Greene County, NC - Newspapers File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Christine Grimes Thacker Wilson Daily Times June 27, 1916 WILL BLACK FOUND GUILTY Sentenced To Die In Electric Chair July Twenty-First WAS SOME QUICK TRIAL (By Associated Press) Snow Hill, June 27,-WILL BLACK was found guilty here today of a capital offence against a six year old white child and was sentenced to be electrocuted on July 21st. The taking of testimony and the deliberation of the jury consumed only twenty-three minutes. Raleigh, June 27,- Accompanied by two companies of militia to guard against possible violence, WILL BLACK, a sixteen year old Negro, was taken to Snow Hill today on a special train for trial of the charges of having criminally assaulting a six year old white child near that place on March 30th. JOSEPH BLACK, the above boy's father, on April 5th, was removed from the jail at Kinston, taken to Greene County and lynched. He was under arrest on the charge of having assisted his son in an effort to escape. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Wilson Daily Times July 7, 1916 MEN OF NOTE ARE ACCUSED Detective Names Prominent Citizens in Connection With Lynching Responsibility STATE IS DETERMINED Kinston, July 7-The great hand of the law yesterday reached down into the tree of iniquity, shook it, and there fluttered down and fell many possibilities, a mist of depression that enshrouded two counties and ripe fruit of realization that the commonwealth is intent upon avenging its fair name blotted with the blood of JOE BLACK upon whom a mob inflicted death because he had dared to threaten a white man and to assert that his flesh and blood was the equal of his. H.B. BARNES, a detective, detonated a bomb when he went on the stand in the probe into the lynching now being conducted here with Judge W.M. BOND presiding as a committing magistrate. BARNES testified that he had heard that WILL GRIMSLEY, SAM and DAN BRAXTON, OSCAR and FRANK HARPER, ED and HERBERT SUGG, "the two BEAMAN boys," FRANK ROUSE, HERMAN BEDDARD and ROS MAY, in addition to SAM STOCKS and ARCHIE FRIZZELLE, now on trial were implicated in the lynching of old JOE BLACK on April 5th. These men include some of the most prominent citizens of Greene county. The kinspeople of some of them can be found in nearly every neighborhood of all the counties around. GRIMESLY is a prosperous planter, connected with leading families of the state and said to have been a West Pointer. FRANK ROUSE also is well to do and prominent. As a justice of the peace it was before him that BLACK was carried when he was first arraigned. JOE BLACK never got even the preliminary trail for arming his son, WILL BLACK, after the latter had outraged a little white girl, attempted to assault the child's mother and escaped into the woods, later to give a posse battle, be wounded and surrender. When carried before Magistrate ROUSE, BLACK feigned insanity, answered questions with foolish monosyllable and was remanded to jail, from which he was later brought to Kinston to avoid a mob, only to be taken from the local prison, conducted out of the city a short distance and shot or shot and cut to death. When ordering a recess late yesterday Judge BOND commanded that all necessary measures be taken to keep STOCKS and FRIZZELLE in the Lenoir county jail, a short distance from the couthouse in which the hearing are being conducted. Judge BOND said if guards were necessary and sufficient number not to be had he would volunteer. Solicitor HENRY E. SHAW stated last night that no attempt to rescue the men was anticipated, however. The state's attorney made a brief statement that "The State is feeling confident that it has made out a case against STOCKS" and that "the investigation may be expected to proceed further," meaning that additional indictments might be looked for. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Wilson Daily Times--July 21,1916 BLACK IS ELECTROCUTED (By Associated Press) Raleigh, July 21.-WILL BLACK, the sixteen year old Negro who committed a capital offense in Greene county, resulting in the lynching of his father, was today electrocuted in the state penitentiary. JOSEPH BLACK, charged with supplying his son with arms and assisting him to escape, was placed in the Lenoir Co. Jail. On April 5 he was removed by a mob, escorted to a point in Greene county, and shot to death. SAMUEL STOCKS, a Greene county farmer, is at liberty under a $10,000 bond, charged with participation in the lynching. His trial will take place in Kenansville, the case having been removed to Duplin County. Typed by Christine Grimes Thacker =========================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. ===========================================================================