Seven Killed by Lynch Law
May 8, 1897
Summary
Seven black men are found hanging from an oak tree in Homestead Texas, after the alleged murder of another black man.
Transcription
[Special Dispatch to the “Press”]
Homestead, Tex, April 30. – Will Gates, 35 years old; Fayett Rhoan, 21 years old, and the four Thomas brothers– Louis, aged 20; Aaron, aged 13; Jim 14; and Ben 15 years old, all colored were lynched at Sunny-ide, fifteen miles south of here last night, and it is supposed that Will Williams met the same fate. Their bodies with the exception of Williams were found hanging to an oak tree in the prairie.
Ruined the Bodies
All of them were riddled with bullets and two of them, Gates and Louie Thomas, were burned from the waist down.
Last fall a man from Brenham was robbed of $65. Suspicion pointed to the four Thomas boys, and they confessed to having committed the theft and they said they had given $30 of the money to Henry Daniels. Daniels spent the money and on Saturday evening las the four Thomas boys, according to their confession, decided to either collect the $30 or kill Daniels.
The Alleged Crime
They carried out the latter part of the programme. Henry Daniel, a colored man, lived at Sunnyside in a little hut with his stepdaughter, Marie, and a 7-year-old child were assaulted and Daniels clubbed to death while trying to protect those in in his charge.
Then Daniels and the stepdaughter were thrown into the house and the child was thrown into a well. The house was set on fire and the fiends capable of such a crime left thinking they had covered their inhuman deed from the sight of the world.
The Worst Realized
The fire had not attracted much attention, but when Daniels and his people didn’t show up, the charred location of the house was searched and the terrible truth was seen only too plain. The burned remnant of human bodies left no doubt in one direction, while the blood stains about the premises indicated the commission of a murder.
The local officer sent to work with a will and were ably assisted by the best citizens of the neighborhood. The bloodhounds from Steele’s plantation were secured and they were not long finding tracks. Before night they went straight to the place the Thomas gang resided and one by one they were secured.
Blood in Evidence
Will Williams was also arrested. When taken they were smeared with blood, and a bloody shirt was found hidden in Thomas’ house. The bloodhounds worked splendidly, and after the boys were confronted with the evidence they confessed to committing the crime and laid the killing on Louis, the oldest.
All seven of the prisoners were under guard last night about 12 o’clock when the guards were overpowered by a strong body of men and the prisoners were taken toward the Brazos bottom, north of here. A little later forty or fifty shots were fired and all was quiet.
Silent Witness
This morning, dangling from the limbs of a large oak tree, were found the bodies of six colored men, limp and lifeless. Hundreds of people from all over the country are marching back and forth, but always with that one tree as the center of attention.
All of them are there except Williams, and he is not to be found, but the shots probably explain his absence. At a late hour, this evening the bodies are still hanging from the tree.
A Peculiar Situation.
As far as can be learned the mob was composed of white and black men, with the colored element largely predominating.
Tonight, there is a calm after the storm and public opinion is almost universal that if the right parties were apprehended no harm has been done.
Homestead, Tex, April 30. – Will Gates, 35 years old; Fayett Rhoan, 21 years old, and the four Thomas brothers– Louis, aged 20; Aaron, aged 13; Jim 14; and Ben 15 years old, all colored were lynched at Sunny-ide, fifteen miles south of here last night, and it is supposed that Will Williams met the same fate. Their bodies with the exception of Williams were found hanging to an oak tree in the prairie.
Ruined the Bodies
All of them were riddled with bullets and two of them, Gates and Louie Thomas, were burned from the waist down.
Last fall a man from Brenham was robbed of $65. Suspicion pointed to the four Thomas boys, and they confessed to having committed the theft and they said they had given $30 of the money to Henry Daniels. Daniels spent the money and on Saturday evening las the four Thomas boys, according to their confession, decided to either collect the $30 or kill Daniels.
The Alleged Crime
They carried out the latter part of the programme. Henry Daniel, a colored man, lived at Sunnyside in a little hut with his stepdaughter, Marie, and a 7-year-old child were assaulted and Daniels clubbed to death while trying to protect those in in his charge.
Then Daniels and the stepdaughter were thrown into the house and the child was thrown into a well. The house was set on fire and the fiends capable of such a crime left thinking they had covered their inhuman deed from the sight of the world.
The Worst Realized
The fire had not attracted much attention, but when Daniels and his people didn’t show up, the charred location of the house was searched and the terrible truth was seen only too plain. The burned remnant of human bodies left no doubt in one direction, while the blood stains about the premises indicated the commission of a murder.
The local officer sent to work with a will and were ably assisted by the best citizens of the neighborhood. The bloodhounds from Steele’s plantation were secured and they were not long finding tracks. Before night they went straight to the place the Thomas gang resided and one by one they were secured.
Blood in Evidence
Will Williams was also arrested. When taken they were smeared with blood, and a bloody shirt was found hidden in Thomas’ house. The bloodhounds worked splendidly, and after the boys were confronted with the evidence they confessed to committing the crime and laid the killing on Louis, the oldest.
All seven of the prisoners were under guard last night about 12 o’clock when the guards were overpowered by a strong body of men and the prisoners were taken toward the Brazos bottom, north of here. A little later forty or fifty shots were fired and all was quiet.
Silent Witness
This morning, dangling from the limbs of a large oak tree, were found the bodies of six colored men, limp and lifeless. Hundreds of people from all over the country are marching back and forth, but always with that one tree as the center of attention.
All of them are there except Williams, and he is not to be found, but the shots probably explain his absence. At a late hour, this evening the bodies are still hanging from the tree.
A Peculiar Situation.
As far as can be learned the mob was composed of white and black men, with the colored element largely predominating.
Tonight, there is a calm after the storm and public opinion is almost universal that if the right parties were apprehended no harm has been done.
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Upper Left Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Brian Schrott
Citation
“Seven Killed by Lynch Law,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed May 12, 2025, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1162.