Sheriff Smith H. “Hamp” Bradley
Term: 1904-1907
Term: 1904-1907
Smith H. “Hamp” Bradley was born October 18,1858 in Conway County, now Faulkner County, Arkansas. His parents were James and Liza Harris Bradley. He married Mary Alice Lay, daughter of Allen S. and Sarah Lay, on March 16, 1884. When she died, he married Tennie Adams, a widow, in 1905. In 1915 he married another widow, Ida Lay, mother of Cecil Lay, who would be sheriff from 1941-1946. He served as Van Buren County Tax Assessor from 1894-1898 and sheriff from 1904-1907. It is thought he planted several maple trees around the old Van Buren County courthouse. Mr. Bradley died March 25, 1929 and is buried in the Clinton Cemetery.