City Directories and History: The Abbeville Press and Banner reported on June 14, 1882 on an outrage in Rock Hill. “A 13 year old girl had an outrage committed on her by a black 17 year old man on Sunday morning. John Johnson was identified and put in jail. He was later found hanging from a tree on Main Street in Rock Hill. A crowd of one hundred men had overpowered the guard and took him out hanged him and put a plaque on his chest reading – Our women will be protected.”
“A HORRIBLE OUTRAGE”
The following article was found in the Rock Hill Herald of June 15, 1882. It describes a lynching which occurred on Main Street in Rock Hill. There is no byline to the article, but it appears just under the masthead of J. M. Ivy, Proprietor of the newspaper, and may have been written by him. We have reproduced the language exactly as written.
It has perhaps been many years since this community has been as thoroughly aroused as on last Sunday morning when it was announced that an innocent little girl had been most lustfully and cruelly outraged by a negro man in a field on the outskirts of town. At an early hour on that morning a party of little children started out to hunt some plums, and when about a half mile beyond the incorporate limits in a field North of town and not far to the left of the railroad, a negro boy walked into their midst and, taking hold of largest of the party, threw her violently upon the ground. The other children, frightened and thinking their sister was being killed, ran off, screaming and calling for assistance. They ran several hundred yards, when they me Mr. Ed Byers, who inquired the occasion of their alarm, but they were too badly frightened to tell him. He hastened in the direction from which the children had come and soon met a little boy, about 7 years old, who had rheumatism and could not run. This little fellow told him a negro had his sister and was going to kill her. Mr. Byers hurried on and presently, when within about a hundred yards of where the outrage was committed, he saw a negro get up off the ground. The negro looked around and seeing his approach darted into the bushes and was soon lost to sight. He made pursuit but the negro escaped. He came back to where the little girl was, who was crying and seemed to be in great agony. She stated to him that had he not come up the negro would have killed her, and said that he had her on the ground about fifteen minutes. She begged him not to leave her and to accompany her home. In their flight the children met other people to whom they reported the facts, who hurried on to the scene. Meeting Mr. Byers, he turned the child over to them and came on to town to inform the citizens. It was not long until the news had spread over the whole community. At about 11:30 o’clock a crowd started in pursuit on horseback. After getting out of town they commenced the search in detachments, some of whom crossed the river and went in the direction of Fort Mill. Trial justice Fewell, Policeman Keelser and Maj. T. C. Beckham, however, went into the plum orchard and soon found the spot where the little girl had been outraged. The ground showed signs of a desperate struggle. They examined all the ground around for some distance and finally found fresh tracks that led in an Easterly direction through plowed ground, and which had evidently been made by someone who was running. They followed the tracks for some distance, until they came to where the person had taken off his shoes. Thence it was a barefoot track. After following his track for a short distance, they lost it in some grassy ground. They went to the house of a negro man who lives near by on Mr. A. H. White’s plantation and asked him if he had seen any one passing by hurriedly that morning. He replied that he had seen a negro boy running through the place that morning and pointed in the direction in which he had gone. With this information it was not long until the pursuers had found the same track again. They followed it until it led into a house in the rear of Col. Pride’s residence, near town, occupied by a colored woman named Mag. Gibson. Inquiry was made of her as to who had been there that day, when she stated that a negro boy calling himself John somebody, who claimed to live with George Pickett, and to be an employee of Mr. J. R. Allen, had come to her house before dinner and seemed to be very tired. The Trial Justice and his posse then came into town and after ascertaining definitely who the John was that lived with George Pickett they began to search for him and soon found him sitting on the steps of the store of Miss Octavia Owens. He was arrested by Policeman Keesler and turned over to Trial Justice Fewell. Presently he was taken in the presence of the little girl, who immediately identified him as being the boy who had outraged her. He was then committed to the guardhouse, when his shoes were examined and they corresponded exactly with the track. During the evening Mag. Gibson was taken into the prison and she at once recognized him as the John who had been at her house before dinner time. He was also identified by a colored girl, who knew him and saw him at a spring close by where the little children were gathering plums and at about the hour at which the outrage was committed. Late in the evening we were admitted to the prison, accompanied by the mayor and Major Beckham. Johnson was
questioned as to whether he had been in the fields North of town that morning. He admitted he had been there and stated that he was accompanied by a colored boy named Gus White. When asked whether he had seen any little white children in the fields, he said he had located them and said further that they were hunting plums. Upon further inquiry he stated that he and White had gone out hunting blackberries that morning and coming across the children, White informed them that if they would go across a certain ditch they would find more plums than were there. He and his companion then came in the direction of town and upon reaching a point on the way, he told White he might go on and have a pie made and he would follow presently. He could give no satisfactory account of himself after that. He stated that he and White had passed within about six feet of the children, but denied that either he or White had laid hands upon any one of them. We then left the prison fully satisfied with his guilt. He was greatly agitated and excited, but did not seem to appreciate the gravity of the charge against him.
Later in the evening Dr. T. A. Crawford was admitted into the building for the purpose of examining the prisoner. While in there Johnson voluntarily confessed his guilt and told all the circumstances connected with the deed. Mr. J. R. Allen, the mayor, and Maj. Beckham then entered, when Johnson renewed his confession in their presence and again recited the circumstances, which corresponded with the statement made by the little girl in every particular except as follows: he had no recollection of threatening to choke her to death if she made any noise, and denied throwing her upon the ground, claiming that he had placed his hand upon her shoulder, when she began to scuffle with him and accidentally fell upon the ground. Previous to this, he had been cautioned by Mr. Allen, whom he had sent for, and Maj. Beckham not to make any confession whatever unless he was guilty. He admitted having completely accomplished his purpose.
After nightfall, there having been much excitement among the people all day, a guard was placed around the guardhouse for the safe keeping of the prisoner; but about 1 o’clock that night a crowd of about one hundred disguised persons, some of whom wore dresses, went to the guard house quietly, clutched each of the guards and held them fast until the keys were taken from Policeman Keesler and the negro taken out of the building and conveyed safely out of their reach. Not a word was spoken by any one of the crowd. The guards were taken into another street and by threatening signs were made to understand that they must keep back. The lynchers then took the negro up Main street to a point about fifty feet from Robertson’s Hotel, where a dead red oak tree stands on the outer edge of the pavement. One end of an inch hempen rope was tied to a limb and the other end placed around the negro’s neck. Some suppose that he was put on a horse and it was driven from under him, while others think that a large box, which still lies on the street, was used for the doomed man to stand upon. At any rate, when the citizens arose from their slumber on Monday morning they beheld the ghastly spectacle of the dead body of a negro swinging to a limb and almost over the middle of the street. His feet were within a few inches of the ground and his tongue was protruding from his mouth. A placard had been pinned to his clothing over his breast. It bore the following emphatic notice, written in very large letters: “OUR WOMEN SHALL BE PROTECTED.”
His neck was not broken, death ensuing from strangulation. About 7 o’clock the body was taken down and conveyed on a wagon to the guardhouse, where it laid until Tuesday morning, when it was buried by the Town Council at a spot on the railroad near the Northeastern limits of the town. The negroes objected to the body being interred in their cemetery, although there is a public plot laid off there, and declined to participate in the burial.
On Monday morning about 9 o’clock Acting Coroner S. M. Fewell instituted a Court of Inquest with the following citizens as a jury: L. M. Davis, Foreman, J. F. O’Neal, D. H. Stevenson, W. B. Drennan, W. R. Templeton, A. H. White, F. O. London, J. A. Williford, S. L. Reid, J. B. Wilson, W. T. Downum, and R. T. Fewell.
Dr. J. W. Fewell was the first witness examined, the material points of the testimony were as follows: Had made an examination of the body of John Johnson. He came to his death by strangling by a cord being placed around his neck and the body being swung to a tree. Thought he had been hanging about six hours. First saw the body hanging from a tree in front of the Robertson’s hotel. Thought then his neck had been broken; but on further examination found that he died from strangulation.
Dr. T. A. Crawford saw the body first about 7 o’clock. Made examination and found that death ensued from strangulation. Could not tell how long he had been hanging.
B. Keesler, Policeman, testified that he had heard of the outrage on the person of the little girl and started out about ___ o’clock Sunday morning to hunt for the criminal, but did not find him until about 4 o’clock P. M. when he arrested John Johnson and put him in the guardhouse. He kept him there until about 1 o’clock Monday morning when the prisoner was taken from under his charge by a crowd of masked men. There was a large crowd. He had the keys in his pocket, but became overpowered by the parties who took them away from him. They unlocked the prison and took the prisoner out. They relocked the building and left the keys in the door. He could not tell how many men there were and had not heard any talk of the hanging during the day. He could not possibly identify any of the men.
Major T. C. Beckham testified that the prisoner was put in the guardhouse about 5 o’clock on Sunday evening. When first arrested he took him over to the factory and the prisoner was identified by Alice McDowell as the man who had outraged her that morning. Took him back to the guardhouse and placed a guard over the building. Had no intimation of the lynching. Heard no talk of the lynching, but as a precautionary measure had intended taking the prisoner to Yorkville at an early hour that night, if he could get an opportunity to get him out of the guardhouse without anyone seeing him. A crowd of negroes hung around the guardhouse, however, until about ___ o’clock. It was then so late that he concluded to wait until the morning, when he would take him. He didn’t think the negro would be troubled if he should leave him in the guardhouse in this way.
Wm. Haynes, colored, porter at the Robertson House, testified that he went to the freight depot about 3 o’clock Monday morning. Saw a large box lying on the pavement. Did not see any one on the streets. Did not notice the deceased hanging when he went to the depot. On his return to the hotel he saw a man in a bent position. Did not see the rope hanging to the tree. Thinking it was the Gordon House porter he called to him to know if he was going to the train. Receiving no response, he stooped down so as to get the object between himself and the light of the sky, and discovered that it was a man suspended in the air, who looked like he was dancing. He was greatly frightened and a few steps landed him safely in the hotel.
R. Allen, the Mayor, testified that he had had a young man in employ about a week ago named John Johnson and hearing of the arrest he went to the guardhouse to see if he could identify him. Went of his own accord. Asked Johnson if he knew anything about an outrage that had been committed on the person of a little white girl in a field near town that morning. He disclaimed any knowledge of the deed. He (Allen) warned him not to confess to anything that he did not do. He then left the building, but later in the evening John Johnson sent for him and then voluntarily confessed that he had that morning ravished a little white girl on the edge of a plum thicket in a field North of town. Johnson gave a full description of the assault, the accomplishment of his design and described the route he took to evade pursuit.
The description he gave of the route exactly coincided with the statement made by his pursuers.
The jury, having heard all of the evidence obtainable, rendered a verdict that John Johnson came to his death by strangulation, being hung by the neck to a tree on the main street of Rock Hill, S. C., near Robertson’s hotel, on the night of the 11th of June, 1882 by parties to the jury unknown.
Alice McDowell, the outraged child, was a daughter of Mr. J. __ McDowell, who is employed in the Rock Hill Factory, and who formerly lived in Chester County, about 3 miles Northwest of the Courthouse. Alice is going into her fifteenth year and weights ___ pounds. An examination by one of our physicians showed that she had been badly hurt.
John Johnson was a stranger in this community, having been here but a few months. He told us that his father and mother were both dead and that he was raised in Chester County near Richburg. He was perhaps 18 years of age and had a good face. He is said to have been very impudent and saucy, but beyond this nothing is known of his character. His guilt was established beyond a shadow of a doubt before he confessed, and in our estimation he met a just fate, and this entire section of the country, while it deprecates the necessity of such extreme measures to suppress crime, heartily endorses the sentiment expressed on the placard: “Our Women Shall Be Protected.” The outrage committed upon the person of little Alice McDowell was the most wanton, cruel, and inhuman crime committed in this section in many years, and if a people were ever excusable in responding to violence those persons certainly were who participated in the midnight tragedy that ended the earthly career of the fiend John Johnson.
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