January 31, 1893: Jerry Brown

The World (New York, N. Y.) dated February 2, 1893:

FOUR BODIES SWUNG FROM THE TREE.

A Quadruple Lynching of Negroes Follows a Crime at Richlands, Va.

[SPECIAL TO THE WORLD.]

RICHLANDS, Va., Feb. 1.—All four of the negroes who butchered Alex. Ratcliffe and Bob Shortridge Monday have been lynched. Jerry Brown was taken from the jail between 10 and 11 o'clock last night and strung from an oak tree 500 yards from the scene of Monday's crime. To-day Sam McDonald, Spencer Branch and John Johnson were removed from jail and lynched from the same tree. The negroes not only confessed the crime of this week, but also the murder of Joe Hunt a year ago.

Nearly eight hundred people were present at the triple lynching to-day, the crowd including many women and children. Those who were prominent in the proceedings were friends of Ratcliffe and Shortridge. No masks were worn, and there was no interference by the officers of the law.

Other negroes are believed to be implicated in the crime of Monday, and members of to-day's lynching party are trying to run the criminals down. If they catch them the four negroes now swinging from the oak tree will have company.

Thank you for joining me and as always, I hope I leave you with something to ponder.