Nease Gillespie
Nease Gillespie was held at the Rowan County jail in Salisbury, North Carolina, on August 6, 1906. That night a mob of about three thousand broke into the jail, and according to the Daily Press it overpowered the sheriff and jailer and took him and two other Black men from their cells. Newspaper accounts say the mob hanged the three men from a tree about a mile east of town and then shot the bodies. The Carolina Watchman reports that the senator, the judge and the solicitor pleaded with the crowd to let the law take its course, but it would not turn back. Newspaper accounts also say he maintained his innocence to the end.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of about three thousand broke into the Rowan County jail in Salisbury, North Carolina, took Nease Gillespie and two other men out, and hanged them from a tree, then shot the bodies.
Reported by: Carolina Watchman (reporters); Governor Glenn of North Carolina.
News reports (14)
- 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
- Daily Press, August 8, 1906, page 1
- Carolina Watchman, August 8, 1906, page 1
- Goldsboro Weekly Argus, August 9, 1906, page 1
- The Interior Journal, August 10, 1906, page 1
- The Semi-Weekly Messenger, August 10, 1906, page 2
- The Savannah Tribune, August 11, 1906, page 1
- The Donaldsonville Chief, August 11, 1906, page 1
- The Montgomery Advertiser, August 16, 1906, page 11
- The Montgomery Advertiser, September 1, 1906, page 3
- Bryan Morning Eagle, September 1, 1906, page 4
- The Citizen, September 6, 1906, page 7