Clinch County was created by an act of the legislature approved Feb. 14, 1850, from land formerly in Lowndes and Ware Counties and was named for General Duncan L. Clinch, a hero of the War of 1812 and the Indian wars. At the first election, held in April 1850, J.C. Kirkland was elected clerk of the Superior and Inferior Courts; Charles Cowart, sheriff; Benjamin Cornelius, tax receiver; Ezekiel J. Sirmans, tax collector; David J. Blackburn, surveyor; Joseph L. Rogers, coroner; and David Johnson, Hiram Sears, and Manning Smith, justices of the Inferior Court.