Monmouth County, New Jersey Monmouth County () is a county located on the coast of central New Jersey. The county is part of the New York metropolitan area and is situated along the northern half of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population w ...

has had

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

s since colonial era, when it was part of

East Jersey The Province of East Jersey, along with the Province of West Jersey, between 1674 and 1702 in accordance with the Quintipartite Deed, were two distinct political divisions of the Province of New Jersey, which became the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

and later was the

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after the ...

. After the Dutch surrender of

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...

, Colonel

Richard Nicolls Richard Nicolls (sometimes written as Nichols, 1624 – 28 May 1672) was the first English colonial governor of New York province. Early life Nicolls was born in 1624 in Ampthill in Bedfordshire, England. He was the son of Francis Nicolls (1 ...

, an English military officer, was authorized to establish the

Monmouth Tract The Monmouth Tract, also known as the Monmouth Patent, Navesink Tract or Navesink Patent was a large triangular tract of land granted as a land patent to settlers of New Jersey during the early American colonial period. History Colonel Richard Nic ...

, which he did on April 8, 1665, and instituted a legal system centered on

English common law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, bee ...

During a brief period of control by the Dutch in 1673, a sheriff would be known as a

schout In Dutch-speaking areas, a ''schout'' was a local official appointed to carry out administrative, law enforcement and prosecutorial tasks. The office was abolished with the introduction of administrative reforms during the Napoleonic period. Fun ...

. "An Act to Appoint Sheriffs", was approved by the Legislature of

East New Jersey The Province of East Jersey, along with the Province of West Jersey, between 1674 and 1702 in accordance with the Quintipartite Deed, were two distinct political divisions of the Province of New Jersey, which became the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

on March 1, 1682. Terms were for a single year with a maximum of three consecutive terms.''The Grants, Concessions and Original Constitutions of the Province of New Jersey'', Aaron Leaming and Jacob Spicer; W. Bradford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1758. p. 228 Pursuant to Article VII Section II of the 1947

New Jersey State Constitution The Constitution of the State of New Jersey is the basic governing document of the State of New Jersey. In addition to three British Royal Charters issued for East Jersey, West Jersey and united New Jersey while they were still colonies, the sta ...

, each county in New Jersey is required to have three elected administrative officials known as "constitutional officers": the

County Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

, the County Surrogate (both elected for a five-year term) and the

County Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

(elected for a three-year term).New Jersey State Constitution (1947), Article VII, Section II, Paragraph 2

New Jersey Department of State The secretary of state of New Jersey oversees the Department of State, which is one of the original state offices. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing artistic, cultural, and historical programs within the U.S. state of New Jersey, as we ...

. Accessed October 26, 2017. There are no term limits. Shaun Golden has been the 76th Sheriff of Monmouth County since 2010. 1960 Morris J Woodring

Royal sheriffs (pre 1776)

Royal sheriffs during colonial era:

State of New Jersey (1776-1946)

The sheriffs were:Sheriffs That Served Monmouth County
Monmouth County Sheriff's Office. Retrieved February 3, 2018.

State of New Jersey (post-1947 constitution)

References

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sheriffs A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

New Jersey, Monmouth