1885-03-04
Union County, NC
Alleged offense: Murder; Rape
Race: Black
Gender: Male
Age: Unrecorded
Legal intervention (in alleged offense): Yes
Legal intervention (following lynching): No
Mob size: 100-150
Mob members: Unrecorded
Alleged victim: Daughter of H. M. Baucom
Household Status: Unrecorded
Occupation: Unrecorded
Lee Staten was arrested for allegedly raping a nine-year-old girl, the daughter of H.M. Baucom. After the girl died from her injuries, a mob formed and gained entrance to the jail under the premise that they were bringing a murderer to be placed in jail. When the sheriff opened the door, they discarded the dummy prisoner and overpowered the sheriff. The mob, numbering at least 100 men and perhaps as many as 150, took Staten “down one of the streets of the town to a suburb” where they hanged him from a pine tree. The next day, large crowds of people visited the site of the lynching.
Documentation
Death certificate: None found
Census: None found
News coverage:
Location
Town: Monroe, North Carolina
Latitude/Longitude: 34.985158, -80.559972
Rationale: Nearest town.
Additional Resources:
Researcher’s Note: