Ephraim Brinkley III was a white lynching victim in the 1880s, and there is considerable historical documentation about his birth, family ties, labor, and various residences during his life. On June 14, 1857, Ephraim Brinkley III was born to Ephraim G Brinkley II and Francis (Sarah) Elizabeth Brinkley in Person County, North Carolina. He also had two siblings, Elvira and Thorphilius, and three half-siblings, Hariet, Docter, and Lafayette. At age 13, Brinkley\u2019s family left North Carolina for Kentucky, working as farmers in the rural area. When he reached adulthood, he continued to work as a farmer. He had his first child at 18, Henry Stone. The child\u2019s mother is not listed in the census. Brinkley\u2019s main location for farming was in the small area of Nebo located in Hopkins County, Kentucky. Brinkley married Susana C Woodward in 1887. They had three children: Hattie Mae Harris, Bartie Brinkley, and Will Brinkley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1897, when he was 40 years old Brinkley was lynched in Nebo, Kentucky. The reports of Brinkley\u2019s lynching began with the killing of another white man, Cyprian Trouillas. On July 5th, 1897 Trouillas was shot and killed while eating at his dinner table. The shot was fired through a window, striking the back of Trouillas\u2019s head and killing him instantly. After weeks passed with no arrest or suspect, the neighbors came to suspect Brinkley. But their suspicions were based on circumstantial evidence. Brinkley lived closest to Trouillas, and there were rumors that Brinkley was having an extra-marital affair with Trouillas\u2019s wife. The neighbors\u2019 claims were based on little evidence. The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer<\/em> reported that the group accusing Brinkley of killing Trouillas were \u201cregulators\u201d or members of a secret militia, who also had been implicated in the lynching of Hewlett Howton two years earlier in Caldwell County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roughly two weeks after the killing of Trouillas, two unmasked men approached Brinkley\u2019s house to apprehend him. Some newspapers alleged that the men also forced Mrs. Trouillas from her home, going to so far as to tie the rope around her neck until she provided information about Brinkley\u2019s whereabouts. Mrs. Trouillias found Brinkley hung from a tree in her front yard the following morning. The coroner concluded Brinkley\u2019s death by strangulation was at the hands of unknown parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocation of the Lynching<\/h3>