Victim ID: VA1880100801
Victim Name: George Lowry
Race: White
Sex: Male
Age: 45
Job: Worked the saw mill
Method of Death: Hanged
Accusation: Outrage and robbery of a white widow and her daughter
Date: 1880-10-08
County Name: Nelson
Mob Composition: Unknown
Summary: A body of masked citizens lynched George Lowry, a 45-years-old white man, near a mill in Nelson County on October 8th, 1880. Lowry was accused, together with his young brother-in-law David Thomas, of robbery and attempted outrage on a young white girl.
On Friday, October 1st 1880, George Lowry took with him his brother-in-law, David Thomas, over the mountain to Nelson County; the following day, they reached the residence of Mr. Robert Massie. Alone in the house was the 19-years-old daughter of the Massies; according to the Alexandria Gazette, “Lowry and Thomas entered, and the latter presented a pistol, threatening the girl with death and went on upstairs, and robbed a bureau of $11.10. Lowry remained downstairs, seized the young lady, and choking her, brutally outraged her person”. More than 150 men scoured the county searching for Lowry and Thomas. On Saturday afternoon, Lowry and Thomas were captured and arrested and, on Sunday night, were committed to jail. At around 1 AM, on the night of October 8th, 1880, a crowd of about 150 persons assembled around the jail, broke the doors open, seized Lowry, and carried him to an oak tree […] where they hung him” (Alexandria Gazette).
In December 1880, a jury found David Thomas guilty of robbery and sentenced him to six years in jail (The Daily Dispatch).
News Coverage: Alexandria Gazette, The Daily Dispatch
Article Link (from Alexandria Gazette published on 1880-10-09)
Article Link (from Alexandria Gazette published on 1880-10-16)
Article Link (from The Daily Dispatch published on 1880-10-09)
Article Link (from The Daily Dispatch published on 1880-11-26)
Article Link (from The Daily Dispatch published on 1881-01-07)