Colbert, Henry

Extant biographical information about Henry Colbert has not been found to date. Newspaper articles identified him as an African American man who worked as a farmhand and lived in Kentucky in 1883. Despite their racial biases, newspaper accounts of the preceding incident agreed on several facts.  The Hickman Courier covered the lynching and proceeding trial. […]

May, Richard

Richard May was an African American male, who worked as a field hand. Beyond his sex, race, and occupation, which were mentioned in the newspaper articles, there is no extant biographical information is available. According to contemporaneous accounts, Sod Kelly, a white farmer, employed Richard May as a tobacco picker in Owensboro, Kentucky in 1884.  […]

Cooper, Nelson and Bailey, Sam (also recorded as Sam Daily)

Nelson Cooper was an African American man who lived in Greenville, Kentucky.  Given the frequency of the name “Nelson Cooper” in the U.S. Census Records of 1860, 1870, and 1880, it was difficult to ascertain reliable, specific biographical information about him.  Please check Ancestry Library for more information. Similarly, given the commonness of Sam Bailey’s […]