Buckner, Owensboro Twice-A-Week Messenger, December 1, 1915

Henderson, Ky., Nov. 29– Early on the Sabbath morning a mob took Ellis Buckner, a negro, from the jail and swung him to a willow tree on the banks of the Ohio river, not three blocks away. Buckner was charged with detaining against her will Miss Kate Hardin while on her way home from work Friday night.

So quietly did the mob accomplish its work that not even the police were aware anything had happened until the victim was swinging to a limb,

It was shortly before 2 o’clock when Jailer Abel was called from his room and informed that Buckner was to be hanged. In vain did the jailer plead for the prisoner. Five husky men with masks over their faces walked into the corridor and compelled Deputy Grayson to unlock the door. 

After the negro was delivered the mob went to the corner of the jail yard and then walked across Central Park to Washington street, down Washington to the river and one square south, where the hanging took place. Not a sound was heard from any number of the mob, which numbered around thirty men.

To a reporter Mr. Abel made the following statement:

“My wife called me shortly before 2 o’clock and said someone was ringing the door bell. Thinking that maybe Alva Gibson, who is related to my wife, was dead and I was wanted. I went downstairs with only my night clothes on. As I opened the door two men pushed their feet inside to prevent it being closed. One man said they had ‘come for that negro.’ 

“I said: ‘Men, you are not going to hang him for that offense, are you?’ He replied that they were and that, while it was not their purpose to harm anyone about the jail, yet they would have the man at any cost. He said: ‘You need not make a noise, as we have the building guarded on every side and from top to bottom.’

“I then asked if I could get back into the house, as I was standing on the stone with my bare feet. One said ‘yes, if you will make one promise and that is that you will stay in the building and will not in any way attempt to prevent our getting the negro.’ This I promised to do, stepped back and closed the door.

“I walked to the rear door and looked out. I saw two men there. I went to another door and started out, when two men, one with a gun and the other with a revolver, ordered me back. I then thought I would slip out at the side door and get to police headquarters. When I started out two men reminded me I had promised to remain in the building. As the five men were leaving the jail office with Buckner I slipped across the porch to the rear door of the deputy’s room. One of the men saw me and remarked that I had better keep quiet.” Mr. Abel said he was prevented from using the telephone.

Mr. Abel said while he was the front door talking to the men he saw two automobiles, and possibly three, on Washington street at the side of the park. He said there were men scattered through the park who fell in line as the procession moved in the direction of Washington street.

The mob waited until the lights in Central Park had been turned out. Officer Biggs said he turned out the lights about midnight, as usual, not thinking a mob would appear. 

No sooner had the police been notified by the jailer of what had happened than they began a search for the body. Chief Graves was the first to find it, dangling to a willow tree. Coroner Davis was notified and ordered Chief Graves and Officer Head to cut it down. It was removed to Klee’s undertaking establishment on Main street, where the inquest was held at 10 o’clock.

The coroner’s jury, after hearing the evidence, returned the following verdict:

We, the jury, find the body before us to be that of Ellis Buckner, and that he came to his death at the hands of persons unknown to us.

W.H. Stewart, Aaron Locket, Pete Sommers, Walter Vickers, L. Elam and Thomas Johnson; W.H. Davis, coroner.

Jailer Abel, Chief Graves and Officer Head testified before the jury. Jailer Abel expressed regret that he had been forced to give up the prisoner. 

The body was removed to the home of his mother, Dicey Buckner, in Shelbyville, at 12:30 o’clock. The funeral was conducted Monday afternoon.

Peace and quiet prevailed in the city when the dawn broke and persons were apprised of the fact that a lynching had taken place during the early morning. Crowds of curious persons visited the stationhouse and the scene of the hanging during the day. A large crowd gathered in front of the undertaking establishment, where the inquest was held. Many obtained pieces of rope as souvenirs while others cut off pieces of the tree. Tonight there was little of the three [sic] left.

After accomplishing its purpose the mob disbanded as quietly as it had formed. Not a sound was heard in the city, and no one would have suspected a tragedy had been enacted during the dark hours. The men wore masks over their faces, made of handkerchiefs from the eyes down, and their hats were pulled low. 

It was after 4 o’clock before any information about the affair leaked out.

The crime for which Buckner was lynched was atrocious. He was charged in a warrant sworn to by Miss Katie Hardin, with detaining a female against her will. Miss Hardin, who is bookkeeper at the Kentucky bakery made the following statement when seen by a reporter this afternoon:

“I left the bakery about twenty minutes before 7 o’clock. As I was walking up Elm street to my home I passed the befriended at the bridge on Fourth street. No sooner had I passed than he arose and walked along behind me. When I was near the alley between Fourth and Fifth streets, the negro grabbed me by the throat and dragged me into the alley. I have three loud screams before he shut off my breath. He said to me, “If you scream any more I’ll fix you so you will not scream again.’

“He then put his hands over my mouth and prevented me from making any noise. He held me to the ground and ripped open my coat. About that time Mrs. Henry Robinson, who lives nearby and had heard my screams, opened the front door, and the negro jumped up and ran down the alley. I went to the power plant across the street and called for the police. Before he left me the negro kicked me three times and broke my umbrella over my head. He got my ring and muff, but I knew he was not trying to rob me. I lost my scarf pin while in the scuffle.’

Miss Hardin said she had seen the negro several days during the week as she was on her way home.