April 19, 1888: Isaac and Puss Kirk

Today we learn about a double lynching in Tennessee through the pages of The Daily Democrat (Huntington, Indiana) dated April 20, 1888:

A DOUBLE LYNCHING.

A Man and His Wife Murdered by a Mob.

GALLATIN, Tenn., April 20.—A horrible double lynching took place near this place last night. Isaac kirk and his wife, Puss kirk, both colored, were taken from their cabin about five miles from Gallatin by a mob and murdered. The woman was hanged and the man shot through the brain. Some time ago John Kerley's country residence was burned to the ground, with the entire contents. Suspicion has pointed to Puss Kirk as the perpetrator of the deed. However, this was only suspicion. [Isaac] Kirk was not suspected of having taken any part in the burning. It is thought by many that when the mob visited Kirk's cabin he recognized some of the party, and they killed him because they feared tha5t they would be exposed. The woman was discovered hanging in her night clothes and brought to Gallatin. Near the tree where she was hanging lay the body of her aged husband.

Another article comes to us by way of the Chicago daily Tribune (Chicago, Illinois) dated April 20, 1888:

BRUTAL TENNESSEE LYNCHERS.

A Colored Woman Hung by a Mob and Her Husband Shot. 

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 19.—[Special.]—Isaac Kirk and his wife, Puss kirk, both colored, were taken from their home, six miles from Gallatin, Sumner County, at a late hour last night by a mob and put to death, the husband being shot and the woman hanged. James McCulloch arrived in Gallatin this morning and informed the Coroner that while riding to town he had observed the body of a woman suspended from a tree at an old graveyard. The Coroner at once summoned a number of citizens, who, upon proceeding to the place indicated by Mr. McCulloch, discovered the corpse, which was identified as that of Mrs. Kirk. After a brief search in the vicinity the body of Kirk was found. He had been shot through the head several times and death must have been instantaneous. An inquest was held and the jury returned a verdict that Kirk and his wife had come to their death at the hands of persons unknown. The bodies were removed, and will be given decent burial. Some weeks ago the residence of John Kearley, near Gallatin, was destroyed by fire, and an examination of the premises led to the belief that the fire was the act of an incendiary. Suspicion was directed to Kirk and his wife, and it is supposed that conclusive proof of their guilt was secured. During the last few months there have been several fires in the vicinity of Gallatin, and the people were much aroused in consequence.

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

October 31, 1901: Silas Esters

Today we learn about a Kentucky lynching through the pages of The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) dated November 1, 1901:

KENTUCKY MOB LYNCHES NEGRO

Silas Esters Was Charged with Forcing a Boy To Commit Crime.

VICTIM SWUNG BY MOB TO COURT HOUSE STEPS

Broke for Liberty but Was Riddled. Noose Was Then Placed About Neck and Body Swung to Topmost Steps.

Hodgenville, Ky., October 31.—A mob of fifty or seventy-five citizens came down upon this little town about 2 o'clock this morning and took from the jail Silas Esters, a negro charged with forcing Granville Ward, a 15-year-old boy of Near Upton, to commit a crime, and strung him to the court house steps.

So quietly and systematically did the mob go about its work that the citizens of the town were in ignorance of the existence of the mob until the negro was in its clutches.

The keys of the jail were surrendered to the lynching party on demand of the leaders. The cell in which the negro was confined was entered and the noose was adjusted about his neck.

He was dragged down the jail stairs and out into the street. He managed to slip the noose from his neck and made a break for liberty. the mob made for the negro, howling and firing at him with guns and pistols, and he fell when about 100 yards from the jail house, riddled with bullets.

The noose was again placed about the negro's neck and he was dragged to the court house and swung to the topmost steps.

The mob was formed in the neighborhood of the crime. When the work of lynching the negro had been accomplished, the members of the mob quietly dispersed and went to their homes.

The following article with information prior to the lynching can be found in The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) dated October 29, 1901:

ARMED MEN

In Pursuit of Negro in Larue County.

TERRIBLE CRIME CHARGED.

TWELVE-YEAR-OLD CHILD THE VICTIM.

Hodgenville, Ky., Oct. 28.—[Special.]—An armed posse of citizens of the southwestern portion of Larue county is in pursuit of Silas Estees, [sic] a negro section hand on the Louisville and Nashville railroad, who is accused of committing a nameless crime this afternoon near Upton, a little town on the Hardin county line, a few miles from the Hart county boundary.

The negro's victim was Granville Ward, the twelve-year-old son of Thomas Ward, one of the most prominent farmers in the county, and the crime was committed in the woods near Upton while the child was returning from school.

When the boy escaped from the negro he hurried home and told his parents what had occurred, and in a short time the news had spread to the citizens of the neighborhood and the surrounding country. it was the work of but a few moments to organize an armed posse and a band of determined men was soon in pursuit of Esters, who fled the moment he permitted the boy to go. The people of the vicinity are thoroughly aroused.

The October 30, 1901 edition of the same paper covers the capture of Esters:

UNDER GUARD

Larue County Negro Taken to Hodgenville Jail.

CAUGHT AFTER LONG SEARCH.

PROTESTS INNOCENCE, BUT IS GREATLY FRIGHTENED.

Hodgenville, Ky., Oct. 29.—[Special.]Silas Esters, the negro who is charged with an unnamable [sic] crime, committed near Upton yesterday, was brought to this city this afternoon under a heavy guard and lodged in jail. The negro was captured early this morning near Upton after a search lasting all night. Threats of lynching the negro, when he was caught, compelled a large body of citizens to keep guard over him this evening, and he was hurriedly brought here for safe keeping.

Feeling is high against the negro in this neighborhood. esters claims his innocence. He is very much frightened and does not expect to live till morning.

In the same paper dated November 1, 1901 is a  small article about after the lynching:

BODY CUT DOWN.

Negro Who Was Lynched Will be Buried In Bonnieville.

Hodgenville, Ky., Oct. 31.—[Special.]—The body of Silas Esters, the negro who was lynched by a mob in this city early this morning, was cut down to-day after it had been viewed by a large number of citizens, and was taken to Bonnieville, where it will be buried. There was no excitement in the city to-day.

The officers of the court are attempting to ascertain the identity of the guilty persons.

One article gives Esters age as nineteen and another claims he committed an ugly deed. The actual crime is never stated, but I can't help but think that the crime was rape. Even though I am not featuring lynched for rape this year, I still chose to include this lynching. First, the reason given for lynchings were to protect women and girls from rape, and second, rape is only conjecture. Thank you for joining me and as always, I hope I leave you with something to ponder.

December 14, 1884: Hezekiah Brown

Today we learn about a lynching in Maryland through the pages of The Evening Bulletin (Maysville, Kentucky) dated December 15, 1884:

COLORED PREACHER LYNCHED.

BALTIMORE, Md., Dec. 15.—Hezekiah Brown, a colored local preacher and school teacher, was lynched in Howard County last night. A few days ago Brown marries a white girl named Schultz, with whom he had been intimate. The region where the lynching occurred is in an inaccessible part of Howard County and particulars are meager, but it is known that last night a party of men secured Brown and hung him. The girl wife was an orphan with a weak mind. This is the second negro lynched in two weeks in this vicinity.

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

July 25, 1910: Laura Porter

Today we have what appears to be a lynching in Louisiana. Our first article comes to us through the pages of The Star-Gazette (Sallisaw, Oklahoma) dated July 29, 1910:

DIVEKEEPER MAY BE DROWNED

Indignant Citizens Believed to Have Thrown Divekeeper Into River.

Monroe, La.—What appears to have been a lynching took place here when Laura Porter, a notorious divekeeper, was quietly taken from the city jail about midnight by a party of masked men and spirited away. Since then no trace of the woman has been found.

According to the other women prisoners, she was taken out nude and that an hour later the men returned for her clothing. Just what happened to the woman may never be known, but there seems to be a well-founded belief that she was drowned in the Ouachita river, after having iron weights tied to her. The woman has g9iven the police more trouble than all the other denizens of the tenderloin together. Her most frequent offense was robbing white men, it being charged that she had two or three negro men confederates.

Our next article comes to us from the Abilene Daily Reporter (Abilene, Texas) dated July 25, 1910:

KEEPER OF A RESORT IS THROWN IN RIVER

Negro Woman Who Robbed White Men Taken From Jail by Unidentified Men. 

By Associated Press.

MONROE, July 25—A party of unidentified men broke into the city jail here early this morning and carried off Laura Porter, a negro woman prisoner, and it is presumed that she was carried to the Ouachita river, where she was thrown in and drowned.

The woman was keeper of a resort where it is reported white men were robbed on several occasions. She was jailed on a charge of assault growing out of trouble with a white man who had accused her of taking a stick pin from his shirt. No investigation of the acts of the mob has been demanded.

The same night five men in the county jail for short sentences were busted out. It is not believed to have been related, but interesting nonetheless. According to various articles, Laura Porter had been told to leave town several times. A few articles claim that she was abducted by one man. Thank you for joining me and as always, I hope I leave you with something to ponder.

January 12, 1908: Unknown Negro

Today we learn about a very unusual lynching in North Carolina through the pages of The Monroe Journal (Monroe, N. C.) dated January 14, 1908:

Negroes Lynch a Fake Showman.

Down in Johnson county, at a little place called Pine Level, near Selma, negroes lynched a negro who had handed them out a fake show. According to the story a strange negro turned up in Pine Level last week and advertised a big show, in which there were to be a number of first class features. When the show night came around the negroes of the community turned out in full force, attracted by the alluring advertisement, but they were doomed to disappointment. Instead of the attractive programme heralded by the alleged advance agent, the audience witnessed simply a one-man performance—and a very poor performance at that—by the advance agent himself. The indignation of the colored population did not find vent that night, but it was a very angry set of negroes that wended its way homeward after the "show."

Nothing daunted and with brazen effrontery, the same strange negro turned up again at Pine Level Monday and proceeded to advertise another "show." This time he was accompanied by a woman, and the aforesaid show was billed as grander and greater than the first performance by far.The strange negro and his female companion put up at a negro boarding house at Pine Level and all day the dusky advance agent was busy informing the community of his presence.

Monday night about 8 o'clock a mob of negroes, each man wearing a guano sack over his head, forcibly entered the boarding house and took the negro "showman" out. Shortly before 8 o'clock next morning the body of the strange negro, terribly mangled, was found on the Southern railroad tracks. The coroner's jury rendered a verdict to the effect that the victim came to his death before his body was placed on the tracks. None of the negroes around Pine Level will talk, and as the woman left the community shortly after the man was taken out, neither the strange negro's identity nor the manner of his taking off can be established.

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

May, 1904: Unknown Negro

Today we learn about a Florida lynching through the pages of the Belvidere Daily Republican (Belvidere, Illinois) dated May 23, 1904:

Negro Lynched.

Mulberry, Fla., May 23.—A negro was found hanging to a tree in the main street of the town, his body riddled with bullets. The crime, if any, committed by him is unknown to the authorities. The case is absolutely mysterious.

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

July 13, 1893: Allen Butler

Today we learn about a lynching in Illinois through the pages of The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, Ohio) dated July 15, 1893:

THE MOB

Intended To Lynch Both,

But the Night Was Too Short For the Work.

Allen Butler, a Wealthy Colored Man, Strung Up,

While His Son, the Assailant of a Young White Girl, Barely Escaped the Rope.

SPECIAL DISPATCH TO THE ENQUIRER.

VINCENNES, IND., July 14.—Allen Butler, a wealthy colored man of Lawrence County, Illinois, was found hanging by the neck dead at an early hour yesterday morning, and it is believed he was hanged by a mob. He had a white girl about 15 years of age working for him for some time.

His son became intimate with the girl, and when she was found to be in a delicate condition it is alleged that Allen Butler, who was a horse doctor, performed an abortion and gave her money to leave; but she was intercepted at Paris, Ill., Tuesday, and brought back.

She told the story of her downfall, and Butler and his son

WERE BOTH ARRESTED.

They waived examination and were bound over until to-day. The boy could not give bail, and was placed in jail. The feeling against the two was strong from the moment that the terrible charges were made against them. The report spread, and soon there was talk of a mob in Sumner and around the home of Butler.

By night the feeling was so intense that a lynching was expected. Yesterday morning Allen Butler's body was found hanging to a limb of a tree near his home. That he was taken out and lynched by a mob last night is not the least doubted at Larewnceville or Sumner. The belief is strengthened by the fact that a mob of

SEVERAL HUNDRED MEN

Was seen within a few miles of Lawrenceville yesterday dawn. When daylight came the crowd dispersed. There is an ominous silence about the matter around Sumner, which gives strength to the belief that the colored man was dragged from his bed and hanged, and that the mob, having avenged themselves upon the father, who performed the operation, they had started to Lawrenceville to take the son, who had seduced the young girl, and hang him, and thus satisfy their wrath upon both men in one night. The night was too short for two such jobs, or the young fellow would have died with a rope around his neck, as did his father. The prisoner was taken out of jail to-day and hustled off to Robinson for safe keeping.

Another article comes to us from the Dixon Evening Telegraph (Dixon, Illinois) dated July 17, 1893:

WAS ALLEN BUTLER LYNCHED?

A Question That Is Interesting People of an Illinois County.

VINCENNES, Ind., July 17.—Lawrence county, Ill., is still excited over the death of Allen Butler, who at first was supposed to have been lynched. It is now believed to be a case of suicide and that Butler was led to self-destruction by remorse over the deed with which he was charged. Allen Butler was one of the most prominent and heretofore respected colored citizens of Lawrence county. He and his son William were arrested for procuring an operation upon the person of Ida Elkins, a young white girl not yet 15 years old.

The time for preliminary examination was set, but the old man, who has for twenty-five years been looked upon as a model man in whom everybody had confidence, could not face the law, and about daylight went out near his barn and taking some binding twine made a rope, throwing one end over a limb of a cottonwood tree and hanged himself. The Elkins girl had been living in his family for three years. Butler confessed to S. C. Lewis, an attorney, that he was guilty as charged; also that he had been having intercourse with the girl for a year past.

There is still a feeling, however, in Lawrence county that Allen Butler was lynched after a confession had been forced from him by the mob. Many disbelieve the suicide story, and declare that it was simply started to cover the disgrace of a lynching. Butler was a farmer, a doctor, a preacher, and was very wealthy.

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