Roby Baskin
Roby Baskin, a Black man, was being held in the county jail in Houston, Mississippi, on February 9, 1909. A crowd of more than 300 people took him from the jail and hanged him from a tree within about two hundred yards of the building, and newspaper accounts say no shots were fired. Officers who had custody of him surrendered him without resistance, and the sheriff's representatives said they considered this justified, though one paper reports that a deputy who objected was overpowered and his pistols taken. Leaders of the mob said he had not been given the speedy trial that had been promised, and the sheriff from Okolona arrived as he died. His mother came to the scene and asked for his body, which was taken to her home.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of more than 300 people took Roby Baskin from the Houston, Mississippi jail and hanged him from a mulberry or elm tree, and the sheriff's representatives surrendered him without resistance, saying they considered this justified.
Reported by: Sheriff's representatives, Houston, Mississippi (the agency that held him); Leaders of the mob, per the newspaper's dispatch (witnesses); The Herald And News (dispatch from Houston, Miss.) (reporters).
Sources (9)
- The Bridgeport Evening Farmer, February 10, 1909, page 4
- The Columbus Commercial, February 11, 1909, page 1
- The Times And Democrat, February 11, 1909, page 1
- The Bamberg Herald, February 11, 1909, page 1
- Bridgeton Pioneer, February 11, 1909, page 8
- The Herald And News, February 12, 1909, page 2
- The Semi-Weekly Leader, February 13, 1909, page 2
- The Manning Times, February 17, 1909, page 6
- The Hickman Courier, February 18, 1909, page 2