African Americans of the Kentucky Borderlands

Items

• 1885--William Scales Accused of Rape and Lynched

  September 11, 1885: William Scales, 29, was forcibly taken from the Burlington jail at three a.m. by an angry, drunken mob. Scales had been charged with the rape of the young daughter of Mr. Lunsford. He had plead not guilty and was awaiting trial. Scales's bullet-riddled body was found hanging from a tree “about halfway between Burlington and Florence,” according to news reports.

• 1884--Charles Dickerson Accused of Theft and Lynched

  May 4, 1884: The Daily Commonwealth reported that Charles Dickerson, a confessed thief, was forcibly taken from the Burlington Jail and hung from a maple tree one mile east of Burlington. According to the 1880 Census, 12 year old Dickerson was living in Grant County with a young African American family named Lewis. If the Census is accurate, Dickerson was 16 years old at the time of the lynching.

• 1880--Charles Smith Accused of Arson and Lynched

  January 14, 1880: Charles Smith, 23 years old, was accused of arson and lynched at Gaines Tavern near Walton. The Daily Commonwealth, a local newpaper, reported on January 16th, that two Covington physicians traveled to Walton and retrieved Smith's remains from the base of the tree where he was hanged. Mr. Smith was taken to the Ohio Medical College in Cincinnati. In 1870, he was living in the Carlton area, now known as Rabbit Hash with siblings Elizabeth and Lafayette.

• 1879--Theodore Daniels Accused of Assault and Lynched

  September 1879: Theodore Daniels, 25, in Union was hanged and then shot. He was accused of and confessed to attempted assault on Miss Georgia Billeter.

• 1877--Parker Mayo Accused of Assault and Lynched

  March 1877: Parker Mayo was accused of an attempted assault on the daughter of a railroad worker named William Murray who lived near Walton, while she was home alone. He was also accused of attacking a nearby unnamed farmer's wife the following day. His body was found hanged from a tree outside town.

• 1876--Smith Williams Taken from Jail and Lynched

  June 1876: Smith Williams was taken from the Burlington Jail and lynched. An incident (near Anderson Ferry) between Williams and a young white man named Fred Wahl led to Wahl being shot by Williams. Wahl died of his wounds three days after the incident. In 1870, 27 year old Williams was living in Covington with his wife, Melinda. He was working as a day laborer.