June 18, 1911: Charles Sellers

Today we learn about a lynching in Nebraska through the pages of the Belvidere Daily Republican (Belvidere, Illinois) dated June 20, 1911:

FOUR MEN LYNCH RANCHMAN

Charles Sellers Is Taken From His Home Near Cody, Neb., and Hanged to Telephone Pole.

Charles Sellers, a young ranchman, living near Cody, was taken from his home by four young men and hanged to a telephone pole. The four perpetrators, who made no attempt at concealment, were arrested. The lynching was caused by trouble between Sellers and a sister of one of the lynchers. Sellers was called to the door of his home, covered by revolvers and the hanging followed. Fearing a rescue, officers took the hangers in an automobile to Valentine, where they were placed in jail.

A final note on the lynching can be found in an article under the headline "News Briefly Told" can be found in The Red Cloud Chief (Red Cloud, Nebraska) dated October 19, 1911:

NEWS BRIEFLY TOLD

ITEMS OF INTEREST PERTAINING TO VARIOUS LOCALITIES.

GREATER OR LESS IMPORTANT

The News of Many Climes Told in Short and Pithy Paragraphs, Written Expressly for the Busy Man's Perusal.

. . . Harry Heath, Kenneth Murphy, Alma Weed and George Reed, accused of lynching Charles Sellers, June 18, on a ranch near Valentine, Neb., were sentenced to life imprisonment. . .

Get a Life Sentence.

Valentine, Neb.—Harry Heath, Kenneth Murphy, Alma Weed and George Weed, accused of lynching Charles Sellers, June 18, on a ranch here, were sentenced to life imprisonment by Judge Westover in district court Monday. Eunice Murphy, the girl accused of being an accessory before the fact was ordered released. They received their sentences calmly. The four were arraigned on charge of murder in the first degree, but the court allowed them to ignore their charge upon their petition to plead guilty to the second degree crime.

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