Victim ID: VA1892011101
Victim Name: George Towler
Race: Black
Sex: Male
Age: 17-20
Job: Unknown
Method of Death: Hanged
Accusation: Miscegenation with a young white girl; attempted outrage on a young white girl
Date: 1892-01-11
County Name: Pittsylvania
Mob Composition: Three white men
Summary: Three men lynched George Towler, a 20-year-old black man, in the woods in Pittsylvania county on January 11th, 1892. Towler was accused of attempting an outrage on a white girl.
George Towler lived in the house of his employer David W. Mitchell, a well-known white farmer. On the night of January 10th, 1892, Towler allegedly found Mitchell’s 11-year-old daughter alone in her room and attempted an outrage on her (The Roanoke Times). The little girl’s screams alerted Mrs. Mitchell to enter the room and catch Towler. According to the Richmond Dispatch, at that point “Mr. Mitchell rushed into the room, seized the negro, and tied him. He then sent for Mr. J. D. Cook who went to his house early Monday morning, and took the negro in charge.” Once in custody, The Roanoke Times reported that “J. C. and D. L. Mitchell, brothers of the little girl, arrived in the afternoon [of January 11th, 1892] and, accompanied by Dock Haymore, took Towler from the officers, led him to the woods, and swung him to a tree. The body was found the next morning.” A jury of inquest concluded that the Mitchell brothers and Mr. Haymore were responsible for Towler’s death, and warrants were issued for their arrest (Richmond Dispatch). On Tuesday, January 19th, 1892, the three men were tried for the lynching of George Towler in Banister, Pittsylvania before Justice Jones. Although several witnesses were examined, the Richmond Dispatch reported that “while it was proven that Towler was hanged and that he was last seen in the hands of the men arraigned, there was no evidence that they lynched him and they were discharged.”
The Richmond Planet reported that the relationship between George Towler and Mitchell’s daughter was consensual and called the investigation and trial against the three lynchers a “farce.”
News Coverage: Richmond Dispatch, Richmond Planet, Roanoke Times
Article Link (from Richmond Dispatch published on 1892-01-15)
Article Link (from Richmond Dispatch published on 1892-01-16)
Article Link (from Richmond Dispatch published on 1892-01-22)
Article Link (from The Roanoke Times published on 1892-01-16)