CLIFTON E. HESTER, Sheriff of Madison Parish, Tallulah.
Submitted by Henry C. Sevier, Jr. 

**********************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm
**********************************************

C. E. Hester was elected Sheriff and Ex-Officio Tax Collector of Madison Parish in June 1944. 

Since then, he has been returned to office in two succeeding elections and is now serving his 

third farm.



A native of Union Parish, Mr. Hester was born in Downsville, Louisiana, January 30. 1891. 

He was educated in Downsville and at Louisiana State University, where he took a Bachelor of 

Science degree in 1913. His father, J. Lee Hester, a merchant and farmer in U nion Parish,

died in 1938. His mother, Mrs. Ora Z. Roberts Hester, now eighty, lives in Choudrant, 

Louisiana.



After leaving the University, Mr. Hester became associated with the Agricultural Experiment

Station at Calhoun, Louisiana, and served several years as its Director. In 1921 he moved 

to Lake Providence, where he served two years as County Agent of Carroll Parish. Later, he 

established a large cotton plantation at Transylvania, which he operated for twelve years. 

It was then the largest cotton plantation in Louisiana. He first came to Tallulah as 

County Agent of Madison Parish in 1935 and had served eight years in that position when he 

made his first race for Sheriff in 1944.



Mr. Hester is married and has one daughter, Mrs. Mercedes Hester Davison, who now lives in 

Washington, D. C. (Madison Coordinator's note: Mercedes later married United States Supreme 

Court Justice William O. Douglas). His wife is the former Marie Gueydan of Gueydan, Louisiana. 

They were married August 15, 1916.



Since he came to Tallulah, Mr. Hester has taken an active interest in the work of the Boy 

Scouts of America and of the American Red Cross. He has served as Chairman of various 

committees in both organizations and has taken an active part in their fundraising campaigns. 

In 1954, he directed publicity for the American Red Cross Fund.



For the past ten years, Mr. Hester has been an active member of the Tallulah Rotary Club, 

which he has also served as President. Until last fall (1953), when he was confined to a 

hospital for an operation, he had a perfect attendance record. He is also a Director of the 

Chamber of Commerce, Treasurer of the Madison Parish Library Fund, a Royal Arch Mason, and a 

member of the Baptist Church.



From Business and Professional Directory, 1952



Madison Coordinator's note: Mr. Hester died January 31, 1988. His wife, Marie, died October

8, 1987. Both are buried in Memorial Park Cemetery at Tallulah.

http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/madison/bios/hesterce.txt