September 6, 1915: Love Rudd

Today we learn about a lynching in Missouri through the pages of The Daily Free Press (Carbondale, Illinois) dated September 11, 1915:

NEGRO'S FATE A MYSTERY

PROBABLY WHIPPED AND SENT OUT OF COMMUNITY.

Nothing Heard of Him Since He Was Taken From Constable Near Clarksville, Mo.

Louisiana, Mo., Sept. 11.—Pike county officials have found no clew to the whereabouts or fate of Love Rudd, a negro burglar suspect who was taken from Constable Boismenue by 30 or 40 masked men, a mile north of Clarksville.

The constable was on his way to Clarksville with the negro in an auto. After the masked men got possession of the negro [t]hey took him into a dense wood. One rumor here is that the negro was lynched, but this cannot be verified. A more generally accepted belief is that he was horsewhipped and driven from the county.

Rudd had long been considered an undesirable resident of Clarksville, where he often had been accused of robbing hen roosts. Three weeks ago he was beaten by members of a vigilance committee and it is said that at that time he made threats against prominent Clarksville residents.

Recently Homer Peoples, 22 years old, was found dead in the road near Clarksville. He had been shot. Though a coroner's jury returned a verdict of suicide many persons in Clarksville professed to believe Rudd knew something [a]bout People's death.

The Chillicothe Constitution's (Chillicothe, Missouri) September 13, 1915 edition sheds light on the fate of Love Rudd:

BODY OF NEGRO TAKEN FROM CONSTABLE BY POSSE, FOUND IN RIVER.

Louisiana, Mo., Sept. 13.—A new form of lynching, by drowning, was the fate met by Love Rudd, a negro, who was taken from a constable by a mob from Clarksville, Mo., several days ago. This became apparent when Rudd's body, with a big rock tied to the feet, was found in the Mississippi river near Clarksville last night. An unconfirmed report said the hands of the negro still were bound by the constable's handcuffs.

Rudd was arrested several weeks ago for robbery and after being horsewhipped by a mob, was ordered to leave the vicinity. He returned to Clarksville, however, and after another home had been robbed last week was again arrested. Forty masked men waylaid the constable and took the negro from him. There were rumors that the negro had been lynched, but no trace of him was found until Sunday, when a party of bathers ran into the floating body.

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