William L. Harville
Lieutenant

William L. Harville

Felonious
End of Watch October 5, 1865
Age 30
The Vigil Panel 3 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Lieutenant William Harville and Sheriff John Payntor were shot and killed while trying to serve a murder warrant on two men. Sheriff Payntor summoned six men to assist him in making the arrest and proceeded about twelve miles from Stockton, on the Oceola Road, where they arrived at the house. When Sheriff Payntor and the men entered the house they found one of the men in bed. As they approached the man he fired a weapon at Sheriff Payntor, killing him instantly. He then fired at Lieutenant Harville, killing him. A third officer in the room fired at the man but the man was able to escape with others who had been hiding outside of the house.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MO-EFA42114
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

161 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Lieutenant Harville served with the Cedar County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Stockton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Other
Location Stockton, Cedar County, MO
Platform Identity ccso.cedar.mo.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 5, 1865
Age 30
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun

Lieutenant William L. Harville is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In MO, 516 of 813 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 63.5% of this state's fallen. That is 63.5 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Cedar County Sheriff's Department, 4 of 4 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 100% of this agency's fallen.

Cedar County Sheriff's Department
4
of 4 officers
100% Felonious
MO — Statewide
516
of 813 officers
63.5% Felonious
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William L. Harville's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How William L. Harville Compares

Age at Death
30
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. William L. Harville is highlighted in Oct.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,516
May
1,504
Jun
1,442
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,517
Sep
1,491
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. William L. Harville was killed by gun.

Handgun
3,684
Gun
3,592
Gun; Unknown type
1,492
Shotgun
1,109
Rifle
935
Officer's handgun
909