Yarberry, M. Rey, 1873-

Detective, legislator, politician.

Mont Rey Yarberry was born in Adair County, Kentucky, and upon graduation from Columbia High School in Columbia, Kentucky, became a farmer there. A Republican, Yarberry ran for sheriff of Adair County and won. Following his term as sheriff, Yarberry served in the State Legislature (1900-1901) and was the only Republican who served on the committee which chose the governor after the disputed 1899 election between William S. Taylor (1853-1928) and William Goebel (1856-1900). In 1901, Yarberry accepted an appointment as a secret service operative with the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of the Treasury in Washington, D. C. While there, he studied at George Washington University and received his Law degree in 1903. Yarberry returned to Louisville in 1913 and engaged in manufacturing. In 1927, he was selected by the Louisville Board of Public Safety to be chief of detectives.