Victim ID: VA1889040301
Victim Name: Martin Rollins
Race: Black
Sex: Male
Age: Unknown
Job: Banjo Picker
Method of Death: Hanged and riddled with bullets
Accusation: Murder of a white man
Date: 1889-04-03
City: Lebanon
Mob Composition: 25-40 unmasked armed men
Summary: Martin Rollins, an African American banjo picker, was lynched in Russell County on April 3rd, 1889, accused of having killed a white man.
On March 12th1889, Martin Rollins (sometimes referred to as Rolland in the newspapers) and a white man named Perry Combs (or Perry Courts) had an altercation at a dance in Russell County. According to the Rockingham Register, the altercation resulted in Martin Rollins striking Perry Combs with a club on the head, killing him instantly. Rollins was arrested and placed in the jail in Lebanon, VA. On the night of April 3rd, 1889, at about midnight, a group of men armed with pistols and rifles entered the jail, where they forcefully took Rollins and dragged him “about one mile east of town and hanged him on the limb of an ash-tree about five steps from the Fincastle Turnpike” (Richmond Dispatch). The mob of about 25 to 40 unmasked men then shot Rollins several times.
On April 3rd, a Coroner’s Inquisition met at the fork of Little Cedar Creek where Rollins body was found. The inquiry concluded that “Martin Rollins came to his death at the hands of a mob of men who took him from jail of Russell Co. by force, carryed [sic] him to Little Cedar Creek one mile east of Lebanon & there hung him & shot him until he was dead & then left him hanging to a tree, & that none of the men who engaged in the mob are known to us or can be identified.” One witness stated that Rollins “was shot some 5 or six times. Three times in the head, twice in the body & one in the thigh.” Another witness, a Mr. Hurt, heard gunshots and commotion near his house at around 10 pm on April 2. Hunt went to explore and saw a mob of about 40 men with pistols and rifles demanding a prisoner be handed over. Hurt heard the names Mont Clark and John and also stated that even though none of the men were disguised, he still could not recognize them. Another witness also heard the name John from the mob and recognized one of the mob as Davis.
Archival Sources: Coroner’s Inquisition
News Coverage: Abingdon Weekly Virginian, Alexandria Gazette, Norfolk Weekly Landmark, Richmond Dispatch, Rockingham Register
Article Link (from Alexandria Gazette published on 1889-04-04)
Article Link (from Richmond Dispatch published on 1889-04-05)