Victim ID: VA1892103102
Victim Name: Sherman Lucas
Race: White
Sex: Male
Age: Unknown
Job: Unknown
Method of Death: Hanged and riddled with bullets
Accusation: Murder of a white man
Date: 1892-10-31
City: Lebanon
Mob Composition: Masked
Summary: Sherman Lucas, a young white man accused of murder, was lynched on October 31st, 1892 in Lebanon, Russell County, together with another white man, Nathan Burgess.
In October 1892, Nathan Burgess and Sherman Lucas were accused of killing a white man, Oak Sutherland, in Cleveland, Russell County (The Roanoke Times). After being jailed in Lebanon, VA, Burgess and Lucas attempted to escape from jail but were unsuccessful; afraid of a possible lynching, the deputy sheriff moved the two men at his home. On Saturday, October 29th, 1892, Burgess and Lucas were returned to jail during the night. Later on, “a crowd of masked men entered, overpowered the jailer, took the two men out and hanged them to a limb after which they were riddled with bullets. The lynching party are unknown” (The Roanoke Times). However, the Richmond Dispatch indicated Sutherland’s friends as being responsible for the lynching of Burgess and Lucas. The Richmond Planet denounced the double lynching as “barbarous.”
News Coverage: Alexandria Gazette, Clinch Valley News, Richmond Dispatch, Richmond Planet, Roanoke Times
Article Link (from Alexandria Gazette published on 1892-11-01)
Article Link (from Richmond Dispatch published on 1892-11-01)
Article Link (from Roanoke Times published on 1892-11-02)