An estimated crowd of 20,000 people, the largest ever in the city of Rome, Georgia came to watch Gus Johnson hanged, hear him confess to various crimes and watch to see if he brother would bring an army to rescue him. It was March 16, 1878. Johnson gave his last words: This is Gus Johnson, …
Augustus “Gus” Johnson, the first white man hanged for killing a black man in Georgia Read More »
George O. Glenn of north Georgia, had a lot of successes. Yet there must have been some failures in his private realm. In 1908, he hit a low. As a member of the Georgia legislature he proposed a bill to protect poor bachelors from the wiles of women. It read “if any woman, whether maid …
A 1908 Bill Against “Betraying into Matrimony” by George Glenn Read More »
This comes from a 1919 issue of the Crisis and it’s an intense meditation on what Christmas means. SHE was very small and pretty and black and lived in the cabin be-yond the Big Road and down the lane by the creek, there where field on field of green cotton was flowering in the spring. And one …
At least 116 of Georgia’s 159 counties are named after slave owners. Of the 44 counties not named after slave owners, only 3 souls stand out as individuals that for whatever reason, could have, but did not partake in the ownership of human beings (i.e. Paulding, Dodge and Laurens). The rest of the 44 are …
How many of Georgia’s counties are named after slave owners? Read More »
Polk Mitchell and Charley Williams had a history. This history would unhappily lead to their fateful encounter on September 6, 1885, and both of their deaths. Charley Williams was a black slater, a roofer. He was known as a good worker and was well regarded by prominent local builders. Polk Mitchell was a white street …
Chattanooga, 1885 – the Murders of Polk Mitchell and Charley Williams Read More »
In Georgia and Tennessee, only the grantor (the seller) must sign a deed conveying real property. Even so, the grantee (the one receiving the property) must accept the property. This usually isn’t an issue as real estate is usually a desirable thing. However there have been instances where this isn’t the case. For example, if …
Times were tough in 1932 Mississippi. The state began the year with a grand total of $1,326.00 in the state treasury. There were outstanding warrants against that amount by creditors for almost $6 million. Besides that, there were still Confederate Veteran pensions to be paid, and many school teachers hadn’t been paid in a year. …
Dalton’s last lynching occurred on September 6, 1936. The victim was Lon McCamy. Lon McCamy had up until recently been a dishwasher at the Hotel Dalton, which was a pretty good job for a black man in Dalton. African Americans weren’t allowed to work in the mills. He had lost that job and resorted to …
On July 1, 1907, the citizens of Dalton awoke to find a dead man hanging from a downtown bridge. Around 6 o’clock A.M., the body of Dock Posey was taken down and, being refused by his wife, shipped by train down to Atlanta. There, it was taken by the Atlanta Medical College, now Emory, for …
