Roll of Honor
Benton Nance
Incident
On Sunday, March 10, 1878, a Cooke County justice of the peace appointed Benton Nance and William Moran as special constables and gave them a warrant to arrest Ferdinand Lamb. The two lawmen located Lamb in Dexter, Texas in Cooke County. Lamb resisted arrested and shot Special Constable Nance with a double-barreled shotgun. Nance died shortly thereafter.
Lamb was arrested and charged with murder. The disposition of the case is missing from the county records.
No family information or a grave site was located on Benton Nance. One newspaper reported, "Mr. Nance, the party killed was a worthy and respected citizen, and his untimely death is much regretted."
Benton Nance was the caregiver for his half-sister and half-brother's after the death of his father. He was born March 9, 1847 and was shot by a criminal he was following on March 10, 1878. I am a family history buff and had heard this story all my 89 years of life. The half-sister was my grandmother, Kate Lee Nance Roberts. He was truly a hero, beloved by friends and family and was sorely missed. I wish I had known him.
Pat Richardson February 27th, 2019
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-DB8D5E28- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Benton. Claim this record.
This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.
Tributes
148 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Special Constable Nance served with the Cooke County Constable's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Gainesville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Special Constable Benton Nance is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TX, 1,463 of 2,421 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.4% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Benton Nance's cause is highlighted.
How Benton Nance Compares
Offender Outcome
Ferdinand Lamb
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Benton Nance is highlighted in Mar.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Benton Nance was killed by shotgun.