Maxey, John

John Maxey was born in 1884 and raised in Frankfort, KY to  John H. Maxey and his mother Cordelia Maxey.  He had an older sister. Alice Maxey. The family lived in a rented home during Maxey’s childhood. His father was well-known and liked in the Frankfort community. John Maxey worked as an attache and a Pullman porter. The older John Maxey’s death was so notable that it was recorded in the local Frankfort newspaper after his passing in 1904. John Maxey the younger found work in Frankfort by the age of 16 as a “boot blacker,” otherwise known as a shoe shiner. While Maxey’s father was unable to read or write, John and his mother had received some form of education and were able to do so.

Maxey was thrown into a Frankfort jail that night around 12:30a.m. At around 2a.m. the jailer was called and awoken at his home near the prison. He was told that an officer wanted to put another man in the jail. As soon as the jailer opened his door he was overwhelmed by a masked mob who took his keys and seized Maxey from his cell. Within 10 minutes Maxey was strung up around the St. Clair Street Bridge, otherwise known as the “Swinging Bridge.”  The mob lynched Maxey in the shadow of the statehouse, as one newspaper reported. In contrast, the Lexington Leader described the lynching of Maxey as “orderly and determined.”

The killing of John Maxey was one of the few examples of state officials’ attempts to hold the lynchers accountable. Governor Augustus Willson vowed to bring the members of the mob to justice, and his office went so far as to offer a reward. The historical trail runs cold after this.  There are no reports of a person or group claiming responsibility, and no one was arrested or tried for the crime. The Charleston (WV) Advocate reported that there were rumors among African Americans in Frankfort of a retaliatory lynching, but there are no reports of violence.

References

• “An Excuseless Lynching,” The Interior Journal, June 8, 1909. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress.
• “Frankfort (KY,) Jailer Asks for Guards Because of Threats Made by Enraged Negroes,” The Advocate, June 10, 1909. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress.
• “Gov. Willson Will Employ All the Machinery at His Disposal to Bring to Justice the Lynchers of the Negro Maxey,” Mount Vernon Signal, June 11, 1909. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress.
• “Kentucky Kernels,” The Hazel Green Herald, June 10, 1909. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress.
• “Lynch Negro Who Shot Georgia Man,” Atlanta Semi-Weekly Journal, June 4, 1909. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress.
• “Mob Takes Maxey from Frankfort Jail,” The Vinita Daily, June 3, 1909. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress.
• “Swift Divine Justice Will Fall on the Lynchers of Maxey, Declares the Forum,” The Advocate, June 17, 1909. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress.
• U.S. Census Bureau. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. “Schedule No. 1 – Population.” Maxey, John R. Line No. 77. AncestryLibrary Edition.
• “Well-Known Colored Man Dead,” The Frankfort Roundabout, September 3, 1904. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress.
• “Wired Flashes,” The New South-News, June 13, 1909. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress.

Location of the Lynching