Lynched Negro May be Innocent of Crime!
The stories whispered to us in private…history is what it is…
Until now, I’ve posted stories that are mostly nostalgic, sometimes sad or possibly funny. But there is another side of our history, and after consulting with several relatives from all branches of the family, I decided, with their blessing, to just put it out here.
Fortunately for us, our family is now multi racial, well educated and enlightened. I can truthfully say that in the past twenty years, I haven’t heard a prejudiced or derogatory word come out of the mouths of anyone from my extended family. Indeed, I find our recent generations as a whole, very accepting of our diverse lifestyles and life choices.
One thing that I’ve noticed about the cousins in my generation is that we share the common trait of being open minded, inquisitive and possess the wonderful ability to think freely. I believe we can thank our parents and grandparents for endowing us with these qualities.
Ironically, the generations that came before us were also multi racial! They just didn’t know it or always fess up to it. The Landreth family had strong ties to the Melungeon community of Appalachia. As we have learned, by reading Julia’s story, the Caperton’s also have that unique distinction – there is Indian blood in there somewhere – I just haven’t been able to figure out which of our ancestors it came from. At one point, I thought the research completed about my father’s lineage was well documented and accurate as far back as 1800. Boy, was I thrown for a loop when I ran across the birth certificate of his grandfather, Samuel Landreth, that not only showed that his grandmother was unmarried it also showed that Samuel’s father was simply named “Cherokee Indian”. The family went to great links to hide that fact, census reports usually don’t mention Samuel and when they do he is listed as the sister of Emily (his mother). Not only did it give me a wonderful surprise, but it also caused a lot of new work trying to rewrite my Landreth family lineage!
When my grandmother Landreth, who always spoke in hyperbole, was mad at his side of the family, she would whisper under her breath something about “Them ole Me-Lun-Injuns”. That was the only reference I remember hearing as a child, and I had no idea what it meant! My assumption was that she was talking about coal minors.
When reading Julia’s story, there is a page that is a bit out of sequence and out of context with the rest of the document. It is a story, told to Gertrude by her father Mark Ratliff. The story written below, seemed very similar to a story told to me by my father about a lynching witnessed by his father, Elmer. They two stories had so many similarities that it encouraged me to conduct some research of my own. I believe the lynching of Robert Johnson is the one described in both of these family stories. This tragic event happened in 1912 -beginning in Bluefield – where Elmer lived and ending in Princeton – near the home of Mark and Julia. This lynching is well documented with research. Links to some
of the research and newspaper articles can be found at the end of this message.
Elmer Landreth’s version of the Lynching – told to me by my father Bill Landreth:
When Elmer was a very young man, he was talked into joining the local branch of the KKK by his mates. He didn’t think a lot about it, they mostly had large meetings and did a lot of yelling and shouting. The gatherings also provided an outlet for the “youngsters” to drink a little mountain dew and feel like one of the men. Elmer never saw any violence until one afternoon his mates pounded on his door and told him to hurry along, there had been a white girl raped, a colored man had done it and was getting away. The men and boys of the coal mining region piled into some kind of vehicle or vehicles, belonging to the mine operators and proceeded to travel from Welch to Bluefield.
When they arrived in Bluefield, an angry and frenzied crowd filled the streets. Word got around that the prisoner was headed to the court house in Princeton, so the mob – including Elmer and his mates – followed the train to Princeton. When they arrived, there was already an even larger mob forming. Elmer stayed for the entire event. He described seeing a black man dragged through the streets getting pounded by rocks along the way. This upset him so much he remembered it for the rest of his life and brought it up frequently. Elmer never attended another KKK meeting, and my father and his sister told me the only time in their lives they remembered getting a whipping from their father as children, was when they referred to someone by using the N word.
Mark Ratliff’s version of the lynching –written by Gertrude and Ruth:
(This paragraph follows a part in the story where Gertrude and Ruth are telling of the time Mark and Julia lived in Princeton.)
Mark joined in the activities of the town, he took part in everything. He was in the parades and other meetings of the town. Mark joined a lodge and belonged to the union at the shops. He was a leader and didn’t like to follow, he wanted to be right in the front line of things.
There was one gathering he was in, but this time he wasn’t the leader, he was only following the crowd. This was a mob that had gathered. A young couple in town had just been married for a few days. One late afternoon they went out strolling around, enjoying the cool air and sounds of the evening. Suddenly, from out of no where it seemed, a negro man jumped out. He knocked the young man out, took the young bride away and raped her. The people of the town were very mad, so they gathered. They caught a young negro man hiding, they were certain he was the right one. The young woman identified the negro as the one.
That was all they needed, they didn’t wait for a trial, they didn’t give the young negro man a chance. The angry mob gathered, they took the colored man, dragged him through the streets, the mob was like wild animals.
They tore the man’s clothes from him, strung him up to a light pole, The mob beat him, shot him, threw knives and rocks at him and spat on him.
Mark did not help them, but he followed the crowd and saw all of it. He brought home a piece of the rope that was used. It was later believed that this young woman had lied about this young negro, but it was never proven
Headline from The Farmer's Advocate, September 12, 1912
The Journal of West Virginia’s History Version of the Lynching
The Lynching of Robert Johnson is probably the most tragic in the state’s history of racial violence. Johnson was charged with attempted rape of a young white girl in Princeton; however, he declared his innocence, gave an alibi, and proved every statement he made. Taken to Bluefield after his arrest, Johnson faced his accuser who failed to identify him as her
assailant. The police then removed Johnson, stripped him of his clothes and dressed him according to the girl’s original description. When the police took Johnson before the girl again, she screamed in horror, declaring Johnson initially, but also declared Johnson to be the assailant upon the second presentation.
Despite protest of his innocence, a lynch mob sought to force Robert Johnson from his cell. When the move entered the jail, they discovered that a deputy had removed him for safe keeping and was headed for the Virginia Railway. The angry mob eventually received reports of Johnson’s whereabouts and proceeded to overpower the deputy and capture Johnson. They met an even larger mob upon their return to Princeton along with officers of the law. The officers, despite much protest, convinced the mob to turn Robert Johnson over
to them. Recognizing their inability to assure Johnson’s safety, the sheriff deputized an additional eighteen volunteers to guard the prisoner; unfortunately, for Johnson, the volunteers
came from the lynch mob itself. Not long after the new deputies took their posts, another lynch mob removed Johnson from his cell. Wasting little time the mob, led by the father of the young girl, hanged Johnson and riddled his body with
bullets.
This story is also the subject of a book written by Kathy Hartwell, Titled: This Child of Mine. The book is fiction, but the core of the story is based around this event.
Pride of West Virginia 