Victim ID: VA1893013101
Victim Name: Jerry Brown
Race: Black
Sex: Male
Age: Unknown
Job: Unknown
Method of Death: Hanged and riddles with bullets
Accusation: Murder of two white men
Date: 1893-01-31
City: Richlands
Mob Composition: About 300
Summary: Jerry Brown, an African American man from Buchanan County, was lynched on January 31st, 1893 in Richlands, Tazewell county for the murder of two white men. As a result of the murder of these two men, five African American men were lynched in less than three days in Richlands, including Jerry Brown, Sam Ellerson, Spencer Branch, John Johnson, Sam Blow and possibly another unnamed victim.
On Monday, January 30th, 1893, Alexander Ratcliff and Benjamin Shortridge, two white merchants, were in Richlands, Tazewell, for business. After spending some time in a barroom, they “were followed by four negroes, and on reaching a rather secluded spot, the negroes attacked them and knocked them in the head. After robbing their pockets of $31.00 in money, they dragged their bodies across the railroad track and left them for the first train to run over” (The Big Stone Gap Post). Jerry Brown was one of the suspects of the assault and murder of the two white men. On Tuesday, January 31st, 1892, “Jerry Brown was suspected of the murder, and, having a bad reputation, was arrested, and on being questioned closely finally confessed, implicating three others, Spencer Branch, John Johnson and Sam McDonald [Ellerson]. The authorities succeeded in capturing John Johnson and Spencer Branch and lodged them in jail, Sam McDonald [Ellerson] in the meantime having escaped” (The Roanoke Times). According to The Roanoke Times, on that evening, at about 7:30PM, “an angry mob of about three hundred people collected around the jail and finally overpowered the authorities and took Jerry Brown from them. They proceeded with him down Front street across the river to addition No. 2 of Richlands, and strung him to an oak tree. The mob then returned to the jail after Spencer Branch and John Johnson, but found that the authorities had taken them away.” On the following day, February 1st, 1893, the mob was able to find and capture Spencer Branch, John Johnson and Sam Ellerson in Cedar Bluff; after returning to Richlands with the three prisoners, the mob proceeded to hang them on the same tree where Jerry Brown was lynched (Richmond Dispatch).
On February 17th, 1893, the Clinch Valley News reported that “The Commonwealth had summonsed from Richlands and neighborhood about sixty persons to appear before the grand jury to testify regarding the lynching of Jerry Brown, John Johnson, Spencer Branch, Sam Blow and Sam Kirkpatrick [Ellerson]. Three of these negroes were hung in the day time and none of the lynchers were in any way disguised. It has always been well nigh impossible to implicate individuals in such cases because of participation or an willingness of witnesses, but the matter will be sifted as far as possible to bring the guilty to trial.”
News Coverage: Alexandria Gazette, Big Stone Gap Post, Clinch Valley News, Richmond Dispatch, Richmond Planet, Roanoke Times, The Times
Article Link (from Alexandria Gazette published on 1893-02-02)
Article Link (from Alexandria Gazette published on 1893-02-04)
Article Link (from Big Stone Gap Post published on 1893-02-02)
Article Link (from Clinch Valley News published on 1893-02-03)
Article Link (from Clinch Valley News published on 1893-02-17)
Article Link (from Richmond Dispatch published on 1893-02-02)
Article Link (from Roanoke Times published on 1893-02-02)
Article Link (from Roanoke Times published on 1893-02-03)
Article Link (from Roanoke Times published on 1893-02-04)
Article Link (from The Times published on 1893-02-02)
Article Link (from The Times published on 1893-02-03)