1919 lynching in Moberly, Missouri

Lynching in Moberly, MissouriPart of Red Summer

Date| Sunday, November 16, 1919
Location| Moberly, Missouri
Coordinates| 39°25′06″N 92°26′18″W﻿ / ﻿39.41833°N 92.43833°W﻿ / 39.41833; -92.43833
Participants| White mob in Moberly, Missouri
Deaths| 1

On Sunday, November 16, 1919, four African-Americans were lynched in Moberly, Missouri. Three were able to escape but one was shot to death.

## Background

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The East St. Louis massacres were a series of outbreaks of labor and race-related violence by people that caused the deaths of an estimated 40–250 African Americans in late May and early July 1917. Another 6,000 blacks were left homeless, and the rioting and vandalism cost approximately $400,000 ($9,513,000 in 2024) in property damage.

These race riots were one of several incidents of civil unrest that started again in the so-called American Red Summer of 1919. In most cases, white mobs attacked African American neighborhoods. In some cases, black community groups resisted the attacks, especially in Chicago and Washington DC. Most deaths occurred in rural areas during events like the Elaine Race Riot in Arkansas, where an estimated 100 to 240 black people and 5 white people were killed. Also in 1919 were the Chicago Race Riot and Washington D.C. race riot which killed 38 and 39 people respectively. Both had many more non-fatal injuries and extensive property damage reaching into the millions of dollars.[1]

In addition to this racial tension, the United States' media were alarmed by terrorist attacks from radical left extremist groups. On November 16, 1919 A. Mitchell Palmer released a report about the dangers of the far left and that “The negro race,” he warns, was “fertile ground” for the spread of radical propaganda.[2] He launched a campaign against radicalism known as the Palmer Raids in November 1919. Federal agents supported by local police rounded up large groups of suspected radicals, often based on membership in a political group rather than any action taken.

## Lynching

[edit]

In November 1919 in Moberly, Missouri four African Americans beat and robbed white farmer Edward Thompson, The Dallas Express reported that Thompson had only light injuries.[3]

Four African Americans, identified [a] as Allie Richards, George Adams, Sanfard Taylor, and James Anderson, were arrested on Thursday, November 14, 1919, and held in the nearby Macon, Missouri.[4] [5] It was reported in the press that the four were Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.) members and it was claimed that they were from Chicago.[5] [6]

A mob of seventy five to eighty masked men, allegedly neighboring farmers, threatened to bomb the Macon jail unless the four were handed over. Macon County Sheriff Jesse Stamper folded and instructed his deputy, Bob Epperson to give the mob the keys.[4] [3] The accused African-Americans were taken back to the outskirts of Moberly and in front of a crowd of about a hundred men, an attempt was made to hang all four on the same branch.[4] Unable to handle the combined weight the branch broke.[4] The failed hanging attempt allowed the accused to flee but armed men were able to shoot one down and the three remaining were able to escape in the chaos.[4]

County authorities quickly rearrested two and a third was arrested late Sunday, November 16, 1919.[4]

## See also

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* Elaine massacre (September 30–October 1, 1919) in rural Phillips County, Arkansas
* Frank Livingston was lynched in El Dorado, Arkansas on May 21, 1919, by white mob

## Bibliography

[edit]

Notes

1. ^ The Dallas Express gave their names as Halley Richardson, 18 years old, 101 West Thirty-first street, Chicago; Sanford Taylor, 20 years of ago, 113 Baker street, East St. Louis; George Adams, 18. 2938 Federal street, Chicago; James Anderson, 3122 Federal street, Chicago.[3]

1. ^ The New York Times 1919.
2. ^ Evening Star, November 16, 1919, p. 1.
3. ^ a b c The Dallas Express, November 29, 1919, p. 1.
4. ^ a b c d e f Evening Capital News, November 17, 1919, p. 1.
5. ^ a b South Bend News-Times, November 18, 1919, p. 6.
6. ^ The Ogden Standard, November 17, 1919, p. 1.

References

* "Four Negroes Accused of Robbery Removed From Jail". The Dallas Express. Dallas, Dallas, Houston, Harris, Texas: W.E. King. November 29, 1919. pp. 1–14. ISSN 2331-334X. OCLC 9839625. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
* "Attempt Made To Lynch Four Blacks Sunday". Evening Capital News. Boise, Ada, Idaho: Capital News Pub. Co. November 17, 1919. pp. 1–10. ISSN 2471-7754. OCLC 18530685. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
* "Seeks Rigid Laws To Handle 60,000 Radicals In U.S." Evening Star. Washington, District of Columbia: W.D. Wallach & Hope. November 16, 1919. pp. 1–94. ISSN 2331-9968. OCLC 2260929. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
* The New York Times (October 5, 1919). "For Action on Race Riot Peril". The New York Times. New York, NY. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
* "Four Alleged I.W.W.'s Taken From Jail at Moberly, Mo". The Ogden Standard. Ogden, Weber, Utah: W. Glasmann. November 17, 1919. pp. 1–12. ISSN 2163-4793. OCLC 12982876. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
* "Attempt To Kill Four Negroes". South Bend News-Times. South Bend, Saint Joseph, Indiana: News-Times Print. Co. 1919. pp. 1–16. ISSN 2377-7095. OCLC 15568606. Retrieved November 17, 2019.

* v
* t
* e

Racial Incidents during the 1919 Red Summer

February

Blakeley, Georgia (February 8)

March

* Pace, Florida (March 12)
* Memphis, Tennessee (March 14)

April

* Morgan County, West Virginia (April 10)
* Jenkins County, Georgia (April 13)
* Sylvester, Georgia (April 14)

May

* Pickens, Mississippi (May 5)
* National Conference on Lynching (May 5–6)
* Philadelphia (May 9)
* Charleston, South Carolina (May 10)
* Sylvester, Georgia (May 10)
* El Dorado, Arkansas (May 21)
* Milan, Georgia (May 26)
* Putnam County, GA (May 27–28)
* New London, Connecticut (May 30)
* Monticello, Mississippi (May 31)

June

* Macon, MS (June 7)
* Memphis, Tennessee (June 13)
* Bibb County, Alabama (June 18)
* Annapolis, Maryland (June 27)
* Macon, Mississippi (June 27)
* New London, CT (June 29)

July

* Bisbee, Arizona (July 3)
* Dublin, Georgia (July 6)
* Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (July 7)
* Coatesville, Pennsylvania (July 8)
* Tuscaloosa, Alabama (July 9)
* Longview, Texas (July 10–12)
* Baltimore, Maryland (July 11)
* Garfield Park riot of 1919 (July 14)
* Port Arthur, Texas (July 15)
* Louise, Mississippi (July 15)
* Washington, D.C. (July 19–24)
* New York City, New York (July 20)
* Norfolk, Virginia (July 21)
* New Orleans, Louisiana (July 23)
* Darby, Pennsylvania (July 23)
* Gilmer, Texas (July 24)
* Newberry, SC (July 24)
* Hobson City, Alabama (July 26)
* Chicago, Illinois (July 27–Aug 3)
* Newberry, South Carolina (July 28)
* Bloomington, Illinois (July 31)
* Syracuse, New York (July 31)
* Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (July 31)

August

* Whatley, Alabama (August 1)
* Lincoln, Arkansas (August 3)
* Hattiesburg, Mississippi (August 4)
* Texarkana, Texas riot of 1919 (August 6)
* New York City, New York (August 21)
* Austin, TX (August 22)
* Ocmulgee, Georgia (August 27–29)
* Knoxville, Tennessee (August 30–31)
* Bogalusa, Louisiana (August 31)

September

* Clarksdale, Mississippi (September 10)
* Omaha, Nebraska (September 28–29)
* Montgomery, Alabama (September 29)
* Elaine, Arkansas (September 30–October 1)

October

* Baltimore, Maryland (October 1–2)
* Corbin, Kentucky (October 31)

November

* Macon, Georgia (November 2)
* Ocoee, FL (November 2–3)
* Magnolia, Arkansas (November 11)
* Wilmington, Delaware (November 13)
* Bogalusa, LA (November 22)

Categories

* Red Summer
* Riots and civil disorder in the United States
* White American riots in the United States
* Racially motivated violence against African Americans

* v
* t
* e

Lynching in the United States

List of lynching victims in the United States

| Before 1900|

* Francis McIntosh (1836)
* Elijah Parish Lovejoy (1837)
* Josefa Segovia (1851)
* Pancho Daniel (1858)
* Joshua Boyd (1863)
* Henry Plummer (1864)
* Bill Sketoe (1864)
* Clubfoot George (1864)
* Steve Long, Ace and Con Moyer (1868)
* Wyatt Outlaw (1870)
* John W. Stephens (1870)
* Alexander Boyd (1870)
* Jim Williams (1871)
* David Jones (1872)
* Jo Reed (1875)
* Arthur St. Clair (1877)
* Michael Green (1878)
* Joseph Standing (1879)
* Big Nose George Parrott (1881)
* Charles Thurber (1882)
* John Wesley Heath (1884)
* Eliza Woods (1886)
* Samuel "Mingo Jack" Johnson (1886)
* Amos Miller (1888)
* Joseph Vermillion (1889)
* George Meadows (1889)
* Ellen Watson (1889)
* Brown Washington (1890)
* Jim Taylor (1891)
* Dick Lundy (1891)
* Joe Coe (1891)
* Robert Lewis (1892)
* Ephraim Grizzard (1892)
* Samuel J. Bush (1893)
* John Peterson (1893)
* Alfred Blount (1893)
* Henry Smith (1893)
* Richard Puryear (1894)
* Stephen Williams (1894)
* Amos Hicks (1894)
* Jacob Henson (1896)
* William Andrews (1897)
* Joseph H. McCoy (1897)
* John Anderson (1898)
* John Henry James (1898)
* F. W. Stewart (1898)
* Sam Hose (1899)
* Benjamin Thomas (1899)

|

1900–1940|

* Fred Rochelle (1901)
* Ballie Crutchfield (1901)
* George Ward (1901)
* Walker Davis (1903)
* J. D. Mayfield (1903)
* George White (1903)
* David Wyatt (1903)
* Marie Thompson (1904)
* Paul Reed and Will Cato (1904)
* Bunk Richardson (1906)
* Ed Johnson (1906)
* Slab Pitts (1906)
* William Burns (1907)
* Earnest Williams (1907)
* Jim Miller (1909)
* James Hodges (1909)
* Matthew Chase (1909)
* "Mose" Creole (1909)
* "Pie" Hill (1909)
* William "Froggie" James and Henry Salzner (1909)
* Grant Richardson (1910)
* King Johnson (1911)
* Name unknown (TX) (1911)
* Laura and L. D. Nelson (1911)
* Will Porter (1911)
* Zachariah Walker (1911)
* Mary Jackson (1912)
* Rob Edwards (1912)
* George Saunders (1912)
* Robert Perry (1913)
* ? Anderson (1913)
* Charles Fisher (1914)
* John Evans (1914)
* Leo Frank (1915)
* Name unknown (MS) (1915)
* Jesse Washington (1916)
* Anthony Crawford (1916)
* Jeff Brown (1916)
* Paulo Boleta (1916)
* Frank Little (1917)
* Charles Jones (1917)
* Ell Persons (1917)
* Robert Prager (1918)
* Mary Turner and her unborn baby (1918)
* Hazel "Hayes" Turner (1918)
* George Taylor (1918)
* Jim McIlherron (1918)
* Olli Kinkkonen (1918)
* Wallace Baynes (1919)
* Will Brown (1919)
* Wesley Everest (1919)
* John Hartfield (1919)
* Jay Lynch (1919)
* Berry Washington (1919)
* Willie Baird (1920)
* Roy Belton (1920)
* Dick Rowland (attempted) (1921)
* Henry Lowry (1921)
* James Harvey and Joe Jordan (1922)
* Joe Pullen (1923)
* Samuel Smith (1924)
* L. Q. Ivy (1925)
* Raymond Byrd (1926)
* James Clark (1926)
* Fred N. Selak (1926)
* Tom Payne (1927)
* John Carter (1927)
* Dan Anderson (1927)
* Will Sherod (1927)
* Bernice Raspberry (1927)
* Owen Flemming (1927)
* Joseph Upchurch (1927)
* Joe Smith (1927)
* Albert Williams (1927)
* Thomas Bradshaw (1927)
* Winston Pounds (1927)
* Thomas Williams (1927)
* Henry Choate (1927)
* Leonard Woods (1927)
* J. C. Collins (1928)
* George Hughes (1930)
* James Cameron (1930)
* Lynching of Raymond Gunn (1931)
* Matthew Williams (1931)
* Shedrick Thompson (1932)
* George Armwood (1933)
* Cordie Cheek (1933)
* Claude Neal (1934)
* Austin Callaway (1940)
* Elbert Williams (1940)

After 1940|

* Felix Hall (1941)
* Johannes Kunze (1943)
* Robert "Bobbie" Hall (1943)
* Willie James Howard (1944)
* Recy Taylor (1944)
* John Cecil Jones (1946)
* Willie Earle (1947)
* Lamar Smith (1955)
* George W. Lee (1955)
* Emmett Till (1955)
* Judge Edward Aaron (1957)
* Willie Edwards (1957)
* Mack Charles Parker (1959)
* Louis Allen (1964)
* Lemuel Penn (1964)
* Frank Morris (1964)
* James Reeb (1965)
* Vernon Dahmer (1966)
* Wharlest Jackson (1967)
* Carol Jenkins (1968)
* Henry Marrow (1970)
* Marian Pyszko (1975)
* Betty Gardner (1978)
* Arthur McDuffie (1979)
* Michael Donald (1981)
* Yusef Hawkins (1989)
* James Byrd Jr. (1998)
* James Craig Anderson (2011)
* Ahmaud Arbery (2020)

Multiple victims

* Death of Joseph Smith (Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith) (1844)
* Marais des Cygnes, KS, massacre (1858)
* Great Hanging at Gainesville, TX (1862)
* New York City draft riots (1863)
* Detroit race riot (1863)
* ? Lachenais and four others (1863)
* Fort Pillow, TN, massacre (1864)
* Plummer Gang (1864)
* Memphis massacre (1866)
* Gallatin County, KY, race riot (1866)
* New Orleans massacre of 1866
* Reno Brothers Gang (1868)
* Camilla, GA, massacre (1868)
* Steve Long and two half-brothers (1868)
* Pulaski, TN, riot (1868)
* Samuel Bierfield and Lawrence Bowman (1868)
* Opelousas, LA, massacre (1868)
* Bear River City riot (1868)
* Chinese massacre of 1871
* Meridian, MS, race riot (1871)
* Colfax, LA, massacre (1873)
* Election riot of 1874 (AL)
* Juan, Antonio, and Marcelo Moya (1874)
* Benjamin and Mollie French (1876)
* Ellenton, SC, riot (1876)
* Hamburg, SC, massacre (1876)
* Thibodeax, LA, massacre (1878)
* Mart and Tom Horrell (1878)
* Nevlin Porter and Johnson Spencer (1879)
* Elijah Frost, Abijah Gibson, Tom McCracken (1879)
* T.J. House, James West, John Dorsey (1880)
* New Orleans 1891 lynchings (1891)
* Ruggles Brothers (CA) (1892)
* Thomas Moss, Henry Stewart, Calvin McDowell (TN) (1892)
* Porter and Spencer (MS) (1897)
* Phoenix, SC, election riot (1898)
* Wilmington, NC, insurrection (1898)
* Julia and Frazier Baker (1898)
* Pana, IL, riot (1899)
* Watkinsville lynching (1905)
* 1906 Atlanta race massacre
* Kemper County, MS (1906)
* Walker family (1908)
* Springfield race riot of 1908
* Slocum, TX, massacre (1910)
* Laura and L.D. Nelson (1911)
* Harris County, GA, lynchings (1912)
* Newberry, FL, lynchings (1916)
* East St. Louis, IL, riots (1917)
* Lynching rampage in Brooks County, GA (1918)
* Jenkins County, GA, riot (1919)
* Longview, TX, race riot (1919)
* Elaine, AR, race riot (1919)
* Omaha race riot of 1919
* Knoxville riot of 1919
* Red Summer (1919)
* Duluth, MN, lynchings (1920)
* Ocoee, FL, massacre (1920)
* Tulsa race massacre (1921)
* Perry, FL, race riot (1922)
* Rosewood, FL, massacre (1923)
* Jim and Mark Fox (1927)
* Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith (1930)
* Tate County, MS (1932)
* Thomas Harold Thurmond and John M. Holmes (1933)
* Roosevelt Townes and Robert McDaniels (1937)
* Beaumont, TX, Race Riot (1943)
* O'Day Short, wife, and two children (1945)
* Moore's Ford, GA, lynchings (1946)
* Harry and Harriette Moore (1952)
* Anniston, AL (1961)
* Freedom Summer Murders (James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner) (1964)
* Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore (1964)

| General|

* Lynching
* Indiana White Caps
* Jim Crow laws
* Ku Klux Klan
* Nadir of American race relations
* Red Shirts
* Jews

|

Anti-lynching movement|

* American anti-lynching activists
* American Crusade Against Lynching
* Jessie Daniel Ames
* Martin C. Ansorge
* Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching
* Flossie Bailey
* William O'Connell Bradley
* Ella Barksdale Brown
* Father Divine
* "Flag Salute"
* N.A.A.C.P.
* National Conference on Lynching
* Paul Robeson
* "Strange Fruit"
* Ida B. Wells

| Legislation|

* Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill
* Costigan-Wagner Bill
* Justice for Victims of Lynching Act
* Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act
* Emmett Till Antilynching Act

|

Defenders of lynching|

* Theodore G. Bilbo
* Cole L. Blease
* Julian S. Carr
* Sidney Johnston Catts
* Thomas Dixon Jr.
* Rebecca Latimer Felton
* John Temple Graves
* John Trotwood Moore
* John T. Morgan
* James Rolph
* Goodloe Sutton
* Benjamin Tillman
* James K. Vardaman
* Thomas E. Watson

Memory|

* America's Black Holocaust Museum
* Civil Rights Memorial
* The Legacy Museum
* National Memorial for Peace and Justice
* National Museum of African American History and Culture
* Southern Poverty Law Center

Related articles|

* James Allen (collector)
* "And you are lynching Negroes"
* Attack on John Shillady
* Battle of Liberty Place
* The Birth of a Nation
* The Clansman
* Deaths in police custody
* Fury (1936 film)
* Hang 'Em High
* Lynching postcard
* Mississippi Burning
* Mississippi Cold Case
* Murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson (1965)
* The Ox-Bow Incident
* Parade (musical)
* Reconstruction era
* Red Summer
* Scottsboro Boys
* Silent Parade
* Stone Mountain
* Summer in Mississippi
* Sundown town (list)
* They Won't Forget
* "The United States of Lyncherdom" (Twain)
* United States v. Shipp
* Vendetta (1999 film)
* Wilmington insurrection of 1898

Categories|

* Lynching in the United States
* Lynching deaths in the United States

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