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, […]
Harry Ardell – There is no extant biographical information about Harry Ardell. He was a white lynching victim, one of about 50 white victims between 1880 and 1950. In contemporary newspapers, he’s referred to as both “Harry” and “Charles” Ardell. While some claim that his real name was Harry Forrest, no such Harry Forrest living […]
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 […]
C.P. Stivers, (or Christopher P. Stivers) was one of roughly 20 white men lynched between 1900 and 1950 in Kentucky. Due to his race, gender, and his position as Police Judge in Manchester, there was considerable documentation of Stivers’ life and death. Stivers was born in December 1891 to James W. Stivers and Lucy T. […]
There is little extent biographical information on Jackson Williams. The name “Jack Williams” and “Jackson Williams” were common, with over 40 distinct Jack Williams recorded in the census during the late 1800s. Yet, data from contemporary accounts found that that Jackson Williams was a white man who had two brothers, Thomas and an unnamed brother. […]
John Rex Scott was born in about 1913 to John and Lydia Scott. At the time of the 1913 census Rex Scott was unemployed but his father worked at mine in Hazard KY. Rex attended school and is able to read and write according to the census. As of 1930, Scott still lived with his […]
Will Skaggs was born in approximately 1875 to Margarett and Levi Skaggs in Rich Pond, Warren County, Kentucky. Will was their only child. The 1880 census indicates that he was 5 years old in 1880. An article from the Nashville Tennessean mentions Will’s father as John Skaggs, but no such man has been found. The […]
