A posse of armed men are scouring the woods around Kennedy, Ala., searching for Andy Beard, a 22-year-old negro farm laborer, who yesterday eloped with Lona Baines, the 18-year-old daughter of Jordan Baines, a prominent Pickens county farmer. The girl was missed from home yesterday morning and last evening she and the negro were seen going in the direction of Millport. If Beard is caught he will be lynched. The girl will also probably be severely dealt with. It is thought the girl and the negro had been holding clandestine meetings some time prior to the elopement. Much excitement exists over the affair.
The Davenport Daily Leader (Davenport, Iowa) dated March 16, 1897:
Shocking Affair.
Birmingham, Ala., March 16.—One week ago yesterday Lena Baines, the 17-year-old daughter of Jordan Baines, a prominent Pickens County farmer, residing near Kennedy, eloped with Andy Beard, a negro farm laborer. Yesterday afternoon the pair were overtaken in the public road near Olney and the negro was riddled with bullets. The girl fell upon the corpse and cried out for the posse to shoot her too, but the slayers rode away, leaving her with the dead negro. She was afterward taken home by her father and brother and soundly flogged.
Alexandria Gazette (Alexandria, Virginia) dated November 19, 1897:
GUILTY OF MISCEGENATION.—At Carrollton, Pickens county, Ala., on Tuesday, Lona Baines, a white girl, was found guilty of miscegenation, and was sentenced to two years in the penitentiary. The girl and the negro named Andy Beard eloped from the home of the girl's parents near Reform last March. They were followed by a mob to a point below Kennedy, in Lamar county, where Beard was killed. The girl was brought back to her parents. The grand jury took the matter up and indicted her.
A brother of Beard is now in jail at Birmingham, under sentence to be hanged on December 10. Mobs have attempted to get him in Pickens county.
Thank you for joining me and as always, I hope I leave you with something to ponder.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.