Spalding-Meriwether-Coweta County GaArchives News.....Another Lynching in Griffin August 7, 1898
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Don Bankston http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00024.html#0005864 November 17, 2006, 2:36 am

Jackson Argus – Butts County August 7, 1898
A Negro Rapist From Meriwether, Flees to Griffin and Dies of a Throat Trouble

Griffin was the scene of another lynching on Monday of this week.  The victim 
was a Meriwether county negro by the name of John Meadows who attempted a rape 
upon the person of little Nova Camp.  The crime was committed near Senoia and 
the negro fled to Griffin and was captured there by city patrolmen.

When the officers with their prisoner reached Hill Street, just opposite the 
Baptist church, the mob which had swelled to at least 500 determined and 
heavily armed men, leveled their weapons on them and demanded the prisoner.

Resistance was useless, but Officer Conner begged the crowd to allow him to 
proceed to the jail and let the law take its course.  Before he ceased speaking 
both he and Officer Flynt were pulled out of the buggy, their places were taken 
by two of the most fearless of the mob and amid triumphant shouts the party 
hastily left the city.

They proceeded out to the western suburbs and hanged him on the same limb on 
which Oscar Williams was hanged July 22, 1897, for assaulting a little six year 
old girl in Clayton county.

After placing the rope around Meadow’s neck he confessed to the crime and his 
body was pulled up several feet from the ground and completely riddled with 
bullets.

After making sure their work was well done the crowd quietly left the scene and 
returned to their homes.

This makes the third lynching to occur in Griffin within the last two years and 
each time the crime was committed in some other county than Spalding.

In a red hot charge to the grand jury Judge Beck said:

“Within about two years three negroes have been lynched in this county, a 
county that could  justly boast of it progress along all the avenues of 
civilization.  In neither case has the crime of which the negroes were lynched 
been committed in this county.  Two had come from Henry and the third from 
Meriwether.

Your attention is now called to the fact that to avenge the crimes committed in 
other counties a mob was collected on the streets of this town and on the road 
of this county, and have cruelly, deliberately, defiantly committed willful and 
outrageous murder.  There can be no question as to the nature of the offense 
committed by yesterday’s mob, it was awful, unholy, uncalled for murder.

Your foreman tells me that you can finish your work today, but I say that you 
must stay her until you go to the bottom of this business.  Stay until the end 
of the week, if necessary; stay next week, if you cant finish during this, and 
I will adjourn court in another county so as to hold this court in session.

See to it that some man is punished for this shameful deed.  See that Spalding 
county is not made the dumping ground for the criminals that other counties 
want lynched.  See that other counties no longer look upon this as the shamble 
to which they lead brutes for the butcher.

And I charge you now to lay aside all other works, stop all other business and 
ferret out the murderers.  Indict every man who took part, directly or 
indirectly, in the work of the mob.  Swear in twenty bailiffs, if you need 
them; send out hundreds of subpoenas.  If necessary, close every store, every 
bank and every office and bring their inmates before you to testify against the 
lynchers.  The mob walked these streets and were seen; bring here the men who 
saw them and let them give the names.

Send to Pike and Meriwether counties and bring witnesses.  If any other man on 
the grand jury cant enter heartily into this work, let him retire from the jury 
and let his name come out of the grand jury box.



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