Lynched in North Carolina
January 12, 1895
Summary
White man is lynched after he murders a man on Christmas Eve in North Carolina.
Transcription
Lynched in North Carolina
Raleigh, N.C., January 4.- Full particulars have reached here of the lynching of J.F. Furguson, a white man, in Beaufort county by disguised men. Christmas eve Bergerson shot and killed a man named Watson. While Bergerson was under guard at a store at Idalia, a mob rushed in, heavily armed, seized Bergerson and his four guards, and marched them all half a mile to a field in which stands a large mulberry tree.
When the rope was placed around Bergerson’s neck, he said: “Men, I know I killed Watson, but I did not know what I was doing.” He was lifted up by the lynchers and then dropped. Orders were given and the mob fired at the body. None of the lynchers are identified.
Raleigh, N.C., January 4.- Full particulars have reached here of the lynching of J.F. Furguson, a white man, in Beaufort county by disguised men. Christmas eve Bergerson shot and killed a man named Watson. While Bergerson was under guard at a store at Idalia, a mob rushed in, heavily armed, seized Bergerson and his four guards, and marched them all half a mile to a field in which stands a large mulberry tree.
When the rope was placed around Bergerson’s neck, he said: “Men, I know I killed Watson, but I did not know what I was doing.” He was lifted up by the lynchers and then dropped. Orders were given and the mob fired at the body. None of the lynchers are identified.
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Lower Right Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Cord Fox
Citation
“Lynched in North Carolina,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed February 19, 2026, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/86.