Alleged offense: Burglary and Arson
Race: Black
Gender: Male
Age: 26
Legal intervention (in alleged offense): Yes
Legal intervention (following lynching): Yes
Mob size: 50-100
Mob members: Unrecorded
Alleged victim: Unrecorded
Household Status: Unmarried
Occupation: Farm laborer
A mob abducted and lynched Henry Tanner, John Tanner, and Alonzo Smith from the Granville County jail. Authorities charged the Tanners, father and son, with the murder of Squire Grissom, an elderly African American resident. Authorities held Smith in jail on the unrelated charges of burglary and arson. A masked mob of 50-100 abducted the men from prison At 2:00 a.m. on the morning of September 2, 1888, the mob took the men to woods nearby and hanged them tree.
Documentation
Death certificate: None found
Census: 1880 Census
News coverage:
Location
Town: Oxford, North Carolina
Latitude/Longitude: 36.312005,-78.587941
Rationale: The chosen site is the site of the men’s abduction.
Additional Resources:
Researcher’s Note: