Victim ID: VA1909122501
Victim Name: Henry Pennington
Race: White
Sex: Male
Age: Unknown
Job: Unknown
Method of Death: Hanged and riddled with bullets
Accusation: Murder of a white man and wounding of his wife
Date: 1909-12-25
City: Hurley
Mob Composition: About 100 citizens
Summary: A posse of a hundred men lynched Henry Pennington, a white man, in an engine room of a lumber mill in Hurley, Buchanan on December 25th, 1909. Pennington had killed a white man and wounded his wife.
On Christmas Eve, 1909, Henry Pennington got into a quarrel with Samuel Baker in Hurley, Buchanan County. Pennington shot Mr. Baker while he was with his wife, his two children, and a friend (Richmond Times-Dispatch). After the shooting, Pennington attempted to flee the scene until Mrs. Baker called for him to help her take Mr. Baker’s body home. When he came back, Mrs. Baker retrieved his gun, shot, and wounded Mr. Pennington. Mrs. Baker’s attempt to avenge her husband fell short, however, as Pennington retrieved the gun back and wounded her. Wyatt Meadow, the friend who was with them, was able to run away with Baker’s two children (Richmond Times-Dispatch). Shortly after, officers captured and arrested Mr. Pennington. As the threat of a lynching was palpable, the officers tried to shield Mr. Pennington by hiding him in a boarding house, but a mob of 100 men was able to find them at around midnight on Christmas Day. The posse overpowered the jailers, took Mr. Pennington, and hanged him in an engine room and riddled his body with bullets. At 9 AM, on December 26th, Pennington body was taken down (Richmond Times-Dispatch).
On April 30th, 1910, a grand jury in Buchanan County indicted four men for the lynching of Henry Pennington: Wayne and Lafayette Justis, Richard Lawson and P. L. Johnson (Roanoke Times). The outcome of the trial is unknown.
News Coverage: Ledger-Dispatch, Portsmouth Star, Roanoke Evening News, Roanoke Times, Staunton Daily Leader, Richmond Planet, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Tazewell Republican
Article Link (from Richmond Times-Dispatch published on 1909-12-27)
Article Link (from Richmond Times-Dispatch published on 1910-01-11)
Article Link (from Tazewell Republican published on 1910-01-06)