Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-01-23
vIRGINIAN VENGEANCE.
A Negro LynOhed for the Seduction Of a
Young White Woman.

WARRENToN, January 19.--This
usually quiet little town was the scene
last night of the lynching of negro
under extraordinary circumstances.
On the 9th of December last Arthur
Jordan, a copper-cOlored negro of
about forty years Of age, who had been
employed as a farm hand on the plan
tation of Nathan COrder, a well-to-do
farmer living on the Rappahannock
river, in the upper end of the county.
eloped with Elyira Corder. twenty
four years old, daughter of the man
who had employed him. The negro
took the cars at Markham station and
was met by the woman on the train at
Salem, fifteen miles further down. The
injured father of the girl followed the
guilty pair to Washington. and after
fruitless search through that city
and Alexandria returned broken
hearted to his home. On Satur-
day last a letter was received by
the postmaster at Markham from
gentleman living near Williamsport,
Md, saying that there was a negro
with his white wife living near him,
claiming to be from Markham and
acting in such a manner as to excite
his suspicious that all was not right
From the description given the couple
were readily recognized as Corder's
daughter and Arthur Jordan, and a
party Of six of the best men in the
neighborhOod armed and started i'm
mediately to Williamsport to capture
the latter and bring him back to this
county. They were successful in
finding him about eight miles above
Williamsport, and arrived with him at
Markham on Thursday night last. On
Friday Justice Lake gave the pris-
oner preliminary hearing, and, com
mitting him for the action of the
grand jury, gave him in charge of a
constable and two deputies to carry
him to Jail at Warrenton, some twenty
miles distant, where he arrived tho
same night and was locked up.
A FEARFUL RETRIBUTIoN.
On Sunday night a band of sixty
determined men rode up to the door
of the Jail, aud, calling out the TAILOR.
presented a man they brought with
them tied to be taken in charge.
When the jailor came up to receive
his prisoner, half dozen pistols were
presented to his head and the KEYS
demanded. He surrendered the KEYS
after some remOnstrance, and detail
from the infuriated crowd outside
went in, and, placing rope around
Arthur Jordans neck, dragged him
forth and hanged him to a tree some
three hundred yards from the door of
the Jail. The crowd then departed
from town as noiselessly as they had
come, leaving the lifeless body of the
negro dangling from the tree. His
body was cut down at about ten o clock
this morning by order of the authori-
ties and turned over to the coroner.
Tho remarkable part of this lynch
ing was the entire absence of excite
ment, the mob proceeding as if in the
execution Of solemn duty in thus
ayenging the violation of one Of the
most sacred unwritten laws of society.
Arthur Jordon was a hardworking but
rather impudent negro, and leaves
colored wife and a large family of
children living near Nathan Corders
house. There is evidence that he used
even the formality of a marriage cere-
mony TO accomplish the ruin of his
victim, who knew very well that he
was nlreldy married, aud rumor says
had BEEN criminally intimate with him
Tor some months before the elope-
ment.