Ed Roach
Ed Roach, a Black man in his twenties, was held in the jail at Roxboro, North Carolina, in July 1920. The Hickory Daily Record reported, citing the sheriff's office, that a mob gathered quietly overnight, took him from the jail on the morning of July 7, and hanged him about two miles outside town. The Independent reported that about two hundred masked men took him, carried him to a Black church near town, hanged him in front of it and shot his body. A contractor for whom Roach worked made an affidavit that he was at work under him through the afternoon in question. No arrests had been made in the killing as of the report.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took Ed Roach from the Roxboro jail and killed him, according to the editorial and the Associated Press report citing the sheriff's office; a contractor's affidavit says Roach was working for him that afternoon, which the editorial reports.
Reported by: The Independent (editorial) (reporters); Associated Press report citing sheriff's office (reporters); contractor for whom Roach had worked (affidavit) (witnesses).