Brunswick County Virginia USGenWeb Archives News.....Murder, 1921 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ NEWS GATHERED FROM ALL PARTS OF VIRGINIA BRUNSWICK COUNTY MERCHANT MURDERED Reports State W. T. Elmore, Postmaster at Tobacco Post-Office, Was Robbed Before Killed. NO CLUE AS TO HIS SLAYERS Three Negroes Arrested as Suspects-Two Others Are Surrounded in Woods Near Alberta. Country Being Carefully Combed. PETERSBURG, VA., Aug. 2. - A negro by the name of Elmore was arrested late tonight on the charge of killing Postmaster Elmore at Tobacco, Va. [Special to The Times-Dispatch.] ALBERTA, VA., Aug. 2. - W. Tignal Elmore, postmaster and merchant at Tobacco Postoffice in Brunswick County about five miles from here was brutally murdered then robbed lst night at 9 o'clock while walking from his home to the store. The murderers hid along the pathway and with iron bars crushed Mr. Elmore's skull and broke both jaw bones, killing him instantly. After taking everything of value from his person, they broke into the store and carried away several pairs of shoes, shirts, watches, etc. The tragedy was discovered at 7 o'clock this morning. Hundreds of people gathered within a short time and have been scouring the country for the perpetrators, supposedly two because of two iron bars being found at the scene of the killing. There seems to be no definite clue, but three negroes have been arrested as suspects and taken to the county jail at Lawrenceville. Two others are surrounded in a big body of woods, near Alberta, and the woods are being combed in an effort to arrest them. Mr. Elmore was about 40 years of age, unmarried and of a well-known and prominent family, and decidedly one of the most peaceful citizens of the county. He is survived by one brother, R.G. Elmore, of Brunswick County. ****************************************************************************** FEAR LYNCHING BY MOB, BRING NEGRO TO RICHMOND JAIL Elmore Believed Implicated in Murder of Postmaster at Tobacco, Va. 2,000 INFURIATED FARMERS LYNCH JOHNSON FOR CRIME Mob Takes Confessed Slayer From Sheriff and Hang Him to Tree. Will Elmore, negro, arrested for complicity in the murder of Tingley [sic; Tignal] Elmore, postmaster and merchant of Tobacco, Va., was brought to Richmond last night by Deputy Sheriff Seago, of Brunswick County, from Petersburg, and lodged in the City jail. The action was taken by the Brunswick authorities when it was learned a mob of several hundred people had formed along the sides of the road from Petersburg to Dinwiddie Courthouse, and it was feared the prisoner would be taken from the jail and lynched. [Special to The Times-Dispatch.] PETERSBURG, VA., Aug. 3. - An investigation of Virginia's first lynching in several years - that of Lem Johnson, negro, who was hanged shortly after midnight this morning by a mob of nearly 2,000 Dinwiddie and Brunswick County citizens at Tobacco, Va., for the murder of Tingley Elmore, postmaster and storekeeper at that place, will be prosecuted by the county authorities. The identities of members of the mob is not known to Deputy Sheriff James Seago, of Brunswick, and his two assistants, from whom Johnand Will Elmore, another negro suspected of the murder, were taken. Most of those who overpowered the officials and seized Johnson were masked. Little talking was done by the mob, which worked swiftly, showing that it was well organized. Johnson's body was cut down from the tree in the yard of the murdered man's store early this afternoon. An inquest will be held and the body will be buried in that vicinity. Negro Confesses Guilt. The negro confessed his guilt before going to his death, saving robbery was his motive for the crime and that another negro was with him at the time. He did not implicate Will Elmore, the other negro held in the county jail at Lawrenceville. Johnson was about 23 years of age, and came from near Norfolk. He was a stranger in the country where the crime was committed. Fears for the safety of Elmore in the Lawrenceville jail are entertained by the Brunswick authorities, as feeling over the brutal kiling still is running high. Extra precautions were taken at the jail this afternoon, and the negro was brought to this city for safekeeping, narrowly escaping hundreds of citizens who blocked the roads and pursued the negro and his guard in an effort to prevent the removal. Circumstantial evidence is almost conclusive as to Elmore's guilt. The funeral of Elmore took place this morning at 11 o'clock. The procession, on the way to the grave, (Continued on Page 9, Col. 4.) FEAR LYNCHING BY MOB, BRING NEGRO TO RICHMOND JAIL (Continued From First Page.) passed almost directly under the swinging murderer, whose body had not been taken down. The posse has dispersed and everything is quiet. Johnson was taken from Deputy Seago, on the main highway between McKenney, Va., where both Elmore and Johnson were captured late last night, at Lawrenceville about nine miles from the latter place. The negro was then taken by the mob to the scene of the crime at Tobacco, and, in the yard of Elmore's store, the negro was hanged. He was first given a chance to talk, and said that he had murdered the white man with the idea of robbing him, and that another negro was with him at the time. The black was then strung to the limb, and in a few minutes the infuriated farmers, satisfied with their work, were on their way home. Not a shot was fired. Both Dinwiddie and Brunswick County farmers composed the mob that carried out the first lynching in this section of the State in many years. Works Quickly and Quietly. So quietly did the mob work that residents in the neighborhood of the store were not aware of what was going on. One resident said that at his home, about 200 yards distant, he could hear only low talking, and there was not the slightest sign of disorder. That Elmore is the negro who was with Johnson in the killing is the authorities belief. Both Johnson and Elmore were together in McKenney when the latter was captured, and Johnson took to the woods, being captured a short time later near that town. Elmore had in his possession a pistol and gold watch taken from the body of the murdered man. He was wearing a pair of shoes stolen from Elmore's store, and had an amount of money and a quantity of cigarettes taken from the place. Johnson went to his death wearing a shirt stolen from Elmore's store, which the murderers robbed, after waylaying and killing the postmaster and taking his store keys. Elmore claims he won the watch and pistol from another negro in a crap game Tuesday, and claims he knows nothing of the murder. Beyond saying this, he refuses to talk at the jail. Mob Forms Quickly. Shortly after Elmore and Johnson were captured at McKenney last night about 11 o'clock a mob quickly formed and attempts made to get the negroes, Sheriff Boisseau, of Dinwiddie, and several deputies, with drawn guns, held the infuriated citizens at bay until the arrival of Deputy Seago and two men from Brunswick. While the Dinwiddie officials held back the mob, the trip to the county jail was started by the Brunswick officers. The mob continued to grow and, in a short time, over 100 automobiles were in pursuit of the officers and prisoners. At a point about seventeen miles from McKenney and nine miles from the county seat the mob caught up with its prey. Deputy Seago and his two men were helpless and never had a chance to save Johnson, who was seized and quickly swallowed in the crowd. The pleas of the officers that Elmore is innocent was heeded by the men, who seemed intent on getting only Johnson. Deputy Seago managed to get away in safety with Elmore and rushed him to Lawrenceville. The five-mile stretch to Tobacco, a small town on the Virginian Railway, about fifty miles from here, was quickly covered by the mob, and the procession halted at the store yard of the murdered man. A noose was placed around Johnson's neck and he was given a chance to talk, confessing his guilt. He was then strung to the tree in silence and, in a few minutes, the mob had dispersed, the black's body left swaying in the woods. Both Elmore and Johnson were approached by Carol Dunn, merchant of McKenney, about 11 o'clock last night, near the station in that town. He covered the negroes with his gun and ordered them to throw up their hands. Johnson darted into the darkness and disappeared, while Elmore made an attempt to draw his gun. When Dunn threatened to kill him, the negro dropped the gun and submitted to arrest. Search was made for Johnson and he was captured a short time later in the woods near McKenney. Were "Beating" Their Way. Johnson and Elmore said they were from near Norfolk and were "beating" their way on freight trains through that section of the country. The killing of Elmore was similar, in many respects, to the brutal murder of Stephen G. White, postmaster and storekeeper at Harper's Home, Dinwiddie county, about two weeks ago. Harper's Home is not far from where Monday's murder was committed, and both killings, coming close together, aroused feeling in both counties, and is believed to have been the cause of the lynching in that community, which has been regarded as peaceful and law- abiding. Since this morning's lynching fears are entertained for the safety of Raleigh Haskins and Judge Griffith, negroes, who have confessed the murder of White, and who will go on trial at Dinwiddie Courthouse before a Chesterfield jury tomorrow morning. Feeling was high against these men when they were captured and, with the murder of Elmore and the lynching of Johnson, Dinwiddie authorities fear mob violence will break out at Dinwiddie tomorrow. Both negroes are held in jail here, but are scheduled to be taken to the courthouse tomorrow morning. ****************************************************************************** HARRIS FAILS TO IDENTIFY NEGRO AS ASSAILANT [Special to The Times-Dispatch.] PETERSBURG, Aug. 5. - That Will Elmore, the negro held in the Richmond jail in connection with the brutal murder of T.W. Elmore, postmaster and storekeeper at Tobacco, Va., on Monday night, and Lem Johnson, the negro lynched by the Brunswick and Dinwiddie Counties mob Wednesday morning, may have been two of the six negroes who shot W.R. [sic; H.L.] Harris, town sergeant of Wakefield, last week, when he attempted to arrest them, is the belief held by the police here. Harris has about recovered from the bullet wound in his abdomen and is on duty again in Wakefield. He came to this city today with the hope of identifying as one of his assailants a negro held here as a tramp. He failed to do so and the negro was ordered to leave the city at once. ****************************************************************************** MACHINE GUNNERS ARE HELD IN READINESS. Richmond, Va., Aug. 17. - While two companies of the Richmond's Blue Battalion including the machine gun section of Company B were held ready to be sent to Lawrenceville to protect Will Elmore, negro, charged with complicity in the killing of W. Tignal Elmore, merchant and postmaster at Tobacco, Va. Judge West in the Brunswick county court today granted a change of venue and the prisoner will be tried in Hustings' court, South Richmond tomorrow. Wm. Tignal ELMORE, merchant & postmaster at Tobacco, b. 29 Mar 1921, Dillwyn, murdered 1 Aug 1921, Tobacco, interred in the Anderson ELMORE family cemetery*, near Alberta, 3 1921, "Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch," Aug. 3, 1921, p. 3, col. 1; "Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch," Aug. 4, 1921, p. 1, col. 3, & p. 9, col. 3-4; "Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch," Aug. 6, 1921, p. 4, col. 5; "The Daily Times (Wilson, N.C.), vol. 18, no. 133, August 17, 1921, Five O'clock Edition, p. 2, col. 5 *His parents, William Francis & Mary Augusta (WILLIAMS) ELMORE, are also buried there. Find a Grave Mem. #31377384 &c. Additional information: Birthdate &c. from D.Cert. 28441 (Red Oak #5) Will ELMORE was convicted & sentenced to hang 30 Sep. No one was indicted for the lynching of Lem JOHNSON. Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by File Manager Matt Harris (zoobug64@aol.com). file at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/news/19210803td.txt