GUNS, GOATS, AND
ITALIANS: THE TALLULAH LYNCHING OF 1899
By EDWARD
F. HAAS
From
North Louisiana Historical Association, vol. XIII, Nos. 2 & 3, 1982
Madison Coordinator’s Note: Many thanks to Dr. Haas, now a Professor of History at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, who has kindly agreed to allow the inclusion of this article on the Madison Website. RPS dicksevier@gmail.com
During the 1890s
lynchings peaked in United States. In the last decade of the nineteenth
century, 1665 persons died at the hands of lynch mobs. Although lynchings
occurred throughout the nation, they “emerged as regularized routine feature of
the New South....” Southern blacks were the prime targets for "Judge
Lynch," but they were not the only sufferers.[1]
Many victims were Italian immigrants.
Six times in the 1890s Italians fell prey to American mob violence. Three of these tragedies
happened in Louisiana.[2]
The most famous case resulted from the fatal shooting of New Orleans Police
Superintendent, David Hennessy, in October 1890. Before he died, the chief
reportedly whispered, "The dagos did it." Authorities attributed the
crime to the Mafia and soon arrested a score of Italians. After a public
meeting in downtown New Orleans on March 14, 1891, an angry mob that included
numerous prominent citizens descended upon the city jail, and meeting no
resistance, systematically shot or clubbed to death, eleven of the Italian
prisoners. When an investigation excused the mob's actions, the Italian
government severed diplomatic relations with the United States and briefly
contemplated war. [3]
Five years later "a determined mob of 50
men” assaulted the jail in St. Charles Parish. The crowd dragged out six
Italians and hanged three of them.[4]
Although newspaper reports indicated that community leaders may have
participated in the violence, a jury of inquest stated that the Italians
"came to their death by being lynched by parties unknown."[5]
The third incident occurred in Tallulah, an
unincorporated village in Madison Parish that did not merit inclusion in the
federal census. Five men comprised the Italian community of the town. On July
20,1899, a fierce mob brutally lynched all five and
forced two other Italians who lived in nearby Milliken's Bend to flee.[6]
All of the Italians
were natives of Cefalu, Sicily, who "followed
the occupation of fruit vendors and kept small groceries.” Frank Defatta, a thirty-year-old grocer who “spoke English better
than the rest,” was "the moving spirit among those at Tallulah."
Frank Defatta Joseph Defatta Rosario Fiducia
From Harper’s
Magazine September 1899
His brothers,
Joseph, thirty-six years old, and Charles, aged fifty-four years, owned
vegetable stands. Thirty-seven-year-old Rosario Fiducia
(known as Si Defichi or Defersch)
had a fruit stall near the railroad tracks. Giovanni Cirano
or Cirone (known as John Cerano,
or Cyrano), aged twenty-three, also sold fruit and vegetables.[7]
Guiseppe "Joe" Defina,
the brother-in-law of the Defattas, operated a
successful store in Milliken's Bend with his son Salvatore.[8]
All of the Italians "had resided in Madison parish for some time . . ..[9]
Newspapers reported that the immigrants were
"a bad gang." One source contended that "they all had
reputations of being bad and violent men, easily excited--thrown into a perfect
furry [sic] at the least cause."[10]
Numerous violent acts gave credence to these
suspicions.[11]
In late 1897 or early 1898--accounts differed--Joseph Defina
killed in cold blood Pat Matthews an old soldier who tended the landing at
Milliken's Bend, after a trivial dispute over freight.[12]
Upon another occasion, Frank Defatta "shot down
in a rage a negro boy for stealing a watermelon at Ashby."[13]
The New Orleans Daily Picayune, July 24, 1899, asserted that Defatta, "who was a surly creature, killed ... without
a real cause."
After these incidents, "the entire
[Sicilian) colony became bolder."[14]
At one time "several citizens called upon the Italians to behave
themselves, but they paid no attention.'' The immigrants reportedly "had
frequently made their boasts that they would do as they pleased, and their
money would clear them.”[15]
Economic problems added to the tension. After a business reversal, Joseph Defatta "skipped to New Orleans....” Upon his creditors' demand, police tracked him to the Italian Quarter. Defatta "was arrested . . . [returned] to Tallulah and fined." The Daily Picayune stated that "since that time he has never neglected to show his hate for the men who were responsible for his arrest."[16]
In early 1899 an altercation between Frank Defatta and Will Rogers, son of a leading citizen, nearly
precipitated more violence. After the quarrel, Defatta
armed himself and crouched in the shadows near the railroad station,
"waiting for young Rogers to pass." Rogers luckily walked home in
another direction.[17]
Rogers' father, learning of the incident and "knowing the character of the Sicilian, ... was for bringing matters to issue at once." Dr. J. Ford Hodge, a close friend, intervened, using "all his power to dissuade him, and the matter apparently blew over . . .. Defatta, however, "knew the friendship between the Rogers and Hodge, and he evidently for this reason had no good feelings for the doctor."[18]
Hodge had practiced medicine in Tallulah for
two years and was the coroner of Madison Parish. He was well respected in the
community. When he stopped the Rogers quarrel, he unknowingly postponed a
bitter confrontation that would later erupt into savage violence with himself at the core.[19]
Hodge, nonetheless, argued that he "had
always been very friendly with them (the Italians] and had attended to them on
several occasions when they were sick." The immigrants seemingly responded
with "the highest regard and good will." They often refused his money
for purchases.[20]
The source of friction between Hodge and the
Italians was a number of goats that Frank Defatta
allowed to roam freely near his shop. On the same street, the doctor maintained
his residence. At night the goats would wander onto the physician's porch
"and stamp around, rendering sleep a matter of difficulty." Dr. Hodge
later stated, I told Frank about his goats, and warned him that I would shoot
them if he did not keep them up."[21]
When the goats again made their nightly visit on July 19, 1899, Hodge fired at
two of them. Immediately after the shooting, friends advised the doctor (he
noted later) "to look out for the Italians, that they were treacherous and
cruel, and that they would stick a knife in my back on account of the goat
episode if I was not careful."[22]
On the following morning, Frank Defatta appeared at the doctor's office and asked if Hodge
had shot his goat. When the physician said yes, Defatta
exclaimed, "you shoot my goat, now you better
shoot me."[23]
Hodge recollected, "I told him I didn't care to shoot him, but that if it
was necessary I would do so." The Italian then left, sullenly muttering to
himself.[24]
The Italians later gathered in Frank's store.
Throughout the day their establishments remained closed. This behavior
ultimately convinced local residents that the immigrants "had deliberately
planned to murder the doctor "[25].
During the day, moreover, Hodge passed John Cerano,
who made a "hideous grimace.”[26]
At sundown, the doctor met a friend of his,
I. Kaufman, for dinner. Their path led directly by the shop of Joseph Defatta who was standing in the door. His brother Charles
sat on the front steps. Hodge noticed Charles, but he "was expecting no
trouble... " since earlier in the evening he had
seen Defatta and had spoken with him.[27]
When Hodge came before Charles, the Italian
lunged upward and struck the doctor. Hodge later recalled "that when
Charles rushed on him he threw his hand under his left arm," but the
physician could not tell "whether he drew a dirk or not.... "[28]
Kaufman recalled that the Italian had shouted, "you
shoot my goat."[29]
The doctor punched Defatta to the ground and tried to
hold him down while he drew his pistol. Because the weapon stuck in its
scabbard, Hodge had to release the Italian and use both hands to free the gun.
He then "knocked Charles down with a blow on the head, using the pistol as
a club." The New Orleans Daily States, July 24, 1899, reported that
the doctor "began a fierce assault upon the Sicilian, striking him down
after several severe blows over the head." Defatta
also attempted to draw [a weapon], but could not from the violence of the
assault...” Hodge, by his own admission "turned and saw Joe Defatta coming at me and fired one shot at him." The
physician then "struck Charles over the head again knocking him
down."
Hodge next recalled that he saw Joseph Defatta standing in the doorway of his store with a gun leveled at me.” The Daily States explained that the Italian could not fire because his brother was too close. As Charles fell down, however, Joseph yelled, "Look out, I'm going to shoot.” Joe Davis, a black man who stood nearby, cried, "Look out, doctor, Joe is going to shoot you." Hodge tried to cock his weapon, but it would not work. One account indicated that he had broken the pistol over Charles Defatta's head. The doctor, realizing that he could not return fire and observing the Italian's aim, pulled his coat over his body and crossed his hands, "still holding the pistol over the coat.” The swift reaction saved his life.
In the following instant, Joseph Defatta fired both barrels of number six shot from thirty-five
feet away. The force of the blast was so great that pellets penetrated the metal casing of Hodge's watch. He suffered severe
wounds to his abdomen and his left hand, and some pellets lodged in his groin
and upper thighs. One witness later commented, "his
stomach looks like a coleander [sic], so saturated is
it with shot, singly and in groups." The doctor, however, "was game
to the last." Despite the pain and a
considerable loss of blood, he remained on his feet and
"called for a gun to finish the row." He later remembered that
he had "walked back around toward my office to see if I could get a gun
that would work...”[30]
As Hodge left, he saw Frank Defatta and John Cerano running
in his direction. Si Fiducia was also there. All were
armed. Observers perceived that the Italians "evidently meant to get to
the assistance of the two who had attacked and tried to murder Dr. Hodge. "[31]
A crowd, however, intercepted them. The three Italians tried to reach Frank's
store, but the mob, along with Sheriff C. H. Lucas and his
deputies, followed and soon disarmed them. The sheriff then arrested the men.
The capture of Joseph and Charles was more
difficult. After the shooting, they fled to
their store and barred the entrances. The crowd, however, battered down the
rear door, found Charles, crouching under a bed and dragged him out.[32]
Joseph Defatta was
nowhere to be seen. He had escaped to an adjacent house and crawled under a
chimney. The mob found him "only after a bicycle gas light had been
pressed into service." Someone from the
crowd fired five shots at Defatta, slightly wounding
him. The crowd then rushed his position and pulled him out.
Sheriff Lucas later maintained that he tried
to take the two Italians to jail after the capture. The mob, however, overpowered
him and took the keys to the jail. In the face of superior force, Lucas
claimed, he "had nothing else to do."[33]
After the capture of the Italians, "the wild fury of the crowd knew no
bounds." Convinced that the attack upon the doctor had been a conspiracy
and that Hodge's wounds would be mortal, the mob was ready for drastic action.
The Daily States commented:
Every man in that
crowd knew all about the mafia and all about the Hennessey [sic] murder. They
were determined there should be no repetition of that--they looked on these
degenerates as monsters, capable of any infamy and they determined to destroy
them root and branch, just as the traveler places his armed heel upon the head
of the viper.[34]
The mob dragged the
two Defatta brothers toward the cattle slaughtering
pen outside town. Although "a good many citizens pleaded for the lives of
the Sicilians," these pleas had no effect.[35]
The Daily States reported; "the crowd heard and did not hear."[36]
At the slaughter pen, the crowd found a
device used to hoist dead cattle for skinning. Its upright posts and crossbar
made an excellent makeshift gallows, a function that it had previously served.
The mob first dispatched Joseph Defatta. Fifteen
minutes later, "Charles was served in a similar manner.... "[37]
Before their death, the brothers traded
recriminations. Joseph denied the shooting, contending that Charles had done
it. Charles, though he regretfully admitted the assault on Hodge, attributed
the crime to his brother. He further argued that Frank Defatta
and Si Defersch had started the trouble.[38]
After the hangings, "there was a rest of
some little time." The lynchers then decided to
dispose of Frank and Rosario Fiducia, marching them
to a cottonwood tree in the jailyard. Defatta was quite calm. As his executioners prepared a
rope, he asked for a cigar and began to talk. Pointing to the crowd, he
reputedly shouted, "I liva here sixa years. I knowa
you all--you alla my friends." A jerk of
the rope" and he was in midair before he could finish." Rosario also
died. An hour passed and many believed that John Cerano,
who was cowering in a cell, would escape death. The mob, however,
"believing him equally implicated . . . dragged him out and hung [hanged]
him up, too.[39]
From an Italian
song sheet (Courtesy of Dr. Cynthia Savaglio, Assistant Professor of Radio & TV at
Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY.)
On July 22, 1899, two days following the
incident, The Daily Picayune stated that "the crowd was orderly and
quiet, but very determined."[40]
The same day, The New Orleans Times-Democrat reported that the "lynchers soon dispersed to their homes"
after they completed their grim task.[41]
Joe Defina, the Defattas'
brother-in-law, however, disagreed. He reputedly received a warning that he
should leave the parish for his own good. Some accounts claimed that the lynch mob gave Defina three days
to flee, but he needed only three hours.
Purchasing a skiff for six dollars, he abandoned his store and hired Buck
Collins, a black man, to pull his son and him to
Vicksburg.[42]
From Fisher
Funeral Home (Vicksburg) Ledger (Courtesy of Dr.
Cynthia Savaglio, Assistant Professor of Radio
& TV at Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY.)
The press eventually gave extensive coverage
to the incident, but nearly twenty-four hours passed before news of the
lynching went beyond Tallulah. A telegram from Vicksburg to The Times-Democrat
reported that newsmen in the town “had received
a hint to the effect that it would be very unhealthy for them to serve their
papers.... On the evening of the lynching, the mob placed a guard in the sole
telegraph office and warned the operator "that if he touched the key his
brains would be blown out."[43]
Press
reaction to the incident varied. The Vicksburg Herald proclaimed that
"men who choose such a violent and lawless method of executing vengeance .
. . are sowing dragon teeth across the future of their community." The
New York Post contended: "The lynching affair... was an act of
infamous cruelty fit only for barbarians and which ought to be punished by the hanging of all participants." The
Vicksburg Dispatch admitted that the provocation was great, but the
newspaper added that the Italians "were clearly entitled to a trial by the
courts. If that had been done, the innocent ones would have been spared and
only legal punishment administered to the guilty."[44]
Other
newspapers thought differently. Although The New Orleans Daily Picayune
condemned lynching as "one of the very greatest evils which curses
Southern society," it attributed the crime to "the general
Indifference with which bloodshed is regarded, and the readiness with which it
is excused . . . in the courts."[45]
Henry J. Hearsey of
The Daily States typically assumed a tougher stance. He castigated, "the intemperate and needless abuse heaped upon the people of
Tallulah by a considerable part of the Mississippi press..." and argued,
"on the highest principle of justice the people of Tallulah were
justifiable in what they did." In his opinion, the
Italians were "a colony of vicious murderers and assassins" to whom
"murder and blood were . . . what roses, moonlight and music are to poets
and lovers...” For the citizens of Tallulah, "the only recourse" was
"to extirpate the colony.[46]
Hearsey,
in another editorial, asserted: "... it should be understood that the
moment a foreigner puts his foot on American soil, he is amenable to all the
civil and criminal laws of the State, and that if he gets into an ugly scrape
he must take his chances just as the native citizens do." In conclusion,
the editor attacked Italy and the federal government. Although Hearsey did not know how the federal administration,
"a loud mouthed bully and a cringing coward," would react to a
request for indemnities, he stated, "that Italy should be told to go to
hell and mind her own business."[47]
The Italian government, however, viewed the
Tallulah affair as its business. Charles Papini,
Acting Consul in New Orleans, informed his superiors of the incident and sought
an investigation. In Washington, Count Vinchi, the
Italian Charge d'Affaires, called upon Secretary of
state, John Hay to seek information and to gain protection for other Italians
in Louisiana. Despite his dismay over the lynching, Vinchi
spoke moderately. In Italy, however, the Fanfulla,
a newspaper, condemned the "indifference of the United States government,
which . . . has not the strength to vanquish fanatical prejudices . . . Another
journal attacked "sham American civilization." At the request of Italian
envoys, Hay wired Louisiana Governor Murphy J. Foster for more facts.[48]
Foster replied: "I will lose no time in
obtaining the desired information." Of great import was the nationality of
the victims. Because the Louisiana Constitution of 1879 allowed immigrants to
vote in local elections before they became naturalized citizens of the United
States, the status of foreigners in Louisiana was uncertain. Naturalized
citizens, of course, were beyond the jurisdiction of their mother country.[49]
Despite the governor's promises, some of the
Italians demanded that the lynchers be brought to
justice and started an investigation. Enrico Cavalli, editor of the New Orleans L'Italio-Americano,
on official orders, went to Vicksburg where he met Nat Piazza, Italian Consul
at New Orleans, and Patrick Henry, a local attorney. For two days the men
conducted interviews.
On July 24, 1899, with assurances of their
personal safety, the three proceeded to Tallulah. In the company of a local
delegation, the investigators studied citizenship papers at the parish
courthouse, viewed the scene of the attack on Dr. Hodge, examined the sites of
the hangings and conferred with several witnesses to the grisly incident. A
high point of the visit was Nat Piazza's meeting with Dr. Hodge. Despite the
dire predictions of attending physicians, the doctor had survived. The New
Orleans Times-Democrat noted: "He showed gut from first to last . . .
." His recovery, of course, meant that five men had died for a murder that
never happened.
Throughout this visit, the investigators
enjoyed cordial relations with Tallulah officials. Although they were reluctant
to discuss their mission, they were always polite and friendly. At the end of
the day, the three men returned to Vicksburg although Tallulah dignitaries
invited them to stay.[50]
A reporter from The Times-Democrat who
accompanied the investigators made some interesting observations. He learned
that nine unpublicized lynchings of blacks had taken place in Madison Parish
during the preceding eighteen months. In the reporter's opinion:
...the people
believe that they were justified in the action they took and there is no way of
convincing otherwise. It is the same old story, which is ever recurrent in
North Louisiana, the story of the 'maintenance of white supremacy at any cost.'
Though
the newsman did not state that the people viewed Italians to be non-whites, he
noted that "the few white men are dominated by the belief that it is
incumbent upon them to act quickly in any emergency, and to stamp out any
tendency toward lawlessness in the land, no matter at what cost."[51]
On July 26, 1899, Cavalli
filed a report that explained his reticence in Tallulah. From their earlier
interviews, the investigators had developed some exceptional insights. Frank
Raymond, an itinerant painter, was an excellent source. He "knew the
deceased, spoke well of them and said that there was a latent grudge against
them and that he had often warned them to avoid difficulties that might result
in a catastrophe." Raymond, arguing that many witnesses would talk, cited
"a man named Blander, a barber at Tallulah, who conducted his business
opposite to the establishment of one John Wilson, who (Raymond said) had been
an instigator of or participant in the murder." Another agitator was an
unnamed saloon keeper who had "egged on the crowd to perpetrate the
murder, promising whiskey and beer gratis to them if they would lynch the
Italians, Frank Difatta [sic], Rosario Fiducia and Cirone."
According to Raymond, "there was a plot, not among the Italians to harm
the doctor, but among the shopkeepers of the village and others, from a spirit
or rivalry in trade, and from a desire to prevent the Italians from
voting."[52]
Another witness was Guiseppe Defina, the refugee merchant. On the night of the lynching, Defina related, a man named Ward "met a crowd of armed men on the road from Tallulah to Millikens (sic] Bend" that was "going to Defina's house to kill him." Ward "dissuaded the crowd" on the grounds "that Defina did not deserve to be lynched," but mob leaders warned that the Italian should leave the area within twenty-four hours or face the consequences. The next day, Dr. Gaines, a friend of Defina, "having learned at Tallulah that the twenty-four hours' delay . . . had been reduced by those rascals to two hours,.. went to Defina's residence and told him to leave . . . . The Italian then fled.
Another source was an unidentified priest
from Lake Providence, a Frenchman who often visited Tallulah. The man was
perhaps Father May, mentioned in several news accounts. This priest insisted,
"that all the people of the locality took part, either directly or
indirectly, in the killing of the Italians.”[53]
For the three investigators, the time in
Tallulah was excruciating. The welcoming committee, despite its friendliness,
was "pledged to silence." Because the three men had "no ground
to hope to obtain . . . any reliable information and because they would have
"been obliged to accept the hospitality so generously extended, and the
cordial welcome of those persons, a part of whom, perhaps--if not all--had
taken part in the murder . . ." they decided to depart the town quickly.[54]
On July 27, 1899, Governor Foster reported
that three of the lynching victims had been naturalized citizens. Only Joseph Defatta and John Cerano had been
Italian nationals. Foster added that local officials had expressed "an
earnest disposition to bring the perpetrators to justice."[55]
This aim, however, was hardly evident. On
July 21, 1899, A. Jordan, foreman of the parish grand jury, had reported that .
. . the men who were lynched had formed a conspiracy to assassinate Dr. Hodge
and the mob learning of these facts took the law into their own hands. After dilligent [sic] inquiry we have not been able to learn the
names or identity of the men composing the mob."[56]
Two succeeding grand juries "investigated the affair, without finding
evidence to implicate anyone."[57]
These questionable proceedings, Governor
Foster's, indifference, and the Cavalli report
prompted the Italians to continue their investigation. On July 28, 1899, the
Marquis Camillo Roman, of the Italian Embassy in
Washington went to Louisiana to confer with the governor and other local
officials about the lynching and the citizenship of the victims The Marquis'
findings indicated that, despite the claims of state officials, all of the dead
men were Italian citizens. The Marquis further insisted that Joseph Defatta had fired in defense of his brother after Hodge had
taken the first shot, and "that the mob made three distinct movements
against the Italians and that there was sufficient time for the blood to cool
and for the anger of the lynchers to abate after they
had disposed of the first two men." This elapsed time (before the second
and third lynchings) made these acts "particularly atrocious."
Romano's report, most observers predicted, would be used "as a basis by
the Italian government in its claim . . ." for indemnities.[58]
This claim was soon forthcoming. Baron Fava, the Italian Ambassador to the United States, however,
also demanded "that the persons guilty of lynching the five Italians at
Tallulah, La., . . . should be punished" and held
the federal government accountable.[59]
Ambassador Fava based his demand upon Article 1018 of
the Revised Statutes of Louisiana. In his opinion, the spirit and the letter of
the law are intended to confer upon the attorney-general of the state the power
and the duty of instituting and conducting investigations concerning criminal
acts of which the ordinary judicial authorities neglect to take
recognizance." Fava insisted that Washington
press local “authorities to fulfill the contractual obligations of the
confederation to which they belong, and to comply with the laws of their own State and the general principles of
universal justice."[60]
On January 15, 1900, Fava
tried to force the issue with information on the identities of those persons
who "were at the head of the Tallulah lynchers."
The Italian investigators had found two talkative black witnesses. One of the
two "in consequence of suspicion of or because he had talked too freely
about the lynchers," had already been murdered.
The other, Joe Evans, a former employee of Frank Defatta,
additionally named "two other negroes, the brothers Paul and Bill Bruse who can also
testify against the lynchers. These men produced a
list of nineteen participants that included Mr. Rogers, "the leader to go
to Millikens [sic] Bend to hang Joe Delfino [sic] and his son”; Mr. Coleman who "climbed
the tree and tied the rope"; Fred Johnson, "the one that carried the
rope"; and Anden Severe who "furnished the
rope."[61]
Secretary of State John Hay immediately
forwarded the Italian list to Governor Foster. When Foster responded with
“protracted silence," Fava asked, "what
measures the Federal Government intends to take in order to settle this
matter" since local investigations had
failed "to implicate anyone." On June 12, 1900.
Hay decried the lynching and reminded the Italians "of the dual
nature" of the American government.[62]
Although Secretary Hay asserted that he could only promise the payment of indemnities, Fava
continued his demands throughout the remainder of the calendar year.[63]
On January 29, 1901, President William
McKinley, at the recommendation of John Hay, called for indemnities in his message to Congress.[64]
With this monetary payment, the Tallulah incident came to a belated but
unsatisfactory conclusion. The lynchers completely
evaded punishment. Baron Fava furthermore, did not
achieve the protection for Italian nationals that he fervently sought. Later in
1901 a mob in Irwin, Mississippi, killed two Italians.[65]
Eight years later in December 1907, a riot broke out in Jackson Parish between negroes and Italians. The blacks "resented the intrusion
of Italian laborers on jobs the Negroes regarded as their monopoly." A
number of Italians were killed. Again, the Italian Consul in New Orleans
"bluntly demanded that the guilty parties be punished.'' Governor Newton
C. Blanchard maintained that parish officials could handle the investigation
and refused to interfere.[66]
For Italian immigrants in Louisiana, the danger persisted and justice was not
secured for them.
Memorial in Cefaluʹ,
Italy to those lynched in Tallulah
MADISON COORDINATOR’S NOTE: On March 19, 2021, due to the
persevering effort of Linda Fatta Ott of Pleasanton,
CA and Debbie Helton Flores of Friendswood, TX, great granddaughters of
Giuseppe Di Fatta, the Historical Marker below was
dedicated to the memory of those lynched in Tallulah (but buried in Vicksburg,
MS.) The marker is located near the entrance to Cedar Hills Cemetery in
Vicksburg, one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in the US. Although the
exact burial site is unknown it is reliably thought to be in the immediate
vicinity of the marker.
During the Dedication
Cynthia Savaglio, professor at Tampa University in
Tampa, Florida, who has been researching the lynching for over twenty years,
gave an in-depth description of the event, and Linda Fatta
Ott gave a very interesting history of her family. Individual pictorial
episodes of the presentations can be found on youtube.
It is expected that this section will be updated at a later date. RPS March
2021
For transcriptions of diplomatic letters, depositions,
attachments, etc., written between July 26, 1899 and December 4, 1900
concerning the details of the lynching click here.