A native of Georgia, Robert B. Halley brought his family to this area about 1853. With partner T.J. Eubanks, he operated a liquor distillery and a flour and grist mill on the Lampasas River. Halley served as Bell County Commissioner in 1859 and as a delegate to the State Democratic Party Convention the following year. He recruited and served as captain of a volunteer cavalry unit during the Civil War. Elected Bell County Sheriff in 1874, he died while in office in 1875. Halley and his wife Lydia (1831-1928) were the parents of eight children. (1991)