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1930 lynchings in Texas

Other lynchings of Black men in Texas during the following few weeks[edit]

The lynching of George Hughes was one of five lynching attacks by Whites on Black men within nine weeks in Texas.

  1. May 8, 1930: George Hughes, a Black man accused of raping a White woman, lynched Sherman, Texas
  2. May 16, 1930: George Johnson (1900–1930), a Black man accused of slaying his White landlord, George Forrest Fortenberry (1879–1930), after an altercation over a debt, was shot to death by a sheriff's posse after he had barricaded himself in a cabin in Honey Grove, Fannin County, Texas. White men then fastened the body's feet to the back of a truck, face down. In this position the corpse was dragged five miles through the business section of town, then into the then-called "Negro section of Honey Grove," then they publically burned his remains. Honey Grove is 50 miles east of Sherman – Fannin County is the next county over from Grayson County.
  3. June 18, 1930: Bill Roan (né William Roan), a Black man, worked for Mr. and Mrs. Henry Bowman on their farm near Benchley. June 15, 1930 – a Sunday – Henry Bowman (né Henry Monroe Bowman; 1888–1972) beat Roan for being "sassy" with his wife. Bowman allegedly took Roan to his barn, stripped him, and brutally whipped him with a wet rope. The next day, Monday, Bowman's wife, Helen Bowman (née Ruby Helen Peyton; 1898–1979), accused Roan of attempting to assault her. Local law enforcement officers, including Brazos County Deputy Sheriff C.L. Baker (né Charles Lorin Baker; 1869–1935), were apprised of the accusations, they did little to investigate. Wednesday morning, June 18, 1930, Roan was found dead by two White men, Columbus Seale (né Henry Columbus Seale; 1891–1961)[a] and John O'Connor (né John Albert O'Connor; 1897–1960), in a pasture of a cattle ranch in Brazos County owned by Columbus's father, Robert Henry Seale (1860–1943). One of Roan's arms was "almost torn off by buckshot" and he had "a gaping wound in his chest." Roan was slain, reportedly, by a posse of a dozen White men who hunted him down. Deputy Sheriff Baker, on Tuesday, June 17, 1930, had been informed by a member of a posse of about a dozen White men that they were going to hunt for and kill Roan. Baker simply told them to "go home." After Roan's body was found, Brazos and Robertson County authorities, including Deputy Sheriff Baker, reportedly claimed to not know any members of the posse.[1][2][3][4][5]
    "Texas farmers have found that it is cheaper to lynch a Negro than to pay him his honest wage." – California Eagle, June 20, 1930[2]
  4. June 28, 1930: Jack Robertson, a Black man accused of shooting R.L. Egger (né Robert Lee Egger; 1896–1973), blinding him, and also accused of shooting his wife, Stella Egger (née Stella Marie Baker; 1899–1993) – both white, Mr. Egger, a dairyman said to be Robertson's employer, reportedly the result of an argument over chickens, was lynched (fatally shot) at night in Round Rock, Texas, by a posse.
  5. July 12, 1930, Shamrock, Texas, a posse headed by Collingsworth County Sheriff Claude Elihu McKinney (1885–1972) thwarted a mob of 200 White men attempting to lynch Jesse Lee Washington (1909–1930), a Black farmhand accused of attacking and killing a White farm woman, Ruth Vaughan (née Mabel Ruth Tackitt; 1905–1930), wife of Henry Hugh Vaughan (1906–1932).[6] Washington was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, which was carried out by electric chair July 12, 1930, in Huntsville. His final statement:
    "Yes sir, White folks, I'm going to die. And, I'm asking all of you not to hold any malice against me in your hearts. The Lord has forgiven me all my sins and I am ready to go. I didn't kill the White lady, and if I had, I would tell you that I did."
    Henry Vaughan committed suicide September 12, 1932, in Shamrock.

Ada Fisher[edit]

  • 6 years, 3 months and 22 days

Oklahoma[edit]

  1. May 30, 1930, Henry Argo, a Black man, was lynched in Chickasha, Oklahoma – the birthplace of civil rights activist Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher (1924–1995) – about 165 miles north-northwest of Sherman. Argo was accused of attacking Mrs. Angie Skinner (née Clara Angeline Orlds; 1910–1968), a White woman, at their dugout home, about a mile from Chickasha. Argo was in the Grady County jail while awaiting trial when, on May 31, 1930, a member of a White mob stormed the jail and fought National Guardsmen. Another unidentified member of the mob managed to shoot through the jail window, critically injuring Argo with a bullet through his skull. The shooter was said to have been Jud Brown. While Argo was laying would on a cot in the jail, G.W. Skinner (né George Washington Skinner; 1899–1960), husband of the accuser, plunged a knife into Argo's chest. Authorities took Argo to a nearby hospital where, reportedly, medical attendants refused aid. Argo, then unconscious and thought by the mob to be dead, was returned to the jail. Argo was transferred to a hospital in Oklahoma City where he died May 31, 1930; 12:30 am. No one was ever convicted for the murder. Several, however, were arrested for destruction of government property:
    1. Leonard Davis, mob leader and employee at the Texaco filling station
    2. Dr. James A. Anderson (né James Austin Anderson; 1880–1948), a dentist
    3. Henry "Harry" Miller
    4. A.C. ("One-Eyed") Walker, mob leader
    5. Austin Vernon (né Thomas Austin Vernon; born 1905, Canton, Georgia), named as "John Doe" in the original petition
    6. Tom Johnson
    7. John Gooch (né John Pearl Gooch; 1886–1965)
    8. Donald Johnson
    9. J.A. "Jud" Brown, the shooter[7]
    10. Preston Walker
    11. George Washington Skinner
    12. Red McWhorter[8]
    13. James Hedgecock (né James Henry Hedgecock; 1911–1967)
    14. Red Hale

    Five freed at September 2, 1930, hearing:

    1. Cope Donaldson
    2. Bryant Lambert
    3. W.H. Bradley
    4. John Smith
    5. F.R. McClain

    Those held after September 2, 1930, hearing:

    1. George Washington Skinner
    2. Leonard Davis, mob leader and employee at the Texaco filling station
    3. A.C. ("One-Eyed") Walker, mob leader
    4. John Roberts
    5. Lee Gamble
    6. Donald Johnson
    7. John Gooch (né John Pearl Gooch; 1886–1965)
    8. James Hedgecock (né James Henry Hedgecock; 1911–1967)
    9. J.D. Baker
    10. John Lee
    11. Henry "Harry" Miller
    12. Tom Johnson
    13. Red McWhorter[8]
    14. Preston Walker
    15. Dr. James A. Anderson (né James Austin Anderson; 1880–1948), a dentist
    16. H.C. Hale
    17. Austin Vernon (né Thomas Austin Vernon; born 1905, Canton, Georgia), named as "John Doe" in the original petition


    According to a June 23, 1930, article by Time, Argo had been held in the Chickasha jail at the time of the attack. A mob broke in and overtook the guards and Argo was shot in the head and then stabbed, according to the article.[9][10][11][12] Argo, in his teens, had, in May 1930, been release from the Arkansas Reformatory into the custody of his father, Dan Argo, who owned an auto repair garage in Chickasha.[13]

    On May 21, 2021, Rev. Dr. Raushan Paul Ashanti-Alexander proposed that the City of Chickasha pass a resolution condemning the actions that led to Argo's death. The Chickasha Mayor Chris Mosley agreed to prepare the resolution.

Bibliography[edit]

  1. ^ Henry Columbus Seale was a distant relative of convicted KKK kidnapper and murderer, James Ford Seale (1935–2011). They were third cousins, once removed. Henry Columbus Seale was also a distant relative of Henry Bowman. Bowman's father's first wife, Samantha Ann Seale (maiden; 1834–1870) (her second marriage), was a double second cousin, twice removed, of Henry Columbus Seale – double because her father, Joshua Seale (1805–1867) and mother, Elizabeth Seale (maiden; 1813–1893) were first cousins (they had the same grandparents).

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ New York Age, June 28, 1930.
  2. ^ a b California Eagle, June 20, 1930.
  3. ^ Time, October 27, 1930.
  4. ^ Earsy, Rothbaum, and Baum.
  5. ^ Raper, Chapter 8.
  6. ^ Raper, Chapter 22.
  7. ^ Chickasha Star, June 5, 1930.
  8. ^ a b Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 10, 1930.
  9. ^ Time, June 9, 1930.
  10. ^ Time, June 23, 1930.
  11. ^ Daily Worker. "Militia ...," June 2, 1930.
  12. ^ New York Times, June 1, 1930.
  13. ^ Raper, Chapter 18.

References linked to notes[edit]


  • California Eagle (June 20, 1930). "Texas Records Another Lynching". Vol. 43, no. 2. pp. 1 & 2 (columns 1 & 3). Retrieved July 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. LCCN sn82-16196; OCLC 175312023 (all editions).


→ "Militia Aids Okla. Mob to Lynch Negro". p. 1 (column 4, top).
→ "Police Break Up Anti-Lynch Meet". p. 1 (far right column, bottom).






Books, journals





Government and genealogical archives

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