John Gillespie
John Gillespie was held in the Rowan County jail in Salisbury, North Carolina, in August 1906. On the night of August 6, a mob of about three thousand broke into the jail, took him and two other Black men from their cells, and hanged them from a tree outside town, where the crowd then fired on the bodies. Accounts say the sheriff, the jailer and other officials pleaded with the crowd and tried to hold it back, but the officers could not stop it, and the local militia had only blank cartridges. Several reports say he maintained his innocence to the end, and one says he wept and begged for his life before he was killed.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. The Caucasian reports that a mob of about two thousand broke into the Rowan County jail, took him out and hanged him from an oak tree, and that the officers did not stop it.
Reported by: The Caucasian (reporters); The Monroe Journal (reporters); Carolina Watchman (reporters).
News reports (13)
- The Birmingham Age-Herald, August 7, 1906, page 1
- The Montgomery Advertiser, August 7, 1906, page 1
- Palestine Daily Herald, August 7, 1906, page 1
- The Ocala Evening Star, August 7, 1906, page 2
- The Monroe Journal, August 7, 1906, page 3
- Daily Press, August 8, 1906, page 1
- Carolina Watchman, August 8, 1906, page 1
- Goldsboro Weekly Argus, August 9, 1906, page 1
- The French Broad Hustler, August 9, 1906, page 7
- The Caucasian, August 9, 1906, page 1
- The Semi-Weekly Messenger, August 10, 1906, page 2
- The Savannah Tribune, August 11, 1906, page 1
- The Breckenridge News, August 22, 1906, page 8