Offered here is a hand engraved silver suspension star sheriff badge with the name “H.D. WINSHIP” on the crescent banner. A careful examination of period census records makes Henry D. Winship the most likely owner of this high quality jeweler made sheriff badge. Winship was born on May 19, 1837 in Princeton, (Bureau County), Illinois and lived there until he enlisted in the Union Army on August 27, 1861. During almost five years of service, he was promoted to the rank of captain of Company F, 33rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry and was in various Civil War battles including the capture of Petersburg and Richmond in April 1865. He was discharged in May 1866. Winship returned to Illinois and lived in Putnam County where he worked as a school teacher. In approximately 1884, Winship moved his family to Chadron, Nebraska, where his homesteading application was patented on July 15, 1890. He built a log home and various barns on his 160 acre property. It was during his time in Chadron that he served as Dawes County Sheriff and as town chief of police from 1893 to 1902. Winship eventually moved to Platte County, Wyoming, where he lived the remainder of his life. He died on April 29, 1931 and is buried in the Prairie Rest Cemetery in Guernsey, Wyoming. Provenance: The Robert B. “Bob” Berryman Estate Collection

Fine, even wear with a highly attractive aged silver appearance.