Since Hewlett Howton is one of about 50 white lynching victims in Kentucky, there is considerable biographical information documenting his family, labor, and residences. Hewlett Howton (also known as James Hewlett Howton) was born around 1864 to Joseph (Joe) Howton and Cynthia in Caldwell County, Kentucky. He had three brothers, John, Berry, and Leroy, and […]
Willis Griffey (also identified as William Griffey and Willis Griffery) was an African American man who lived in Christian County, Kentucky. He was born around 1859 to his mother Priscilla Griffey and her husband, an unidentified man. According to the 1870 Kentucky Census, Priscilla is listed as “Press Griffey.” Priscilla Griffey is listed as a […]
Walter Merrick was one of approximately twenty white men lynched in Kentucky between 1880 and 1950. Merrick’s race and the unusual circumstances of the lynching accounts for the abundance of official evidence detailing Merrick’s life and homicide. Merrick was born in March 1891 in Caldwell County, Kentucky. His parents, James and Mary, raised Walter and […]
Born in March 1896, Arthur Bell was the fourth of four children of William and Francis Bell. Arthur had a younger brother, John, and two older step-siblings, Robert Brown and Cora Brown. According to the 1900 census records, the Bell family lived in Cheatham, Tennessee. William Bell worked as a farm laborer and Francis […]
