Judge Lynch's Court Statistical Tables
The Maryland State Archives offers this historical look at the lynching phenomena as it occurred in the state during the late nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. It is not the purpose of this site to interpret these acts, but only to provide information, data, and context for lay readers and researchers who may themselves affix interpretation.
For each lynching under the consideration of this study, a profile questionnaire was completed. The goal of this questionnaire was to apply categorization to the various elements of each episode -- from the trigger crime through the post-lynching climate -- so that generalizations may be drawn from the incidents collectively. The results of the categorization are submitted in tables below. The individual profile questionnaire for each lynching victim is linked directly to the respective biographical profile.
Table 1 - Maryland Lynchings, 1854 - 1933
Name
of Person Lynched |
Date
of Lynching |
Color
of Person Lynched |
Color
of Trigger Crime Victim |
Gender
of Trigger Crime Victim |
Color
of Lynch Mob |
Crime
for which Lynching Executed |
County
in Which Lynching Occurred |
William
"Cuba" Andrews |
6/9/1895 |
black |
white |
female |
white |
Sexual Violence |
Somerset |
George
Armwood |
|
black |
white |
|
|
|
|
James Bowens |
11/16/1895 |
black |
white |
female |
white |
Sexual Violence |
Frederick |
George Briscoe |
11/26/1884 |
black |
white |
female |
white |
Robbery |
Anne Arundel |
William Burns |
10/6/1907 |
black |
white |
male |
white |
Unsolicited Fatal Violence |
Allegany |
Townshend
Cook |
6/2/1885 |
black |
white |
female |
white |
Sexual Violence |
Carroll |
Howard
Cooper |
7/13/1885 |
black |
white |
female |
white |
Sexual Violence |
Baltimore |
Henry Davis |
|
black |
white |
|
|
|
|
Asbury Green |
5/13/1891 |
black |
white |
female |
white |
Sexual Violence |
Queen Anne's |
Michael Green |
|
black |
white |
|
|
|
|
Benjamin
Hance |
6/17/1887 |
black |
white |
female |
white |
Sexual Violence |
St. Mary's |
Jacob Henson Jr. |
5/28/1895 |
black |
white |
male |
white |
Unsolicited Fatal Violence |
Howard |
King Johnson |
12/25/1911 |
black |
white |
male |
white |
Fatal Violence in Self-Defense |
Anne Arundel |
Isaac Kemp |
6/8/1894 |
black |
white |
male |
white |
Violent Altercation Resulting in Fatality |
Princess Anne |
Garfield
King |
5/25/1898 |
black |
white |
male |
white |
Unsolicited Fatal Violence |
Wicomico |
Marshall
E. Price |
6/28/1895 |
white |
white |
female |
white |
Unsolicited Fatal Violence |
Caroline |
James Reed |
7/28/1907 |
black |
white |
male |
white |
Unsolicited Fatal Violence |
Somerset |
Wright Smith |
10/5/1898 |
black |
white |
female |
white |
Unsolicited Non-fatal Violence |
Anne Arundel |
John Scott |
3/23/1875 |
black |
white |
female |
interracial |
Sexual Violence |
Prince George's |
Nicholas
Snowden |
9/18/1885 |
black |
black |
female |
black |
Sexual Violence |
Howard |
James Taylor |
5/17/1892 |
black |
white |
female |
white |
Sexual Violence |
Kent |
Joe Vermillion |
12/11/1889 |
white |
n/a |
n/a |
white |
Arson |
Prince George's |
Charles
Whitley |
6/6/1886 |
black |
white |
female |
white |
Sexual Violence |
Calvert |
Matt Williams |
12/4/1931 |
black |
white |
male |
white |
Unsolicited Fatal Violence |
Wicomico |
Stephen
Williams |
10/20/1894 |
black |
white |
female |
white |
Sexual Violence |
Prince George's |
Table 2 - Crimes For Which Person Was Lynched, and Occurrences in Maryland
Type
of Crime |
No.
of Occurrences Resulting in a Lynch Action |
Unsolicited fatal violence |
6 |
Violence in fatal self-defense |
1 |
Unsolicited non-fatal violence |
1 |
Violence in non-fatal self-defense |
0 |
Sexual violence |
11 |
Robbery |
1 |
Arson |
1 |
Participatory insurrection |
0 |
Guilt-by-association (in
the case of insurrection) |
0 |
Table 3 - Lynching
Occurrences in Maryland Compared to National Incidences, by
Decade
Year Span |
Maryland Incidences |
National Incidences |
1860s |
0 |
|
1870s |
1 |
|
1880s |
7 |
|
1890s |
10 |
|
1900s |
2 |
|
1910s |
1 |
|
1920s |
0 |
|
1930s |
1 |
|
Table 4 - Lynching
Occurrences in Maryland Counties, 1865 – 1933
Region: County |
1865 - 1899 |
1900 - 1933 |
WESTERN MARYLAND: |
0 |
1 |
Garrett County |
0 |
0 |
Allegany County |
0 |
1 |
Washington County |
0 |
0 |
CENTRAL MARYLAND: |
5 |
0 |
Frederick County |
1 |
0 |
Carroll County |
1 |
0 |
Harford County |
0 |
0 |
Baltimore County |
1 |
0 |
Baltimore City |
0 |
0 |
Howard County |
2 |
0 |
Montgomery County |
0 |
0 |
SOUTHERN MARYLAND: |
7 |
1 |
Anne Arundel County |
2 |
1 |
Prince George’s County |
3 |
0 |
Calvert County |
1 |
0 |
Charles County |
0 |
0 |
St. Mary’s County |
1 |
0 |
UPPER EASTERN
SHORE MARYLAND: |
2 |
0 |
Cecil County |
0 |
0 |
Kent County |
1 |
0 |
Queen Anne County |
1 |
0 |
Talbot County |
0 |
0 |
Caroline County |
0 |
0 |
LOWER EASTERN
SHORE MARYLAND: |
3 |
2 |
Dorchester County |
0 |
0 |
Wicomico County |
1 |
1 |
Somerset County |
2 |
1 |
Worcester County |
0 |
0 |
Table 5 a - Profile
of Victims in Lynching Trigger Crimes, 1865 -
1933
Demographics |
No. of Occurrences* |
Local |
19 |
Outsider |
1 |
Male |
7 |
Female |
13 |
Black |
1 |
White |
19 |
Child or teenager |
6 |
Officer of Law or Gov't |
3 |
* Because multiple characteristics per victim, number of characteristics will exceed number of victims
Table 5 b - Profile
of Persons Lynched in Maryland, 1865 - 1933
Demographics |
No. of Occurrences* |
Local |
16 |
Outsider |
6 |
Male |
22 |
Female |
0 |
Black |
20 |
White |
2 |
Child or teenager |
1 |
* Because multiple characteristics per incidence, number of characteristics will exceed number of persons lynched
Table 6 - Profile
of Lynching Behavior
Point at Which
Lynching Usurped Due Process of the Law: |
No. of Lynchings |
Shortly after the crime, but before any
conclusive investigation |
13 |
While trial was on-going, after the verdict,
but before Sentencing |
2 |
After the trial had concluded, verdict
handed down, sentencing handed down
Persons Lynched after being sentenced
to death by the court
Persons Lynched but not sentenced
to death by the court |
6
3
3 |