A White Father’s Crime
June 30, 1894
Summary
A white man, who has been convicted of murdering his three daughters, is protected by angry mobs, revealing that sheriffs are capable of protecting men from lynchings if they are white.
Transcription
We are constantly being maligned and misrepresented by prejudiced white men, who should know better.
One bad man of our race is taken as a representative of the whole and we as a people made to suffer.
In view of the agitation now going on relative to Negro outrages, we cite one of the most atrocious crimes ever committed in the annals of this country.
A white man is the guilty party and his own daughters are the victims.
It is awesome made play me evidence that Sheriff's can protect their prisoners from Mob violent when they choose so to do.
“All of the evidence has been taken by Justices Sydnor and Clark in the case against WB Carmichael, charged with an attempt to rape his two oldest daughters.
The case was tried at night, and Care taken to keep down any excitement. Very few of the neighborhood people know of the matter until the prisoner was taken away. When the news was circulated there was a disposition to Lynch him, but upon being told by those who were at the child that there was nothing much in the charge, the feeling died out and Good Sense was shown in not acting upon the impulse of the moment and taking the Law in there own hands.
Taught a Lesson
Besides, the people in this neighborhood had very recently been taught a lesson along this line. A colored man was sent to jail, charged with an attempt to assault a white married woman. A few nights afterwards a mob came down to the courthouse to take his life. They called on the sheriff, and as luck would have it, he knew them all, and, calling by their names, told them to go to their home and let the law take its course. She threatened to give their names to the court if they made any disturbances.
They discovered that the sheriff new his business too well to be fooled with, and they quietly returned to their homes. The colored man was tried twice, and a new trial granted each time, the third time he was acquitted. The Alchie People remembered this, and of course, did not feel inclined to take the law into their own hands in this case.
Mrs.Carmichael and her daughter, Lyndie, the oldest, were in town yesterday to see and talk with the Commonwealth's Attorney about the prosecution of her husband. She has not spoken to her husband since last February, and seemed to be intent upon having him punished. She has eight children, 6 of whom are girls- the two youngest being twin boys about a year old.
It is not true, as stay that the two daughters are not Carmichael's. She says they are his “Own dear children.” And it is not true that he is a local preacher. Though a deacon in Millstone Baptist Church, he is not even an exhorter, and never let a prayer meeting.”...
One bad man of our race is taken as a representative of the whole and we as a people made to suffer.
In view of the agitation now going on relative to Negro outrages, we cite one of the most atrocious crimes ever committed in the annals of this country.
A white man is the guilty party and his own daughters are the victims.
It is awesome made play me evidence that Sheriff's can protect their prisoners from Mob violent when they choose so to do.
“All of the evidence has been taken by Justices Sydnor and Clark in the case against WB Carmichael, charged with an attempt to rape his two oldest daughters.
The case was tried at night, and Care taken to keep down any excitement. Very few of the neighborhood people know of the matter until the prisoner was taken away. When the news was circulated there was a disposition to Lynch him, but upon being told by those who were at the child that there was nothing much in the charge, the feeling died out and Good Sense was shown in not acting upon the impulse of the moment and taking the Law in there own hands.
Taught a Lesson
Besides, the people in this neighborhood had very recently been taught a lesson along this line. A colored man was sent to jail, charged with an attempt to assault a white married woman. A few nights afterwards a mob came down to the courthouse to take his life. They called on the sheriff, and as luck would have it, he knew them all, and, calling by their names, told them to go to their home and let the law take its course. She threatened to give their names to the court if they made any disturbances.
They discovered that the sheriff new his business too well to be fooled with, and they quietly returned to their homes. The colored man was tried twice, and a new trial granted each time, the third time he was acquitted. The Alchie People remembered this, and of course, did not feel inclined to take the law into their own hands in this case.
Mrs.Carmichael and her daughter, Lyndie, the oldest, were in town yesterday to see and talk with the Commonwealth's Attorney about the prosecution of her husband. She has not spoken to her husband since last February, and seemed to be intent upon having him punished. She has eight children, 6 of whom are girls- the two youngest being twin boys about a year old.
It is not true, as stay that the two daughters are not Carmichael's. She says they are his “Own dear children.” And it is not true that he is a local preacher. Though a deacon in Millstone Baptist Church, he is not even an exhorter, and never let a prayer meeting.”...
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Upper Right Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Carlos Serrano
Citation
“A White Father’s Crime,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed March 21, 2025, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1523.