William Tyler was born in 1872 in Nicholas County, Kentucky. According to Ancestry Libraries William Tyler’s mother’s name was Manda Tyler and his father’s name was Elijiah Tyler ( also referred to as Lige Tyler in The Cincinnati Post). According to the 1880 Census, William Tyler was the oldest of three siblings. The younger […]
There is little extant biographical information about Louis Laferdetta. Newspapers of the time did not report on his personal life, and his murder was written about in brief articles without any identifying information. Contemporary reports used the same language about his class status, that he was a “tramp” or a transient worker. There’s also a […]
Berry Rich was one of approximately 50 white lynching victims in Kentucky between 1880 and 1950, accounting for the considerable biographical information about his life. Rich was born in 1847 in Webster County to Mary Rich and an unnamed father. Rich had five sisters and an older brother. While he did not attend school, […]
There is little extant biographical information about Edwin Traughber. Newspapers of the time gave conflicting accounts of Traughber’s residential information and work history. Traughber was an African American man, living and working as a farmhand in Logan County, near the Tennessee border. On the night of July 15, 1894 a group of masked men entered […]
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 […]
There is ample biographical information about Martha West and William Dever, because they were two of the approximately 50 white people lynched in Kentucky between 1880 and 1950. Martha West (also identified as Pattie Funk, Miss Patty Funk, and Martha Funk) was born around 1861 in Kentucky. According to the 1870 Federal Census, her mother […]
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 […]
Abithal Colson and Maud “Mollie” Smith were white lynching victims in Trigg County, Kentucky on June 28, 1895. As a white male lynching victim in the 1890s, Colson’s life has more documentary information than Smith, who was a working-class white woman. There are detailed records of Colson’s birth information, education, and employment, but there is […]
George Scott was an African American man born between 1873 and 1879. In 1898, he worked as a farm hand for William Scroggins 2.5 miles east of Adairville, Kentucky (a small town in southern Kentucky, bordering Tennessee). There is little extent information about Scott. Accounts of his life and his work have been drawn from […]
George Ray was an African American man living in Washington County, Kentucky in 1895. Nothing else is known about his personal life. According to the Courier-Journal, sometime prior to late April 1895 Ray was “…taken from his home and given a sound thrashing and given orders to leave the county. He paid no attention to […]
