Undersheriff Milton A. Coleman

Milton A. Coleman

Undersheriff Coleman and his brother, Deputy Charles Coleman of the Pepin County Sheriff's Department, were shot and killed by two outlaws armed with Winchester rifles.

On September 25, 1881, the two suspects shot and killed Sheriff John Lammy, of the Calhoun County, Illinois, Sheriff's Department, as the sheriff and his deputies attempted to arrest them for the murders of Undersheriff Milton Coleman and Deputy Charles Coleman.

The two suspects were the notorious Williams brothers, Lon and Ed. Robbers and murderers for years, they were regarded by Wisconsin citizens as being as great as Frank and Jesse James. On November 7, 1881, Ed was captured in Grand Island, Kansas. He was taken to Durand where he was seized by an angry mob and hanged from a tree. On October 29, 1882, Lon was captured in Dodge City, Kansas, and returned to Wisconsin. He mysteriously disappeared from the Durand jail.

Undersheriff Coleman was survived by his wife and eight children. He was a Civil War Veteran having served the Union as a private in the 10th Wisconsin Infantry, Company D.