Freestone County, Texas
History & News of 1922
Lynchings


Stockton Independent, Volume 122, Number 98, 9 May 1922, Page 1

FOURTH NEGRO LYNCHING MAY START TROUBLE 
Freestone County Situation Is Extremely Precarious Texas Rangers Stand in 
Readiness to Quell Uprising

MEXIA, Texas, May 8 — The situation in Freestone county growing out of the 
lynching of Shadrlck Green, young negro, said to have been implicated in the 
murder of Eula Awsley [sic, Ausley?], 17-year-old white girl, by the alleged 
confession of Snap Cury [sic, Curry], one of the three negroes burned at a stake 
for the crime Saturday morning, is a precarious one, according to officials there. 
Green’s bullet-riddled body was found banging to a tree between Teague and Kirwin 
[sic, Kirvin] east of here early today. There was nothing to connect Green with 
the crime other than the alleged reference to him in Curry’s confession. It Is 
believed that the negro was first shot to death and his body then suspended from 
the tree as a warning to other negroes. Green was held by officers on suspicion 
last Friday but was released after being questioned. Fears of an uprising among 
negroes of the county to avenge the death of the four members of their race, were 
lessened today and an order by Governor Neff for two detachments of Rangers to 
leave Austin for Freestone county tonight, was cancelled when Sheriff Mayo sent 
another telegram stating that he considered he had the situation well in hand. 
Officials tonight were uncertain just what their next step would be. announcing 
they would be guided altogether by developments. At Kirvin, where the triple 
cremation occurred, conditions today were reported as having returned to normal.