The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1905-07-06
All Prisoners Taken From
Watkinsville Jail and Rid
died With Bullets.
4 MOST HORRIBLE AFFAIR
Victims Were Eight Negroes and One
White Man, the Majority Of Whom
y Were Charged With the Muir
der cf the HoIbrooks-Al-
legged Rapist Preeipi-
tated Trouble. 7.


A mob entered the jail at Watkins
vile, Ga, at 2 O'Clock Thursday morn
ing and took therefrom nine prison
ers, eight @: whom were shot to death
and the ninth escaped only by being
thought dead by the mob. The pris.
oners taken out and lynched were:
Lon ]. Aycock, white, charged with
the murder Of F. N. Holbrook and
wife, Of Oconee county, and seven ne
groes-Rich Robinson, Lewis Robin.
son, Claude Elder, charged with the
murder Of the Holbrook couple; San
dy Price, q young negro, charged with
attempted assault upon the person
OF Mrs. Weldon Dooly; Rich Allen,
q negro convicted and under death
sentence for the murder Of Will Rob-
ertson, another negro; Gene Yerby,
another negro, charged with burglary
Of rife from Mr.. Marshal, and Bob
Harris, a negro charged with shooting
another negro.
The mob went quietly into Watkins
vile little before o'clock in the
morning. There were about fifty or
seventy-five men in the crowd. All
were heavily masked and no one
knew whence them came or to what
point they returned. They went at
once to the house Of Town Marshal
L. n. Aiken and quietly called him
to the door. AS he put his head out
Of the door he was seized and told
that he must deliver the Jail key. He
refused, and the men put pistols into
his face and overpowered him, he be-
ing q rather small man. Aiken re-
fused to dress, but some Of the party
dressed him and carried him along.
The mob next seized Courtney Elder,
q blacksmith, and made him bring his
tools along with him. On their way
to. the Jail they were met by A. w.
Ashford, a prominent citizen Of Wat
kinsville, who had heard the noise a,
the marshal's house, and came down
town as soon as he could dress. Mr..
Ashford begged the men to desist and
let the law take its course, especially
pleading for Aycock, ON the ground
that the evidence had not been such
as to warrant his conviction. He also
begged them not to lynch those not
charged with capital crimes. They
told him that they were cool, sober
and determined, and that he might
as well go back home and go to
bed.
The Jail was then opened by the
town marshal under the cover Of sew
-eral pistols, and inside the jail the
mob held up Jailer Crow and demand
ed the keys to the cells. He refused
at first, but surrendered them after
being menaced with guns. Jailer
Crow begged hard for Aycock on the
same ground that Mr.. Ashford did,
and also for the two negroes who
were not charged with capital crimes.
Members Of the attacking party told
him 10 shut his mouth. They knew
what to do, they said. and they were
going to clear out the whole Jail.
The mob got every prisoner in the
jail, except Ed Thrasher, negro,
charged with gambling, who was on
the misdemeanor side Of the prison,
and was not noticed. The prisoners
were carried to a point some hundred
yards from the jail and tied to the
fence posts by their necks.
Ayeock Protested Innocence.
Aycock protested his innocence to
the last. He said they were killing
an innocent man. While the general
belief in Oconee county is that Ay-
cock was guilty, still there were
many who did not belize so.
Rich Robinson said it was all right,
so far as he was concerned, but that
three more negroes were in the Hol-
brook murder. He named Sidney Nor.
ris, Jim Taylor and Wiley Durham as
the three implicated. These negroes
had been ir Jail before on this charge,
but were released ON full investiga-
ton. The other prisoners did not open
their mouths during their march to
their doom.
After the prisoners had been tied
to the fence posts the mob lined up
and fred five volleys into their bod
les. All died without a struggle, with
the exception Of Joe Patterson, who
was shot several times in the body,
but was alive after the mob left and