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There seems to be a bit of confusion surrounding Samuel Winn and which one is the real one. Suppose they both are but the one I know about was a policeman for Ripon Liberty. As far as I have been able to discover he was born in Beverely in 1803. His parents were Joseph and Sarah. His father was a whitesmith. Samuel was baptised at St Mary & St Nicholas (well worth a visit) on 4th December 1803. I have not been able to find out any more about his life in Beverly, but by 1830 he was either a constable or police officer in Leeds where he met Jane Taylor. Trying to pinpoint Jane has been difficult as (like Samuel) there are a couple of Jane Taylors in Leeds around this time. However I believe she may have been born in September 1811. What is definite is that Samuel Winn (30) married Jane Taylor (21) on 1st September 1832, just in time really as their first child, Ann was born in Ripon in November and baptised at the Minster on 6th November 1832. Samuel's profession is given as police officer. On 16th July 1830 Samuel Winn was in Ripon as a witness for the trial of Robert Calder and Samuel Grier for robbery. It is highly likely he had something to do with their arrest for after the trail he it was noted by the Justices that "In consequence of the numerous Felonies lately committed within this Liberty It is ordered that a Committee of the Justices assembled at this Sessions be appointed to engage Mr. Samuel Winn to be stationed at Ripon in order as much as possible to prevent the increase of crime." So it was that he became Ripon Liberty's first (and only) paid policeman. He was paid £30 for on quarter in 1831. Ten years later in June 1841 he was the defendant in a defamation case at the Ecclesiastical Court in York which he lost. Saddled with paying costs he was declared bankrupt in May1842 he was replaced by Thomas Ellinson Collinson as the Liberty Police Officer. Winn also lost his business (he had a shop on Middle Street in Ripon selling glass, china and earthenware goods as well as his police job). This was a sad end to a quite remarkable career which was bookended by run-ins with the Atkinson Gang and included a nasty skirmish with the Sinkler brothers.