Isaiah Rollins
Isaiah Rollins, an 18-year-old Black man, was one of four men held in the small village jail at Ponchatoula, Louisiana, in Tangipahoa Parish. On the night of September 20 or 21, 1900, a mob broke the jail open with axes after a committee of white citizens demanded the keys from Sheriff Nix, who refused to hand them over. The mob took Isaiah and the others from their cells and hanged them from a tree a few blocks away. A coroner's jury returned a verdict of death at the hands of unknown persons, and the newspaper accounts give differing dates and details.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A coroner's jury returned a verdict of death at the hands of unknown persons after a mob broke open the Pontchatoula jail, took him from his cell and hanged him from a tree.
Reported by: coroner's jury (medical examiner or coroner); 1900 Louisiana newspaper accounts (reporters).
News reports (10)
- The Savannah Morning News, September 22, 1900, page 1
- The Age-Herald, September 22, 1900, page 3
- Virginian-Pilot, September 22, 1900, page 1
- The Times, September 22, 1900, page 1
- The News & Observer, September 22, 1900, page 1
- Semi-Weekly Interior Journal, September 25, 1900, page 1
- Highland Recorder, September 28, 1900, page 1
- The Semi-Weekly Messenger, September 28, 1900, page 7
- Le Meschacébé, September 29, 1900, page 2
- The True Democrat, September 29, 1900, page 1