Hicks, Wesley and Taylor, Jerry

Wesley Hicks and Jerry Taylor were two of the approximately 20 white men lynched in Kentucky between 1880 and 1950.  Their race and the unusual circumstances of the homicide accounts for the abundance of evidence. Wesley Hicks, also known as Wes Hicks, was born around 1835, which put him around 50 years-old when he was […]

Grainger, Job (or Jobe)

There is little extent biographical information on Jobe Grainger. According to contemporary accounts, Grainger was an African Americans man who lived in Simpson County until 1891.  He worked as a farmhand in the town of Franklin near the Kentucky-Tennessee border. His name was various spellings in different newspapers, as “Job” or “Jobe.” He also went […]

Morton, Robert

Robert L. Morton was a 21 year old Black man who lived until February 1897. He was born in Pilot Knob, Simpson, Kentucky, approximately 12 miles away from Rockfield. His occupation was unknown. The 1880 Federal Census has no record of Robert Morton’s mother or father. He lived with his grandparents, Isom Morton and Marian […]