Hudson Johnson
Hudson Johnson was held in the Barnwell County jail in South Carolina on December 28, 1889. According to contemporary newspaper accounts, several hundred masked men broke into the jail before dawn that Saturday, bound the jailer, and took Johnson and seven other Black men out to the edge of town, where they were shot dead. The jailer was forced to go along with the mob. Local leaders condemned the killings, and the governor was asked to send troops to keep the peace.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of several hundred masked men broke into the Barnwell County jail, overpowered the jailer, and took Hudson Johnson and seven other men out of town, where they were shot; a Barnwell citizens' advisory committee statement condemned the killings.
Reported by: Barnwell citizens' advisory committee statement; News and Courier (reporters); Charleston, S. C. newspaper dispatch (reporters); Barnwell newspaper account (Fisherman & Farmer, reprinting regional reports) (reporters).
News reports (10)
- The Morning News, December 29, 1889, page 1
- Richmond Dispatch, December 29, 1889, page 3
- The Evening Bulletin, December 30, 1889, page 1
- Shenandoah Herald, January 3, 1890, page 2
- The State Chronicle, January 3, 1890, page 3
- Huntsville Gazette, January 4, 1890, page 1
- The Weekly Messenger, January 4, 1890, page 1
- The Valley Virginian, January 9, 1890, page 4
- Fisherman & Farmer, January 10, 1890, page 2
- Lynchings are part of Georgia’s past and present