Incident
Sheriff Wilson Holbrook died ten days after contracting smallpox from a prisoner in the county jail.
Sheriff Holbrook was a Civil War veteran and had served as the county sheriff for 16 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his second wife and 13 children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-VA-28B4C895- 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 Wilson. 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
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Sheriff Holbrook gave the Wise County Sheriff's Office 16 years.
Thank you for your service to the Wise community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Wilson Noah Holbrook, Sr. served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Sheriff Wilson Noah Holbrook, Sr. is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In VA, 23 of 654 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 3.5% of this state's fallen. That is 5.6 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Wilson Noah Holbrook, Sr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Wilson Noah Holbrook, Sr. Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Wilson Noah Holbrook, Sr. is highlighted in May.