Photograph of the lynched bodies of four men

Created by

Liebrecht, Dieudonné, Belgian, born 1840

Subject of

Williams, Jerry, American, died 1892

Davis, George, American, died 1892

Williams, Willie, American, died 1892

Robertson, Albert, American, died 1892

Medium

silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper

Dimensions

H x W: 6 3/8 x 4 5/16 in. (16.2 x 11 cm)

Type

gelatin silver prints

Place captured

Inverness, Citrus County, Florida, United States, North and Central America

Date

1892; printed ca. 1901

Caption

These four men, Jerry Williams, George Davis, Willie Williams, and Albert Robertson, were lynched in Iverness, Florida on April 19, 1892 after being implicated in the murders of two men, identified as Paymaster Stevenson and Mail Carrier Payne, bosses at the phosphate mine where the men were employed. According to a newspaper report from the St. Paul Daily Globe, "A mob surrounded the jail, overpowered the sheriff and hanged the men to trees nearby."

Description

A silver gelatin print of the lynched bodies ofJerry Williams, George Davis, Willie Williams, and Albert Robertson. The bodies are pictured hanging by their necks from a tree in a wooded area; two bodies on the left side of the tree and two on the right. The photograph is matted in a light grey cardboard frame with a delicate scroll design around the edge of the photograph. An inscription on the verso, written by hand in ink, reads: ["A necktie party" in Florida (1901)].

Topic

African American

Hate crimes

Lynching

Men

Race relations

United States--History--1865-1921

Violence

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number

2013.44

Restrictions & Rights

Public domain

See more items in

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification

Media Arts-Photography

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture