Victim ID: VA1870041601
Victim Name: Bill Nichols
Race: Black
Sex: Male
Age: Unknown
Job: Unknown
Method of Death: Hanged
Accusation: Being a thief and arsonist
Date: 1870-04-16
County Name: Madison
Mob Composition: Unknown

Summary: Bill Nichols, a black man, was lynched by a party of unknown men in the woods on April 16th, 1870 in Madison County, Virginia. Nichols was accused of being a thief and an arsonist.

Bill Nichols was hung in the woods of Madison Country near the border of Greene County by a party of unknown men. Nichols was referred to as a “notorious thief and incendiary in the neighborhood over the past two years” (Daily Dispatch). Nichols was accused in the past of robbing barns and houses and burning citizens’ property and was always able to escape punishment. Bill Nichols was found with a note on his chest that read “The next man that will be served this way is a white man named Kennedy” (Daily Dispatch).

News Coverage: Daily Dispatch; Native Virginian; Norfolk Virginian

Article Link (from Daily Dispatch published on 1870-04-23)