This week in our look at historical lynchings, we’ll focus upon four senseless and brutal crimes.

Between the Civil War and World War II, the black community, especially in the South, was terrorized by an epidemic of lynchings. As opposed to public executions, the point of lynching was to avoid the court of law, judge and jury. Often times, the victim, in a holding cell for an offense, was kidnapped by a mob before even being arraigned. According to a recent report issued by the Equal Justice Initiate, there were 4,075 lynchings of black Americans across the South between 1877 and 1950. ¹In this case, “The South” pertains to the dozen states where the most lynchings occurred: Mississippi (614), Georgia (595), Louisiana (559), Arkansas (491), Alabama (363), Texas (344), Florida (307), Tennessee (238), South Carolina (184), Kentucky (170), North Carolina (122), and Virginia (88). See the EJI site here.

The Lynching at Mansura, Louisiana

September 2, 1892

We have had the story pretty direct from Avoyelles, and give it as we have heart concerning the lynching at Mansura. Sylvain was a black man who had been teaching school in that vicinity. Some persons had taken into their heads to go at night and flog him for some imputed misdemeanor – hog stealing.

About eighteen or twenty of them called at his house after dark, about 9 o’clock, and called him, ordering him to come out. He refused to go out. They then threatened to break his door in. He took up his gun to defend himself.

The door was broken open and as this was done he fired at the crowd and killed Duco. The lynchers ran in every direction under cover of night and as they were leaving, he fired the other barrel of his gun killing a horse and wounding another lyncher.

He then made his escape and the lynchers hastened away leaving the body of Duco lying at the cabin door all night. Brave souls!!

They next day they assembled, about twenty-six in number, and went in search of Sylvain. He had escaped, and was not found. Laurent, a yellow man [Mulatto], a brick mason, was at work laying some brick when the lynchers went to him, arrested and hung him, for no cause that any one knows except a suspicion that he had aided Sylvain in making his escape.

They then went to the house of Gabriel Magloire, a black man living near the town, arrested and required him to tell where Sylvain was. He told them he did not know.

They took him to a tree, put a rope around his neck, and suspended him until life was nearly extinct. He was then let down, and, after he had sufficiently revived to speak, they demanded of him to tell where Sylvain was. He told them he did not know; that he had not been with nor had he seen him.

Again he was hung, and, just before life was gone, he was lowered. After a time he revived and could speak. He was again asked where Sylvain was and he again repeated that he could not tell, as he did not know.

They hung him for the third and last time, and not waiting for him to die, each fired into his body with his revolver. He was left there dead, nor did they return to take the body down. They then went to the priest and gave him orders not to bury him.

In both the hangings, the lynchers were unmasked, and all was done in open day light.

Magloire was reported a quiet, good man. He owned the property on which he lived and was able to get along in a quiet and comfortable style. Sylvain was charged by the lynchers with having stolen a hog. Court was in session in Marksville, and the grand jury could have indicted him if any evidence had been offered inculpating him. The sheriff went out with a posse and arrested about eighteen of the lynchers, and when our informant left Marksville they were still in custody.

The authorities of Avoyelles owe it to themselves to ferret out and punish the authors of these dastardly outrages. ²- The Times-Picayune; New Orleans, Louisiana; Sun, Sep 11, 1892 – Page 7. Here.

Though some arrests were made, by November, all were acquitted. ³The Times-Picayune; New Orleans, Louisiana; Fri, Nov 4, 1892 – Page 9. Here.

A Conspiracy Laid Bare – Six Negroes Lynched in Tennessee

August 31, 1894

This next lynching is a rather long and involved ordeal. We’ll present four articles (as well as some additional citations) that will hopefully suss out the details.

Mob Butchery

Deputy Sheriff Richardson Held for Duplicity

Memphis, Tenn., Sept 1 – Six negroes under arrest for alleged arson in charge of Deputy Sheriff Richardson were shot to death by a mob of about 50 white men late last night. Richardson has been arrested for complicity in the crime.

The negroes had been arrested near Millington, and were being taken to Kerrville in a wagon. Deputy Sheriff W.S. Richardson and A.T. Atkinson, were conveying the prisoners. It was nearly midnight, according to Richardson’s story, when the party was waylaid near a small stream intersecting the road which ran through a heavily wooded section.

The negroes were shackled and chained together, but the assassins showed no mercy, riddling them with buckshot and then taking the bodies from the wagon, piled them in the road and fired volley after volley into the corpses.

After the butchery was complete Richardson and Atkinson, who had been held under guard, were released, and the murderers, making sure that all of their victims were dead, mounted their horses and rode away.

The names of the murdered men are as follows: Warren Williams, John Hays, Ed Hall, Robert Hays, Graham White and Dan Hawkins, They are said to have belonged to an organized band of barn burners, that had in five years destroyed 32 barns, as many houses and other property of great value in the vicinity of Kerrville, Lucy, Millington and Bolton’s college, all in Shelby county. ⁴The Pittsburgh Press; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Sun, Sep 2, 1894 – Page 1. More can be read here.

Along with Deputy Sheriff W.S. Richarson and wagon-driver A.T. Atkinson, three others were soon arrested. There was J.D. Laxton (the officer who swore out the warrants for the arrests of the black men), as well as a Mr. Walker, and Mr. Thompson. All were purported to be part of a conspiracy.

Victims of a Plot

There Was a Conspiracy
Memphis, Tenns., Sept 3 – There were more sensational developments in the Kerrville lynching affair today, all pointing to Detective W.S. Richardson as a party of the murderous conspiracy, and bench warrants have been issued for a half dozen other people besides the five already arrested, who are believed to have been connected with the crime or to have knowledge concerning it. It is believed that in a day or two some one of the party will make a confession.

C.P.J. Mooney, a newspaper man, whose word is absolutely reliable, states that Joe Thiers, a city official, told him on Thursday, the day before the lynching, that Will Cox, a policeman, had told Thiers that there was to be a lynching near Kerrville in a day or two. J.J. Hogan heard a similar story on the day before the crime. Cox denied that he had told Thiers anything about it. Later Cox and Thiers held a consultation, and then Thiers said he was probably mistaken as to Cox having been his informant.

Atkinson, the young man who was driving the wagon when the shooting took place, was interviewed today. His story differs in some of its details from that of Richardson.

Out of Kerrville the negroes declare that when Atkinson returned home after the crime had been committed he told that Richardson held the lantern while the shooting was in progress. Atkinson denies this now. Atkinson is a farmer of extensive property, and it is remarkable that for a dollar or two he should have taken a job to drive a load of negro prisoners over a dangerous road at night if he had no ulterior object in view. ⁵The Inter Ocean; Chicago, Illinois;
Tue, Sep 4, 1894 – Page 5. More, including some damning evidence against Richardson, can be read here.

A few days after the original five were released on bail, Deputy Richardson, A.T. Atkinson, and J.D. Laxton were all arrested on the charge of first degree murder. Their second arrests came about due to evidence presented to a grand jury. ⁶The Tennessean; Nashville, Tennessee; Fri, Sep 7, 1894 – Page 1. Here.

Only then did the full details of the conspiracy come out. This information was obtained at the grand jury hearing, and was given by the son of the county sheriff, Robert McGarver.

A Conspiracy Laid Bare

All Those Implicated Are Known
Memphis, Tenn., Sept. 10 – In his testimony before the grand jury, McGarver said he was invited to participate in the massacre of the negroes by H.N. Smith [at least the fourth person arrested for the crime], one of the men now in the county jail under indietment for murder in the first degree for complicity in the lynching.

Smith gave McGarver the names of the men who would compose the mob, and told how the negroes would be arrested by Detective W. S. Richardson, placed in a wagon and driven to Big Creek Swamp, where the mob would be in waiting.

When the invitation to assist in the assassination was made to young McGarver, it was represented that his father knew of it, and that Judge Cooper of the criminal court was not in the dark. These representations were untrue, and were made by Smith with the intention, if possible, of mixing Sheriff McGarver in the affair through his son, so that his hands would be tied if an investigation should be instituted by the authories. Young McGarver declined to join the mob, but the lynching came off in due time. ⁷Atchison Daily Patriot; Atchison, Kansas; Mon, Sep 10, 1894 – Page 1. A bit more can be read here.

In a strange twist, usually unseen in such cases, the nearby city of Memphis held a meeting of business men who fully condemned the lynchings. Not only that, they raised $1,000 [roughly $28,400 in today’s money ⁸Discovering the worth of historical money isn’t really that simple. See here for details.] for the widows and orphans of those who were lynched. More donations would soon be collected. ⁹The News-Herald; Hillsboro, Ohio; Thu, Sep 13, 1894 – Page 3. Here.

By November, Deputy Richardson and Mr. Smith were the two most prominent of the accused, and it was their trial that came first. Though the evidence seemed fairly clear, all involved were acquitted.

Jury Aquits Them

Six Negroes Unavenged
Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 14 – A.N. Smith and W.S. Richardson … were acquitted today. Not only were these two men turned loose, but, upon the motion of the Attorney General, returns of nolle prosequis were made in the cases of eleven other persons charged with complicity in the same crime.

The verdict was returned at 9:30 o’clock a.m. as soon as the court convened. The jury had been out over night. The courtroom was pretty well crowded, for the public were not without expectation that the jury would make an early report.

Most of the spectators present were the friends of the accused. As soon as the clerk had read out the verdict of the jury, as handed to him by the foreman, a great shout went up. The defendants jumped up from their chairs and joined in the demonstration which did not subside for several minutes, notwithstanding the efforts to restore order by the judge and all the officers in the room.

Then the Attorney General stated to the court that in view of the result of this case and that there was no stronger evidence against the other persons accused of the crime, he would ask for a nolle pros in the other eleven cases, and would, later on, if there were no new developments, call the cases up and have verdicts of not guilty entered. The result of this trial is the talk of the community tonight. The verdict excites no surprise. ¹⁰The Inter Ocean; Chicago, Illinois; Sat, Dec 15, 1894 – Page 5. Here.

A book-length account of this ordeal can be read here.

Negro Is Killed And Mayor Shot By Georgia Mob (1937)

September 3, 1937

Men Hunting for Alleged Assailant of White Woman Fire on Executive of Mount Vernon
Dublin, Ga., Sept. 4 – Mayor John W. Underwood of Mount Vernon, Ga., was shot and seriously wounded yesterday when he tried to intervene between a mob and a Negro accused of an attack on a white woman. The Negro whom Underwood was trying to save, Will Kirby, 75 years old, was shot to death.

Kirby was killed and Underwood and a posseman were wounded when gunfire broke up the Mayor’s attempts “to calm things down” at Kirby’s farm home near Mount Vernon.

Versions of the shooting differed. Some said Kirby fired the first shot. Special Deputy Sheriff Eustis Brady said Kirby had no gun.

Underwood was shot in the arm and back. Ralph Grinstead, posseman, was wounded in the arm.

Today several hundred Montgomery County residents continued searching a dense swamp north of Mount Vernon for the fugitive Negro, named in a State warrant as Buddy Sharpe.

Prosecutor L.C. Underwood, father of the Mayor, said men had been roaming the country “in an ugly mood” since a white farm woman was attacked in her home Saturday night. “We’d been afraid of a lynching ever since,” he added. ¹¹St. Louis Post-Dispatch; St. Louis, Missouri; Sat, Sep 4, 1937 – Page 3. Here.

Mob Takes Life of Georgia Farmer (1949)

September 3, 1949

Bainbridge, Ga. – The body of 53-year-old Hollis Riles, well-to-do 200-acre farm owner, lay in the morgue of a local undertaker Sunday as Sheriff’s investigators and GBI [Georgia Bureau of Investigation] agents launched a probe into his slaying that had all the earmarks of a lynching.

Riles was shot by five white men whom he had ordered off his fish pond, according to reports to Decatur County Sheriff A.E. White. His body was found Friday night propped up against a tree where he had staggered after being hit with thirteen buckshot. The spot of the murder scene is in extreme Northeast Decatur County, about fourteen miles from Bainbridge.

Sheriff White expressed belief it was a case of premeditated murder, since he was still investigating the incident of last May, when Riles’ house was riddled with bullets fired from an unidentified automobile after he had attempted to keep several white men from fishing in his pond.

[…]

Jess Gordon, 52, who accompanied Riles to his pond, known as a fishing paradise, was a witness to the shooting. He told Sheriff White that he and the farm owner went to the pond Friday afternoon. Gordon planned to fish. Riles carried his shotgun, having feared for some months his life was in danger.

Saw Guns
Upon approaching the pond, Riles and Gordon saw two white men lounging under a tree, their guns beside them. At the pond they found two other white men, one of whom had a string of fish.

Riles told the white men the pond was posted and they must either get off or pay for the privilege of fishing. One of the men gave the fish to Gordon after commenting they did not know the pond was posted and promised to leave at once.

Shortly afterwards, Gordon said he heard shots and stood up to see four or five men shooting at Riles as he ran across a clearing. The farmer did not return their fire, Gordon said. Two more shots were heard about five minutes after the first shots, Gordon said.

The witness said he watched two cars drive away. The license plate of one of the vehicles was covered, according to Gordon. Gordon said he did not know the white men and felt sure they were not from that section of Decatur County.

Dead One Hour
After running a half mile to Riles’ house, Gordon returned later to the scene with Sheriff White and Mrs. Riles. They found the farmer in a sitting position against a tree. Estimates were he had been dead more than an hour.

Sheriff White found three shotgun shells, wadding and a tree that had been pierced by a rifle bullet. Riles’ gun was not found. Pellets in the dead man’s body were of buckshot.

A county road scraper had erased all tire tracks leading to the murder scene betwen the time the killers drove away and Sheriff White reached the scene. The sheriff asked FBI agents to aid in the murder probe. ¹²The Pittsburgh Courier; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Sat, Sep 10, 1949 – Page 4. Here.

A few weeks later, when nothing had come of the investigation, the Pittsburgh Courier ran an op-ed piece that is well worth reading. It can be found here.

Nearly Ninety Other Lynchings This Week

What follows is a list of all known racially-motivated lynchings between August 29 and September 4, 1877-1949. It should be in the forefront of your mind that the “crimes” listed are only what the victims of the lynchings were accused of committing. They were allowed no trials, and thus they were not guilty in the eyes of the law. Certainly some may have done what they were accused of doing, but in a constitutional society that values law and order over mob rule, each and every lynching was a miscarriage of justice and a horrible wrong. ¹³For more information on all of this, please see our post here.

It must also be remembered that this list is incomplete. Not only were there unreported lynchings, but the databases I draw from are woefully inadequate. For example – Texas, the state with more lynchings than almost any other, is completely uncounted. I’m working on ways to fix this.

Year	Victim	  City State	Race	Sex	Form    Alleged Offense

August 29

1883	Frank Fountain		 Miller	GA	Black	Male	Decapitation			Attempted outrage married white woman
1894	Clem Davis			Laurens	SC	Black	Male	Riddled with bullets	Arson
1900	Thomas J. Amos		Rapides	LA	Black	Male	Hanged					Murder of a white man
1904	A. L. Scott			 Wilcox	GA	Black	Male	Shot					Murder of white man
1911	Will Davis			   Clay	GA	Black	Male	Shot					Murder of white man, a deputy sheriff
1922	Thomas Rivers		Bossier	LA	Black	Male	Hanged					Attempted attack on a white woman
1931	Charley Smoak		Calhoun	FL	Black	Male	Riddled with bullets	Attacking a white man, a forest ranger
1931	Richard Smoak		Calhoun	FL	Black	Male	Riddled with bullets	Attacking a white man, a forest ranger

August 30

1884	Edward Thomas		 Desoto	MS	Black	Male	Hanged				Attempted rape of a married white woman, wife of a farmer
1886	Unnamed Negro #1	Leflore	MS	Black	Male	Hanged				Planning to rape some young white women
1889	John Turner	   Fayetteville	WV	Black	Male	Shot, Hanged		Murder
1892	John Jossey/Josey	 Monroe	GA	Black	Male	Shot				Assaulted black female school teacher
1902	John Brown			 Jasper	GA	Black	Male	Hanged/RwB			Attempted assault of 12 year-old white girl, daughter of respected widow
1904	Smead Stith			  Union	AR	Black	Male	Unreported			Frightening a married white woman
1904	— Bates				  Union	AR	Black	Female	Unreported			Frightening a married white woman
1904	— Stover			  Union	AR	White	Male	Unreported			Unknown
1904	Joseph Bumpass		 Fulton	KY	Black	Male	Drown				Attempted criminal assault on a 13-18 year-old unmarried white girl
1904	Joseph Martin	 Albany Co.	WY	Black	Male	Hanged				Attempted sexual assault

August 31

1879	George Williams	   Ouachita	LA	Black	Male	Hanged					Threats againts whites
1881	Joseph Caleb		Jackson	LA	Black	Male	Hanged					Arson of a white man’s home
1886	Unnamed Negro #2	Leflore	MS	Black	Male	Hanged					Planning to rape some young white women
1886	Unnamed Negro #3 	Leflore	MS	Black	Male	Hanged					Planning to rape some young white women
1887	Jim Eastman			 Shelby	TN	Black	Male	Riddled with bullets	Altercation with a white man, a superintendent of a factory
1888	Archer Cook	Prince   Edward	VA	Black	Male	Hanged/RwB				Criminal assault on a white girl
1889	Robert Mitchell	   Mitchell	GA	Black	Male	Shot					Unknown
1894	Daniel Hawkins		 Shelby	TN	Black	Male	Riddled with bullets	Arson
1894	Edward Hall			 Shelby	TN	Black	Male	Riddled with bullets	Arson
1894	Graham White		 Shelby	TN	Black	Male	Riddled with bullets	Arson
1894	John Hayes			 Shelby	TN	Black	Male	Riddled with bullets	Arson
1894	Robert Haynes		 Shelby	TN	Black	Male	Riddled with bullets	Arson
1894	Warner Williams		 Shelby	TN	Black	Male	Riddled with bullets	Arson
1903	George Jones	  Issaquena	MS	Black	Male	Shot					Arson
1905	— Bees			  Wilkinson	MS	Black	Male	Hanged					Entered a 17 year-old white girl’s bedroom, daughter of a prominent planter
1919	Lucius McCarty	 Washington	LA	Black	Male	Shot to pieces			Attempted assault on a married white woman
1924	Warren Wood		   Hamilton	FL	Black	Male	Unreported				Murder of a white man, a policeman
1935	G. Smith Watkins	Lowndes	MS	Black	Male	Riddled with buckshot	Leader of the Sharecroppers Union

September 1

1878	Michael GreenUpper Marlboro MD	Black	Male	Hanged					Assault of a white woman
1889	Unnamed Negro		  Wayne	KY	Black	Male	Burned at the stake		Outraging a 12 year-old white girl, daughter of a prominent and wealthy farmer
1891	William Allen	  Effingham	GA	Black	Male	Shot					Murder of white marshal
1897	Ben Teott			 Echols	GA	Black	Male	Shot					Cattle Stealing
1902	Hog Wilson		   Ouachita	AR	Black	Male	Hanged					Attempted criminal assault on a young unmarried white woman
1902	Manny Price			Alachua	FL	Black	Male	Hanged/RwB				Murder of a white man, the superintendent of Buttgenback mines
1902	Robert Scruggs		Alachua	FL	Black	Male	Hanged/RwB				Implicated in the murder of a white man, the superintendent of Buttgenback mines
1910	Edward Christian	Jackson	FL	Black	Male	Hanged					Murder of a white man, a deputy sheriff
1910	Hattie Bowman		Jackson	FL	Black	Female							Complicity in murder of a white man, a deputy sheriff
1910	Nicholas Thompson	 Monroe	MS	Black	Male	Hanged					Criminal assault on a 17 year-old white girl
1919	Flinton Briggs		Lincoln	AR	Black	Male	Shot					Indecent proposals to a 18 year-old white daughter of a prominent farmer

September 2

1885	George Crenshaw	  Lafayette	AR	Black	Male	Hanged					Murder
1888	Alonzo Smith	  Granville	NC	Black	Male	Hanged					Arson and burglary
1888	Henry Tanner	  Granville	NC	Black	Male	Hanged					Murder of a black man by decapitation
1888	John Tanner		  Granville	NC	Black	Male	Hanged					Murder of a black man by decapitation
1891	Unnamed Negro	  Lafayette	MS	Black	Male	Hanged					Criminal assault on a married white woman, wife of a planter
1892	Edward Laurent	  Avoyelles	LA	Black	Male	Hanged/RwB				Aiding murderer’s escape and threatening to kill whites
1892	John Wilcoxsen	   Metcalfe	KY	Black	Male	Shot					Murder of a young white man, a farmer
1893	Wm. Akerson			Lincoln	KY	Black	Male	Hanged					Attempted outrage on a 8-9 year-old white girl
1895	Wesley Weaver		   Ware	GA	Black	Male	Riddled with bullets	Attempted rape; entered a 8 year-old white girl’s bedroom
1895	William Butcher		 Fulton	KY	Black	Male	Riddled with bullets	Assault and threatening white police officer
1897	John Tompkins		 Monroe	AL	Black	Male	Hanged					Murderous assault on an elderly white man, a store owner
1905	Arthur Woodward		  Yazoo	MS	Black	Male	Hanged					Assaulted a white man, a well-known farmer and threatened to kill another white man
1905	Talcum Woodward		  Yazoo	MS	Black	Male	Hanged					Assaulted a white man, a well-known farmer and threatened to kill another white man
1922	Jim Reed Long		 Barrow	GA	Black	Male	Hanged/RwB				Burglary and assault [not rape] on a young white woman

September 3

1887	Charles Coleman		Fleming	KY	Black	Male	Hanged					Assault on a widowed white woman and attempted criminal assault on a young, unmarried white woman
1888	William Lewis		 Holmes	MS	Black	Male	Hanged					Unknown
1890	John Rogers		  Yalobusha	MS	Black	Male	Hanged					Assaulting a married white woman
1900	Grant Welly			 Thomas	GA	Black	Male	Shot					Fought with man white man
1901	William Fournay		   Pike	AL	Black	Male	Riddled with bullets	Assaults on two young white girls, one 16 years old and the other 12
1907	Jerry Johnson	  Jefferson	AL	Black	Male	Shot					Attempted assault on a married white woman
1918	John Gilham			  Jones	GA	Black	Male	Hanged					Attempted asssault of multiple white and black women
1935	Edd Bracy			Lowndes	AL	White	Male	Shot					Participation in cotton pickers strike and a leader in the Sharecroppers Union
1937	Will Kirby		 Montgomery	GA	Black	Male	Shot					Refused to let white mob search his home
1949	Hollis Riles		Decatur	GA	Black	Male	Shot					Wouldn’t permit white men to fish on his property

September 4

1877	John Mills			 Miller	GA	Black	Male	Hanged					Attempted rape of a white girl
1878	William Taylor	   Sandusky	OH	Black	Male	Beaten					Rape, Murder
1879	Theodore Daniel		  Boone	KY	Mulatto	Male	Riddled with bullets	Attempted outrage of an unmarried 15 year-old white girl
1883	George Gaddis		  Hinds	MS	Black	Male	Riddled with bullets	Grave robbery
1883	James King			  Hinds	MS	Black	Male	Hanged					Grave robbery
1888	Sam Long			 Miller	GA	Black	Male	Hanged/RwB				Rape and murderous assault of a white woman
1889	Warren Powell		 Fulton	GA	Black	Male	Hanged					Attempted rape of a young white girl, “daughter of a well-to-do and respectable farmer” 
1891	William Smith	  Claiborne	MS	Black	Male	Hanged					Outraging a married white woman
1892	Gabriel Magliore  Avoyelles	LA	Black	Male	Hanged					Called meeting to avenge the lynching of Edward Laurent 
1893	Unnamed Negro		   Bibb	AL	Black	Male	Unreported				Outraged a married white woman
1904	Unnamed Negro		 Ashley	AR	Black	Male	Hanged/RwB				Assault on two white girls/women
1905	Ed James	   Tallahatchie	MS	Black	Male	Shot					Thought might inform on moonshiners
1908	John Towns			  Early	GA	Black	Male	Hanged/RwB				Attempted assault of a white farmer’s wife
1915	Mallie Wilson		Weakley	TN	Black	Male	Hanged					Entered a married white woman’s bedroom