Executed
Arden Nelson
Arden Nelson, a Black man, was hanged at Plymouth, North Carolina, on January 18, 1878, after being taken from the jail that morning. A minister spoke with him before the execution, and a Norfolk Virginian dispatch, reprinted in the Alexandria Gazette, reported that he sang the hymn "I am so glad that Jesus loves me." He told the crowd that he had no malice toward anyone on this earth and that he was reconciled to die. The report gives the time he was pronounced dead as 1:29 p.m.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state
Reported by: Norfolk Virginian dispatch from Plymouth (reporters).