were there when the
railroad tracks were laid, their daughter
rode the first train. During their early days
in Lehman, Mae Ivy always had extra
plates set for anyone passing through and
all the school teachers and the store
keeper boarded with them. At one point
they had as a guest the famous Texas
Ranger, Frank Norfleet.
The Angley home in Lehman burned in
1930 and the family moved out to their
farm between Lehman and Morton. In 1937
it was discovered his wife had cancer
and was treated with radium, a new method at
that time. The radium was left on her too
long and for the remainder of her life she
suffered with radium burns. In 1941
the family moved into Morton.
In 1942 he was
elected Cochran County Sheriff and took
office January 01, 1943. He served one
term.
In addition to his job as Cochran
County Sheriff, he also worked in the county agent's office, the county tax
assessor-collector, did income tax, and
had an abstract office.
Angley's wife, Mae Ivy, passed away May 17, 1957 after suffering through twenty pain-filled years as a result of the radium treatment.
Sheriff Wilson "Prof" Angley died on July 07, 1966 at the age of 71.
Sheriff Angley's daughter, Buchley Lane,
wrote that her father "knew everyone in
Cochran County, where they came from, where they lived and why and when.
He also knew every acre of land and what was grown on it.
He loved Morton, Cochran County and Texas.
He had a pretty rough time keeping financially solvent because of mother's many surgeries,
doctor bills and medicines, but he died not owing any man."
Source: Texas Sesquicentennial Texas' Last Frontier Cochran County 1836-1986 Volume 1. Copyright Cochran County Historical Commission; written by Buchley Lane Folger circa 1985. Adapted by Mary Helen McKnight 2016
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