Joe Van Lean
Joe Van Lean was one of ten Black prisoners held in the Union jail in Union, South Carolina, on the night of February 12, 1871. According to Sheriff Dunn, as reported in a special telegram to The Charleston Daily News, a mounted party of about five hundred men took the prisoners out of the jail, and Joe Van Lean was among six men shot at the hanging ground about a mile and a half from town. The Anderson Intelligencer reported that the raiders forced the deputy sheriff and jailor to give up the keys, and a witness at trial said the jailer refused to give up the keys before the party took the prisoners. No one has been identified as a perpetrator.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. Sheriff Dunn, as reported in a Charleston Daily News telegram, said a mounted mob of about five hundred men took Joe Van Lean from the Union jail and shot him.
Reported by: Sheriff Dunn of Union (the agency that held him); The Charleston Daily News (reporters); The Columbia Phoenix (reporters); The Working Christian (reporters); The Anderson Intelligencer (reporters); witnesses at trial.
Sources (13)
- Alexandria Gazette, January 9, 1871, page 2
- Worcester Daily Spy, January 10, 1871, page 1
- The Republican Journal, January 12, 1871, page 2
- Pawtucket Gazette And Chronicle, January 13, 1871, page 2
- New Orleans Republican, February 15, 1871, page 1
- The Charleston Daily News, February 15, 1871, page 1
- Yorkville Enquirer, February 16, 1871, page 3
- The Anderson Intelligencer, February 16, 1871, page 2
- Yorkville Enquirer, February 16, 1871, page 2
- The Daily State Journal, February 16, 1871, page 1
- The Working Christian, February 21, 1871, page 2
- Worcester Daily Spy, November 7, 1871, page 1
- The Charleston Daily News, April 23, 1872, page 1