Lynching of Will Jones
| Part of Jim Crow Era | |
 News coverage of the Lynching of Will Jones | |
| Date | February 13, 1922 |
|---|---|
| Location | Ellaville, Schley County, Georgia |
| Participants | Group of local farmers and at least 2 soldiers who happened to camping nearby |
| Deaths | Will Jones |
Will Jones was an
Background
28-year-old Will Jones lived on a farm occupied by the landowner widow Mrs. Dora Fulford, mother-in-law of Bennie DeVane one of the accused and was regarded as an upstanding citizen by the community. News coverage at the time gave no official reason for the lynching but implied it might have been either Jones was going to report on the bootlegging that was going on in the area or that Will Jones came to the defence of 26-year-old African-American man Floyd Flournoy who had insulted Jessie Mae Devane, by asking for a ride in her buggy.[2] [3]
Lynching
Will Jones was shot at his home, near the Lowe settlement, between 10 and 11:00 PM Sunday, February 12, 1922. Before dying the next day, he was able to make a dying statement to County Commissioner Williamson and Mayor Rogers Williams that identified some of those who shot him. He said that on Sunday he was awakened by someone at his door asking for an auto-tire patch. When Jones refused to open the door, several men started to break in. He grabbed his shotgun and fled out of the back. It was here that he was shot at and where he was able to get off a few shots, wounding Bennie and Harvey. He then fled into the night and sought the help of others. Others had heard the gunshots and were too afraid to help Jones. He then fled to Ellaville. Here, a white mob has assembled and tracked him down to a small shack on the Hart farm, which is located near the line of Sumter and Schley counties around 9:00 AM. A gun battle ensued and the mob left, believing Jones dead. [2]
Aftermath
Nine men were accused of taking part in the lynching and warrants for arrest were issued by the coroner. Clarence Robinson, Thomas Brown, George Trussie Phillips, Henry Lewis Fulford, Henry Harvery (Jessie Mae Devane’s father), Arthur DeVane, Bennie DeVane, and John DeVane.
National memorial
See also
Bibliography
Notes
- ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary 1926, p. 17.
- ^ a b c Americus Times-Recorder, February 17, 1922, p. 1.
- ^ State vs. Henry Harvey, Bennie Devane, and Henry Lewis Fulford, Transcript of trial evidence, Atlanta Constitution, October 11, 1922 (Schley County Superior Court, April 12, 1922, RG 1-4-42 October 11, 1922).
- ^ Americus Times-Recorder, February 15, 1922, p. 1.
- ^ Robertson 2018.
References
- "9 warrants out; Schley Lynchers hiding". OCLC 21134729. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
- "Say Official Has Failed To Do Duty In Lynching Accusations". OCLC 21134729. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
- Robertson, Campbell (April 25, 2018). "A Lynching Memorial Is Opening. The Country Has Never Seen Anything Like It". The New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
- United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (1926). "To Prevent and Punish the Crime of Lynching: Hearings Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on S. 121, Sixty-Ninth Congress, First Session, on Feb. 16, 1926". United States Government Publishing Office. Retrieved January 23, 2022.