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 […]
Fields, Jimbo and Garnett, Clarence
Jimbo Fields and Clarence Garnett were African American teenagers who were born in Shelbyville, Kentucky. As their ages vary in different newspapers, Fields was estimated at sixteen years and Garnett of eighteen years at the time of the lynchings. As teenagers Fields and Garnett worked as day laborers, doing miscellaneous work for varying local businesses. […]
Esters, Silas (also documented as Silas Easter)
Silas Easter was born approximately in March 1883 in Bonnieville, Kentucky. According to the 1900 census, Silas Easter was the oldest son of H and Little Easter. Silas had two younger sisters, Elman and Mannie, who were 11 and 10 at the time of 1900 census. In 1901, Easter was approximately 18-years-old and worked as […]
West, James; Marshall, Eugene; and Patterson, Wade
Wade Patterson was born in 1885 to Sam and Fannie Patterson. Seven years later, in 1893, Sam and Fannie welcomed another son, Sam, Jr. In the 1900 Kentucky census for the Patterson family, the sons Wade and Sam could read and write. Sam Patterson, the father, was a farm laborer. According to the 1910 Kentucky census […]
Durrett, Luther, and Kinley, Brack
Brack Kinley was born in February of 1886 in McCracken County, Kentucky. Referencing the 1900 Census, he was written as ‘Brook Kinley’ and was 16 years old at the time. He stayed with his uncle Ben Willis and his family. Ben and Hester Willis had Brack’s younger sisters, Lulu and Martha Kinley. He could not […]
Dempsey, Lawrence
Lawrence Dempsey was born in 1877 in Fulton County, Kentucky. There is no available census data showing his birth month or date, or the name of his parents. Dempsey first appeared in the newspapers in Fulton County, Kentucky. The Illinois Central Railroad Company had several railroads going through Western and Central Kentucky, specifically, Fulton County. […]
Buckner, Ellis
Ellis Buckner was born on August 1, 1892, in Henderson County, Kentucky. According to the 1910 Census, he boarded with another family at the time, the Kennedys. RH and Virginia Kennedy had three daughters, Mary, Ora, and Lucille. At 14, Buckner was able to read, write, and attend a school which was rare for an […]
Potter, William
William Potter’s lynching is extremely graphic and is strongly issued as a trigger warning. Located in Livermore, KY, William Potter was accused of shooting Clarence (Frank) Mitchell, a 22-year-old white man in a barroom. On April 20th, 1911, a local sheriff was hiding him in the Whitaker Opera House and Skating Rink basement and a […]