1918-11-05
Wake County, NC
Alleged offense: Assault
Race: Black
Gender: Male
Age: Unrecorded
Legal intervention (in alleged offense): Yes
Legal intervention (following lynching): Yes
Mob size: 300
Mob members: Unrecorded
Alleged victim: Ruby Rogers
Household Status: Unrecorded
Occupation: Unrecorded
George Taylor was seized for the alleged rape of one Mrs. L. S. Rogers (likely Ruby Rogers, who was married to a Leonidas Samuel) of Rolesville, North Carolina, on October 30, 1918. Found in Wilson, he was taken to the alleged victim’s home, where she identified him as her assailant after hearing his voice. Not far from the Rogers home, the deputized citizen who held Taylor was intercepted by four men in blue hoods, who abducted Taylor and took him to a nearby ravine. A crowd of approximately 300 gathered to witness the lynching. Taylor’s body was later found with post-mortem knife wounds and multiple bullet wounds; the surrounding trees were also riddled with bullets, many of which were later extracted by souvenir hunters.
Documentation
Death certificate: None found
Census: None found
News coverage:
<a href=”http://lynching.web.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/9169/2015/04/News_and_Observer_Thu__Nov_7__1918_.jpg” Negro Lynched by Crowd in Wake Co.
Location
Town: Rolesville, North Carolina
Latitude/Longitude: 35.908582, -78.444323
Rationale: Approximate location, two miles south of Rolesville.
Additional Resources: Follow this link for more on George Taylor
Researcher’s Note: Additional resources gathered by The Exploris School (Shannon Hardy’s 2017-2018- 8th grade service learning): Campbell White, Kerrie Noble, Davis Cuffe, Blake Raphael, Sophia Norris, Juliana Roseland, Sean Chasse, Hannah Wilson, and Ethan Harris. Research also came from Middle Creek High School’s spring 2018 African Lit class with Mr. Matt Scialdone.