Victim ID: VA1900091401
Victim Name: Pinkney Murphy
Race: Black
Sex: Male
Age: Unknown
Job: Unknown
Method of Death: Hanged and riddled with bullets
Accusation: Attempted rape of an unmarried white woman, a school teacher
Date: 1900-09-14
City: Arrington
Mob Composition: Unknown
Summary: On September 14th, 1900, Pinkney Murphy, a black man, was lynched near Arrington, Nelson County, for allegedly attempting to rape a white woman.
Ellen Bosworth, a white woman, was on her way home from a neighbor’s house when Pinkney Murphy allegedly attempted to sexually assault her in the afternoon of September 14th, 1900, about a mile from Arrington, in Nelson County (The Times). A struggle ensued, in which Ms. Bosworth was badly beaten and choked. Pinkney was able to make his escape to Arrington depot, where he attempted to board a train, but he was recognized and apprehended (Staunton Spectator and Vindicator). After his arrest, Murphy was brought before a magistrate, where he confessed his crime. Fearing an impending lynching, Murphy was ordered to be put in the County jail in Lovingston. On the way to Lovingston, Murphy and his guards met an angry group of citizens: “it was between seven and eight o’clock, and in the gloom of the night that was fast falling, the occupants of the vehicle could see men lined up on either side. From the limb of a tree dangled a rope and the noose at the end of it announced only too plainly the intention of the crowd” (The Times). The mob took Murphy from the guards and hanged him from a tree near Trinity Church (Richmond Dispatch), his body also riddled with bullets (The Times).
News Coverage: Alexandria Gazette, Richmond Dispatch, Staunton Spectator and Vindicator, The Times
Article Link (from Alexandria Gazette published on 1900-09-17)
Article Link (from Richmond Dispatch published on 1900-09-16)
Article Link (from Staunton Spectator and Vindicator published on 1900-09-21)
Article Link (from The Times published on 1900-09-16)
Article Link (from The Times published on 1900-09-19)