William Andrews
William Andrews, a 20-year-old man who had come to Princess Anne, Maryland, from North Carolina, was held at the local jail and brought to the courthouse for court on June 9, 1897. As sheriff Nelson and deputy Dryden moved him back toward the jail after sentencing, a mob overpowered the officers, beat him, and hanged him from a tree near the courthouse, according to newspaper accounts. Some accounts say the sheriff and deputy were overpowered rather than resisting or giving him up, and one says the officers were leaving the courthouse when the crowd seized him. The judge pleaded with the crowd to let the court proceed, and the coroner later ordered the body cut down.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob seized William Andrews from the sheriff and deputy at the Princess Anne courthouse, beat him, and hanged him from a tree, with reports saying the sheriff and deputy were overpowered.
Reported by: news dispatch from Princess Anne, Md. (reporters); Norfolk Virginian (reporters); newspaper report.
News reports (14)
- San Antonio Daily Light, June 9, 1897, page 5
- El Paso Daily Herald, June 9, 1897, page 1
- The Morning News, June 10, 1897, page 5
- The Evening Bulletin, June 10, 1897, page 4
- Richmond Dispatch, June 10, 1897, page 6
- The Norfolk Virginian, June 10, 1897, page 1
- The Times, June 10, 1897, page 1
- The Roanoke Times, June 10, 1897, page 4
- The Grenada Sentinel, June 12, 1897, page 3
- Peninsula Enterprise, June 12, 1897, page 2
- Richmond Planet, June 12, 1897, page 4
- Clarke Courier, June 16, 1897, page 2
- The Free Press, June 17, 1897, page 2
- The Austin Weekly Statesman, June 17, 1897, page 11