There are many stories of White's interesting experiences both as a lawman and individual citizen. Two accounts are told more often than others, illustrating both his forcefulness and his "softness of heart toward helpless people." His stubbornness was demonstrated by his reaction to the refusal of the commissioners court to allow him to rebuild a kitchen to the jailhouse where he resided. The following is the story as told by Captain White's granddaughter, Mrs. Lucy Maris:

The first jail did not have a limestone kitchen; the old wooden lean-to which served as a kitchen burned. The wooden kitchen which burned was the personal property of Captain White, so he asked the commissioners court to add a new kitchen to the jail. Permission was refused, so Captain White then asked permission to rebuild the kitchen with his own funds, which was also refused. Then Sheriff White sent the court the message that construction of a new kitchen would begin the next day, and that he would be on hand to entertain any and all objectors. Captain White was a one-armed man, and sat in a chair on the jail porch with a shotgun in the crook of his only arm. There were no objectors.

The other story is about Captain White's feelings toward George Freeny, whom he hanged:

George Freeny was hanged for the murder of his step son. Since he had a daughter, he feared for her life; and his last request to Captain White was that he take his daughter, Mary, aged eleven, and care for her. This Captain White did, and Mary Freeny lived with the Whites until she was a grown woman.

The Masonic Lodge at Franklin was first organized at Owensville in 1872, and was moved to the county seat in 1880. The first Master of the Lodge was J. H. Robinson and others who followed in that position were A. D. Duncan in 1876; H. P. Kellogg, 1886; Tom Hillier, 1888; C. W. Gordon, 1893; and J. E. Crawford in 1895. Throughout the history of the county, Masons have been active and influential. In later years, the Franklin Lodge (No. 359 A.F. & A. M.) was joined by men from the Bald Prairie Lodge, and in 1929, the famous old Wheelock Lodge, Gillespie No. 55, where Sam Houston and other great Texans visited at times, combined its membership in the Franklin fraternal body.

Like other towns, Franklin has its historians of merit. In 1967, Mrs. Johnnie Brooker Stegall and Mrs. Katherine Thompson Galloway wrote an article titled "Early History of Franklin" which has become a handbook. In recent times Mrs. J. C. Mitchell and Mrs. Asa Nickelson have appeared on programs, both in clubs and on television stations, to tell the story of their town.

In these and other accounts, and from letters and documents, and more particularly from records available to Mrs. Galloway, who is now serving her twenty-second year as the county clerk of Robertson County, the story unfolds. The following brief article was prepared for a television show beamed over Central Texas in 1969:

Robertson County can be justly proud of its sheriffs through the years. There have been eighteen since 1880, and among them have been great lawmen who have gained reputations of honor. W. Q. Wyser was a fine citizen in every way; J. W. White was one of the most strikingly interesting and colorful of men; W. E. Thompson served in the "roaring twenties" when lawlessness was on the increase in the state, and gained the respect of Rangers and government officials for his cooperation in the enforcement of law.

Guy Townsend, Will Rushing, George Davlin, V. C. Box, and W. A. Nickelson were honored men, and Bob Reeves who served the county from 1936 until 1950, is remembered by an historical marker by his grave. Howard Stegall and E. P. "Sonny" Elliott, serving in recent times, rank high among officers of the past and present. There are interesting stories in the lives of all of these men.