June 9, 1897: William Andrews

This article comes from The Fort Wayne News (Fort Wayne, Indiana) June 10, 1897.

MOB'S QUICK WORK

William Andrews Lynched After Being Sentenced to Death.

FIRST BEAT TO INSENSIBILITY 

Prisoner Pleads Guilty to Feloniously Assaulting a Woman--Judge Implores Frenzied Men to Let the Law Take Its Course--Sheriff Overpowered--A Dozen Bullets Fired Into the Body.

PRINCESS ANNE, Md., June 10.--William Andrews, the young negro, accused of felonious assault upon Mrs. Benjamin T. Kelley, was taken from the sheriff here yesterday and beaten into insensibility, then hanged to a tree by an infuriated mob, immediately after being arraigned in court and sentenced to death for his crime.  Andrews, who was but 20 years old, came here from North Carolina and on May 5 of this year was arrested for assault upon Mrs. Kelley.  At that time a mob endeavored to lynch him but he was hurriedly taken to Baltimore and confined in the jail in that city until Tuesday night when he was brought here for trial.  

Yesterday Andrews was taken from the jail to the courthouse and arraigned before Judge Page to plead.  He was thoroughly frightened and in a trembling voice pleaded guilty.  Judge Page then sentenced him to be hanged, and Sheriff Nelson, together with Deputy Sheriff Dryden, started to remove the prisoner to jail.  Just as they reached the outer door some one shouted:  "Come on, boys, let's take the d--n nigger,"  and a rush was made for the sheriff and his deputy.  Blow after blow with clubs, bludgeons and pistol butts were rained  upon the head of the prisoner, in spite of the efforts of the officers to shield him.

Judge Page ran out of the courtroom and implored the crowd to wait and let justice take its course, but he might as well have talked to the wind.  The sheriff and his deputy were soon overpowered and then the crowd pounced upon the negro, threw him to the ground and kicked him into complete insensibility.  Meanwhile a rope had been procured and, picking up the inanimate figure, the mob placed the rope around the neck of the dying man and, dragging the body to a tree within 100 yards of the courthouse door, threw the rope over a limb and swung the body into the air.  Then a dozen bullets were fired into the body and it was left dangling until the coroner ordered it cut down.  No attempt to disguise was made by any of those who participated in the lynching.  

I only found one other article and it had basically the same information.