General Williams
General Williams, a Black youth of about 17, was in the custody of constable Thomas W. Joyner, who was taking him to the Waynesboro jail when they reached Perkins Junction, Georgia, on the night of October 23, 1890. According to The Morning News, a masked mob took him from the officer and carried him away, and his body was found the next morning tied to a pine sapling and riddled with bullets. The Alexandria Gazette reported that an armed mob met the deputy on the road, took the youth, tied him to a tree and shot him, and that the coroner returned a verdict of death by parties unknown. Burke County's sheriff had gone to serve papers requiring the constable to produce the youth at his father's request, and the constable said he had been hiding from the lynchers.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A masked mob took General Williams from constable Thomas W. Joyner while he was being taken to the Waynesboro jail, then carried him off and shot him; the coroner's verdict was death by parties unknown.
Reported by: The Morning News, reporting from Millen, Ga. (reporters); Coroner (medical examiner or coroner).