Bush

Samuel Bush was a Black man held in the jail at Decatur, Illinois. Newspapers give different dates for his death, from May 31 to June 5, 1893, but describe a mob of about twenty-five men breaking into the jail, taking him from his cell and hanging him from a telegraph pole. The Indianapolis Journal and the Wichita Daily Eagle report that the deputy sheriff and a special officer refused entry and said they did not have the keys, while The Citizen says the jailer refused the demand and the mob overpowered the officers. According to the Indianapolis Journal, he prayed for about ten minutes and kept saying he was innocent before he was hanged. Governor Altgeld condemned the killing and offered rewards for the arrest and conviction of those who took part.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (disputed; neglect alleged). A mob took him from the Decatur jail and hanged him from a telegraph pole; a letter from Black citizens of Macon County says officers did not act to protect him despite warnings, and Wilson B. Woodford's 1898 critique disputes Deputy Harry Midkiff's claim that he did all he could to stop the mob.

Reported by: Alexandria Gazette (reporters); Philadelphia Times (reporters); The Citizen (reporters); The Wichita Daily Eagle (reporters); Wilson B. Woodford, drawing on the Decatur Daily Review, in The Illinois Record (reporters); Letter from colored citizens of Macon County, in The Illinois Record (advocates); Governor Altgeld; Decatur jail deputies, including Deputy Harry Midkiff (the agency that held him).

Sources (13)

• June 3, 1893 Equal Justice Initiative, A History of Racial Injustice calendar, June 3, 1893
• The Herald, June 4, 1893, page 4 The Herald, June 4, 1893
• The Indianapolis Journal, June 4, 1893, page 4 The Indianapolis Journal, June 4, 1893
• The Wichita Daily Eagle, June 4, 1893, page 2 The Wichita Daily Eagle, June 4, 1893
• Alexandria Gazette, June 5, 1893, page 2 Alexandria Gazette, June 5, 1893
• Goldsboro Weekly Argus, June 8, 1893, page 2 Goldsboro Weekly Argus, June 8, 1893
• Canton Weekly Register, June 8, 1893, page 12 Canton Weekly Register, June 8, 1893
• Canton Weekly Register, June 8, 1893, page 9 Canton Weekly Register, June 8, 1893
• Audubon County Republican, June 8, 1893, page 1 Audubon County Republican, June 8, 1893
• The Citizen, June 10, 1893, page 3 The Citizen, June 10, 1893
• The Freeman, June 10, 1893, page 5 The Freeman, June 10, 1893
• The Illinois Record, September 24, 1898, page 1 The Illinois Record, September 24, 1898
• The Illinois Record, October 15, 1898, page 1 The Illinois Record, October 15, 1898