The Ku Klux Klan in Eastern Kentucky

The Ku Klux Klan had gradually been diminishing in influence going into the twentieth century.  Blacks were still second class citizens, at best in much of America.  But around 1915 the Klan experienced a renewal, thanks in major part to a native Kentuckian and film maker, David Wark Griffith, also known as D. W. Griffith. 

In 1915, a landmark commercial film was released.  Birth of a Nation was a black and white, silent film about three hours long which began at the start of the Civil War and ended during reconstruction.  The more interesting half, for me, was the depiction of post war activities heavily influenced by carpetbaggers. 

 

On one hand, blacks were not shown in a good light.  They were more or less shown as near-savages who posed danger to white folks.  It seemed to require the Klan to save the day each time, coming to the scene in robes and at full speed on horseback.  In scenes where only lesser-character blacks where shown, actual black people were used.  In scenes were both races were shown, blacks were played by white actors in makeup.  The makeup did not create an Al Jolsen-type caricature, but simply showed white actors with very dark skin.  

On the other hand, Griffith took shots at the perceived hypocrisy of white carpetbaggers and Union sympathizers.  In one scene a white man is shaking hands and smiling with a black man.  The black man tells the white man he has fallen in love with a white woman and wants to marry her.  The white man continues his smiling and hand shaking.  The black man then says, “It’s your daughter.”  The white man then reacts as if he’s having a myocardial infarction, similar to the way Redd Foxx often feigned a heart attack on his TV show, Sanford and Son.  

Griffith’s film caused quite a stir in America.  The movie was banned in some cities and blacks rioted.  But the positive images of the Klan launched it into a new era of respectability.  Eastern Kentucky was no exception.  This ad ran in the Pike County News in July, 1924.  It was not a unique event.

 

The July 25, 1924 edition of the Pike County News carried this article about the July 19 event:

"KU KLUX DAY BRINGS RECORD CROWD TO TOWN"

 "Saturday was Ku Klux day in Pikeville and many of our citizens had their first sight of the robed members of the order.  Seemingly all roads led to the city for people began to arrive early by all manner of vehicles, also horseback, muleback and footback, while hundreds came in on special trains from various sections of the Sandy valley. Right after noon the old town was about as crowded as the oldest inhabitant ever saw.

"At 3 p.m. a large crowd gathered at the court house to hear Dr. E. H. Lougher, a national Klan speaker, who dwelt at length on the purposes of the order.

"At night the Klansmen and Klanswomen, several hundred in number, formed a parade at the school house.  Led by several on horseback, the robed figures with folded arms marched over the principal streets.  Music on the march was furnished by Pikeville band, also Prestonsburg's famous band, much to the delight of the crowds on the streets in line of march.

"The march ended at place of beginning then the Klansmen proceeded to the top of Smith hill where a number of new members were inducted into the order.  A brilliant display of Klan fireworks was set off which was indeed beautiful and much enjoyed by our citizenship.

"The only untoward circumstance of the day was when hooded Klansmen stationed themselves at several business houses and diverted trade or patronage away.  TThis action was infortunate and has been severly condemned by leading Klansmen"

A Note on Race

A previous blog post discussed the potential subjective nature of newspapers in general and the Pike County News in particular.  That newspaper provided a consistent and probably accurate reflection of racial attitudes in eastern Kentucky in the early twentieth century.  The black population at that time was about double its current level.  Some were descendants of Kentucky slaveholders.  Others, of all origins, came in search of employment, which was plentiful. 

In reading the Pike County News, it quickly becomes evident that blacks were second class citizens, at best.  Whenever a story dealt with a black person, his or her race was always noted.  A headline of a story about a white person might say, "Man falls from train," for a black person it would say, "Negro falls from train."  The body of the story would identify a black person by saying either "John Doe, colored,..." or "John Doe, a negro...." 

The Detailed Story of a Lynching

I've also had a mildly increased interest in the subject of lynching since I learned of one of my own ancestors who had been lynched.  Many associate the practice as a legacy of the South and racial attitudes toward blacks.  While that was usually the case it was by no means confined to that description.  My lynched ancestor was white, 15 years old, and was hung by persons unknown from a telegraph pole in 1885 in northern Minnesota.  

Following is a transcription of a report publish in the Pike County News in 1927: 

Report of Lynching Written By Official

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County Attorney Sends Report Of Murder and Lynching To Governor Fields

County Attorney, Harry Moore, of Letcher County, has made the following official report of the lynching of Leonard Woods (colored) after the murder of Hershel Deaton to Governor Fields, which gives a complete account of the lamentable affair as well as what led to it:

On last Sunday night, at 11 o’clock, Hershel Deaton, who is employed by the Elkhorn Coal Corporation as mine foreman at Fleming, Ky., while driving from Jenkins to Fleming and at a point approximately one mile from the Jenkins post office, was hailed by a negro by the name of Leonard Woods and, on stopping his car, the negro demanded that Deaton carry him and two colored women who were with him to 206 (a mine tipple), which was a distance of three-fourths of a mile in the direction in which Deaton was traveling, and Deaton replied, “This is not a taxi, this a private car and I can’t take you,” or words to that effect, whereupon the two women attempted to climb on the rear of his car, which was a Chrysler coupe, and Deaton requested them to get off from the car, which they declined to do and Deaton stepped out of his car and went to the rear to get them off, at which time one of the women handed Woods something from the large pocketbook in her possession and immediately a pistol was fired by Woods, the bullet taking effect in the left side of Deaton, passing through his body and lodged itself just beneath his skin on his right side.

W. M. Townsley and Ernest Jordan, two young men from Fleming who were with Deaton, had not up to the time of the shooting left the car, but immediately following the pistol report Townsley jumped out of the car and went to the rear thereof, where he found the negro standing with the pistol in his hand, a few feet from Deaton, who was lying on the concrete pavement, and immediately the women started up the road and the negro ran down the road.  Townsley and Jordan lifted Deaton in the car and drove back to the Jenkins hospital where it was found upon their arrival Deaton was dead.

Negro Women Found

The officers of Jenkins were immediately notified of the shooting and they made every effort to ascertain the names, description and whereabouts of the two colored women and the man, and about 3 o’clock on Monday morning their efforts were rewarded by locating the women in “Slickrock,” a colored quarter of Jenkins, and from the women the name and description of Woods was ascertained and the officers continued their search for Woods that night, and about 7 o’clock Monday morning he was taken into custody in the woods at about one-half mile from the scene of the shooting and was driven to Whitesburg by automobile, where he was delivered to the county jail there.  The remains of Deaton were taken to Coeburn, Va., where his funeral was held on Tuesday.

On Tuesday night automobiles bearing Virginia licenses kept coming across the State line at Pound Gap at intervals of five, ten and fifteen minutes apart, passing through Jenkins, Fleming and Neon and on in the direction of Whitesburg, and several cars fell in at various points along the way and especially at Fleming and Neon.

At about 10:30, Tuesday night, Branson Tucker, a deputy sheriff located at Jenkins telephoned M. T. Reynolds, Sheriff of Letcher County, informing him that a number of Virginia cars had passed through Jenkins headed for Whitesburg, and the Sheriff, having retired for the night, immediately dressed and came to the Court House, and with Joe Stamper, the town marshal of Whitesburg, went to the jail and notified Mrs. Mantie Whitaker, the jailer, to take her family and leave the jail, which she did, delivering the keys to Mr. Stamper, and the Sheriff went to his office in the Court House and in a few minutes the crowd had gathered about the jail, at which time the Sheriff went to the rear of the Court House and addressed the crowd, pleading with them to dis-band and let the law take its course, and was told by one of the leaders that “we appreciate your speech, but we have come after our man.”

Efforts To Enter Jail

The Sheriff mingled a few minutes with the crowd, then went to the Court House and in company with Joe Stamper, town marshal of Whitesburg; W. M. Combs, a deputy sheriff, went to the second floor of the Court House and watched the mob in their attempts to break into the jail.  After about fifty minutes of labor with hacksaws, axes and other instruments, entrance was gained to the jail and to the cells in which the negro was confined.

Before entrance was made to the jail and after considerable efforts were made with axes to gain admittance, six men, armed with high-powered rifles and pistols, went to the second floor of the Lewis Brothers store and awoke Oscar Lewis, two of the men entering his room, where he and wife and baby were peacefully sleeping, and one pointed a pistol and another a rifle, ordered him to get up and sell them some hacksaws and blades, which demand Mr. Lewis obeyed by selling them a dozen blades.  Mr. Lewis states that he was unable to recognize any of the men and that they were strangers to him.

The mob started to take the two colored women with the negro, but they protested their innocence with having anything to do with the killing of Deaton further than being along and that they had given the name, the description and the whereabouts of Woods that led to his capture and the women were then placed back in jail and Woods was loaded in an automobile and the signal given to leave town, and after loading up their respective cars the crowd fired several hundred shots in the air and left for or in the direction of Jenkins, and with them went several carloads of Whitesburg citizens who were awakened by the mob in getting into the jail, for the purpose of seeing the execution.

Taken To Jenkins

Woods was taken to the place where he murdered Deaton at Jenkins and efforts were started to string him up between two automobiles, when S. H. Privitt, Chief of Police of Jenkins, appeared on the scene and to the lynching of Woods in town.  Finally, he persuaded them to go out of town, which they did, journeying on to the Kentucky-Virginia line at Pound Gap, where Woods was placed upon the platform which was constructed for the celebration of the opening of the Pound Gap road on Saturday, November 18^th.

And while hanging from a rope placed about his neck and fastened to two posts of the platform, his body was riddled with bullets.  When one rope was cut in two by a bullet his body fell to the platform and gasoline was poured over him and set ablaze.  His clothing was badly burned and his body scorched.

The Virginia crowd returned to their places of abode and the Kentucky cars came back off the mountain and returned to the town from whence they came.

Handkerchiefs Cover Faces

During the time entrance was being gained to the jail a few of the crowd wore handkerchiefs over their faces, leaving just their eyes disclosed, but the larger percentage wore no masks of any description and they all were well dressed and so as I have been able to learn no one her recognized anyone in the crowd.

The county jail was badly damaged and six prisoners were permitted or made their escape therefrom after the door had been sawed open.  Those who escaped were Carl Hall, Camp Armstrong, held to answer a Federal charge of violating the liquor laws; Linzey Morton, charged with grand larceny; Charley Spurgeon, charged with house-breaking, and Noah Hamilton, charged with house-breaking and Ballard Meade, charged with a violation of prohibition act.  None of the prisoners have been apprehended.

I am in possession of the names of six Letcher County citizens against whom circumstances point as being participants in the lynching, but lack a little more definite evidence to justify action at this time.  But I believe it a matter of a few days before sufficient evidence will be had to establish with a certainty several of the Virginia party and a few in Kentucky who were present and took an active part in the storming of the jail and lynching of Woods.

In a conference with F. A. Tate, Commonwealth’s Attorney of Wise County, Va., and with T. H. Kennedy, Wise County Sheriff, I was assured that they are lending every assistance in Virginia to discover and to bring to justice those on the Virginia aide who were parties to the crime.  The killing of Woods occurred about six feet across the Kentucky State line in Virginia and from all information that I have been able to obtain, those participating in shooting rifles and pistols at the body of Woods were stationed on the Virginia side.

Difficult To Get Evidence

I find it most difficult to get any tangible evidence against anyone connected with the lynching, due to the fact that nine out of every ten persons in both Letcher and Wise Counties are in sympathy with the execution of the negro, although a majority regret the necessity, as they express it, of “riding over the law.”

The idea of lynching Woods seems to have originated at the burial of Deaton at Coeburn, Va., on Tuesday morning as the crowd left Coeburn in Tom’s Creek Tuesday night to carry out the plan and were reinforced by others joining in at Dorton and Pound Gap.  Before they reached Kentucky and at the time they reached the jail at Whitesburg they were well prepared to take the prisoner, being well armed with rifles and pistons, and the report is, although I have not been able to verify it, that they had 100 sticks of dynamite to use if necessary to carry out their plan.  I am of the opinion that it would have taken a small army to have prevented them from carrying it into execution.