Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1916-01-28
FIVE LYNCHED BY
mob IN GEORGIA
Night RIDERS Hang Negroes
FTtIn One Tr53ee.
FOUR were were OF one FkaaiIlL 7
They Entered Jail by Ruse, Kept TIE
Keeper in Eathroom and Seized
Murder Suspects.

Five negroes talen from the Worm
county jaI at Sylvester, Ga, were
hanged to ore limb CT tree on Q
outskirts Of Starkvi!ie. TIE bolle j
containing many bullet holes, were
cold when iound.
Forty II .-1,y men, acting wita PIE
cision indicative Of Car-fusiy al
plans, TOOK the five negroes from >h6
Jail and spell away in automobiles
The negroes were being held in cen
nection wi the killing Of She Ii
More ard, OF Lee ccu-ty, d1ri1g the
Christmas holidays. Sta kvila Is a
hamlet three miles from LeasbIrg,
The county seat of Lee county.
Cutting all wires leading north fr IN
Sylvester was included in the plans
of the. party. For that reason the
fate of the negroes was not definitely
known until hours after they had been
lynched.
At about ten O'Clock at ght Sheriff
L. A. Potts and his jai,er at Sylvester
were awakened by several men, Wnc
announced that taey lad capturel a
negro and wanted to p,ace him in i'll
So well executed were the plans mat
the sheriff saw only three OF the men
he said.
"The first I knew anything wa
wrong was when cne Of the men Wn
had brought the negro to the door
pointed a pistol at me and told me /
get into q ha:hroGm. T ey Ia, tol !
me they wanted to keep the p,is1ne!
in jail at least over night" he SAID
81 was at their mercy, aid, oil
course, c: implied VITA their demand
to give them my keys. The men were
not maslci. There was no lock OIL
the bathroom door, and two rename
with me, keeping me covered. Aftcl
a few minutes, heard whistle, and
then footsteps, as If many men were
entering the jail.
an a little while the whistle was
blown again and my two captors lef'
me and ran out of the jail. Then
heard several motor cars going NORTH
at a rapid rate Of speed. I had n2ve:
seen the men who first came to th3
door, but l would know them if I saw
them again"
The bodies were found by Lee coun'
ty citizens, who were out on the
roads early, apparently under the i'm
preston that if any of the negroes
were taken from the jail they wcpla
be taken to Lee county, where Sher Il
Moreland was popular. Going out from
Starkville, a short distance, they en-
countered the men on a tree at the
side Of the road. Apparently they haG
been strung up and then became tar
gets for the men who had taken then
from pail.
Before the bodies were cut down
they were viewed by many persons
Scme renorts say hundreds were a
tracted to the place. The bodies are
being hc,a for a coroners inquest, TO
which a jury had been empaneEed.
Four CT the victims were o. en-
fami'y-Felix [ axe ard lis three sens
Frank. Dewey and Major. TIE +
was Rodius Seamore. James Ke til :
negro, was the prisoner INST wan:c'
by the lynchers, but Sheriff Potts In
taken the precauticn to rcm@Te h ::
several days aga to some cth j. il
the location CT which he la not d
vulged.
Mcreland was killed at The hcme
Felix Lake, when he wen! there
arrest a negro. 1t was rcp2red t
mere than cne Of those III the hons
shot him and all were arrested -a-Gr