Hanged with a plow line
Item
- Title
- Hanged with a plow line
- Source
- The Montgomery Advertiser (AL)
- Date
- 8/3/01
- page
- 1
- Identifier
- Image 1 of The Montgomery advertiser (Montgomery, Ala.), August 3, 1901 | Library of Congress (loc.gov)
- Crime
- Murder
- Subject
- lynching
- Race of alleged offender
- Black alleged offender
- Gender of alleged offender
- Male alleged offender
- Race of alleged victim
- white alleged victim
- Gender of alleged victim
- Male alleged victim
- Law enforcement involved
- Mob
- Stage of the Legal System
- lynched
- Location
- in state; Birmingham, AL
- Length of story
- 321
- Description
- Birmingham. Aug. 2.—(Special.)— William Vann, a white man. aged 25, who has been working at Irondale, was making his way on foot across the country to Anniston, his home, accompanied by his wife and two small children. The party stopped last night near McLaughlin's farm, three miles east of Leed’s, in St. Clair County, and slept under a large tree. During the night Vann was assaulted by a negro and struck on the head with a rock, which broke his skull and rendered him insensible. The assailant then knocked down Mrs. Vann, and attempted to commit a criminal assault upon her. Her screams frightened him away. Mrs. Vann stated that Just before dark last night they had stopped for water at a negro house, and she believed the negro who gave them wa- ter was the guilty man. The tracks of the murderer showed that he wore a defective shoe, from which his toes protruded. This corresponded with the description of Charley Bend, a negro, who worked for J. C. McLaughlin. He was arrested and a preliminary trial was begun by Justice of the Peace Spruell at the scene of the crime. At noon two citizens were deputized to take charge of Bend, who was taken to a firm house a mile away for din- ner. On the way back to the place of trial this afternoon a mob gathered and overpowered the deputies and took the negro from them. Bend, when questioned, admitted that he struck Vann with a rock, but said he did so because Vann had cursed him. He was then strung up to the nearest tree, a plow line being used. The line was so frail that the negro's body was tied to the trunk of the tree to prevent him kicking and breaking the rope. He was thus choked to death. The body was still hanging tonight. Mrs. Vann identified Bend as the guilty party.
