Sam Hose
Encyclopedia
Sam Hose was an African American
worker who was tortured and executed by a lynch mob in Coweta County, Georgia
.
Sam Hose, a.k.a. Sam Holt, was born Tom Wilkes in south Georgia near Marshallville
(Macon County
) around 1875. He grew up on a Macon County farm owned by the Jones family. His mother was a long-time employee of the family.
Wilkes moved to Coweta County
, where he assumed the alias Sam Hose. On April 12, 1899, Wilkes/Hose was accused of murdering his employer, Alfred Cranford, after a heated argument. The argument was the result of Hose requesting time off to visit his mother who was ill. Alfred Cranford threated to kill Hose and pointed a gun at him. Hose was working at the time with an ax in his hands. Due to the threat he defended himself and threw the ax, killing Cranford. Wilkes fled the scene and the search for him began shortly thereafter. Over the next few days, stories suggesting that Wilkes sexually assaulted Cranford's wife and assaulted his infant child caused a furor. On April 23, 1899, Wilkes/Hose was apprehended in Marshallville and returned by train to Coweta County.
A mob removed him from the train at gunpoint in Newnan, Georgia
. Former Governor William Yates Atkinson
and Judge Alvan Freeman pleaded with the crowd to release Wilkes/Hose to the custody of the authorities. Ignoring their pleas, the crowd marched northward toward the Cranford home. The lynch mob grew, reaching an estimated 2000 individuals. Once news of the capture reached Atlanta, large crowds boarded trains to Newnan. Mistakenly believing that these trains were loaded with troops, the mob stopped just north of Newnan. Newspapers reported that Wilkes'/Hose's ears, fingers and genitals were severed. The skin from his face was removed and his body was doused with kerosene. He was tied to a tree and burned alive. Some members of the mob cut off pieces of his dead body as souvenirs. According to Philip Dray's
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America, the noted civil rights leader and scholar W. E. B. Du Bois, who lived in Atlanta at the time, was on his way to a scheduled meeting with Atlanta Constitution editor Joel Chandler Harris
to discuss the lynching, when he was informed that Hose's knuckles were for sale in a grocery store on the road on which he was walking. He sadly turned around and did not meet with Harris after learning this.
The actions of the lynch mob were condemned throughout most of the United States
and Europe
. A group of prominent citizens in Chicago
, led by journalist and activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett
, hired detective Louis P. Le Vin to investigate the Wilkes/Hose lynching. Mr. Le Vin’s entire report was published in Chapter IV of the Ida B. Wells-Barnett article “Lynch Law in Georgia.”
Le Vin stated that he spent over one week in his investigation. He concluded that Wilkes/Hose acted in self-defense and the rape allegation was added to incite a lynching. Mr. Le Vin stated that his conclusions were gathered from interviews with “persons he met in Griffin, Newman (sic) Atlanta and the vicinity”. He does not provide the name of any individual who provided him his information, although this could have been due to their fear of speaking out publicly for fear of reprisal. He stated that he was unable to speak to Mattie Cranford because she “was still suffering from the awful shock”. Mr. Le Vin’s report stated: “that Wilkes killed Cranford there is no doubt, but under what circumstances can never be proven”. Hose's contention had been that the killing was in self defense after an argument with Cranford turned violent. Le Vin concluded his report with the statement, "I made my way home thoroughly convinced that a Negro's life is a very cheap thing in Georgia".
Historian Leon Litwack states in his essay "Hellhounds", however, that during an investigation by a white detective that was separate to the Wells-organised investigation, Cranford's wife revealed that Hose had never entered the house and had acted in self-defence.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
worker who was tortured and executed by a lynch mob in Coweta County, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
.
Sam Hose, a.k.a. Sam Holt, was born Tom Wilkes in south Georgia near Marshallville
Marshallville, Georgia
Marshallville is a city in Macon County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,335 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Marshallville is located at ....
(Macon County
Macon County, Georgia
Macon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 14,074. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 13,542. The county seat is Oglethorpe.-History:...
) around 1875. He grew up on a Macon County farm owned by the Jones family. His mother was a long-time employee of the family.
Wilkes moved to Coweta County
Coweta County, Georgia
Coweta County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 89,215. The 2009 Census Estimate placed the population at 131,936...
, where he assumed the alias Sam Hose. On April 12, 1899, Wilkes/Hose was accused of murdering his employer, Alfred Cranford, after a heated argument. The argument was the result of Hose requesting time off to visit his mother who was ill. Alfred Cranford threated to kill Hose and pointed a gun at him. Hose was working at the time with an ax in his hands. Due to the threat he defended himself and threw the ax, killing Cranford. Wilkes fled the scene and the search for him began shortly thereafter. Over the next few days, stories suggesting that Wilkes sexually assaulted Cranford's wife and assaulted his infant child caused a furor. On April 23, 1899, Wilkes/Hose was apprehended in Marshallville and returned by train to Coweta County.
A mob removed him from the train at gunpoint in Newnan, Georgia
Newnan, Georgia
Newnan is a city in Coweta County, Georgia, about 30 miles southwest of Atlanta. The population was 16,242 at the 2000 Census. Newnan is one of the fastest growing cities in Georgia, with an estimated population of 27,097 in 2006 and 33,293 in July 2008...
. Former Governor William Yates Atkinson
William Yates Atkinson
William Yates Atkinson was the 55th Governor of Georgia from 1894 to 1898.Atkinson graduated from the University of Georgia with an LL.B in 1877. He married Susie Cobb Milton in 1880...
and Judge Alvan Freeman pleaded with the crowd to release Wilkes/Hose to the custody of the authorities. Ignoring their pleas, the crowd marched northward toward the Cranford home. The lynch mob grew, reaching an estimated 2000 individuals. Once news of the capture reached Atlanta, large crowds boarded trains to Newnan. Mistakenly believing that these trains were loaded with troops, the mob stopped just north of Newnan. Newspapers reported that Wilkes'/Hose's ears, fingers and genitals were severed. The skin from his face was removed and his body was doused with kerosene. He was tied to a tree and burned alive. Some members of the mob cut off pieces of his dead body as souvenirs. According to Philip Dray's
Philip Dray
Philip Dray is an American writer and independent public historian, known for his comprehensive analyses of American scientific, racial, and labor history.-Awards:...
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America, the noted civil rights leader and scholar W. E. B. Du Bois, who lived in Atlanta at the time, was on his way to a scheduled meeting with Atlanta Constitution editor Joel Chandler Harris
Joel Chandler Harris
Joel Chandler Harris was an American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Harris was born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a plantation during his teenage years...
to discuss the lynching, when he was informed that Hose's knuckles were for sale in a grocery store on the road on which he was walking. He sadly turned around and did not meet with Harris after learning this.
The actions of the lynch mob were condemned throughout most of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. A group of prominent citizens in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, led by journalist and activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett
Ida B. Wells
Ida Bell Wells-Barnett was an African American journalist, newspaper editor and, with her husband, newspaper owner Ferdinand L. Barnett, an early leader in the civil rights movement. She documented lynching in the United States, showing how it was often a way to control or punish blacks who...
, hired detective Louis P. Le Vin to investigate the Wilkes/Hose lynching. Mr. Le Vin’s entire report was published in Chapter IV of the Ida B. Wells-Barnett article “Lynch Law in Georgia.”
Le Vin stated that he spent over one week in his investigation. He concluded that Wilkes/Hose acted in self-defense and the rape allegation was added to incite a lynching. Mr. Le Vin stated that his conclusions were gathered from interviews with “persons he met in Griffin, Newman (sic) Atlanta and the vicinity”. He does not provide the name of any individual who provided him his information, although this could have been due to their fear of speaking out publicly for fear of reprisal. He stated that he was unable to speak to Mattie Cranford because she “was still suffering from the awful shock”. Mr. Le Vin’s report stated: “that Wilkes killed Cranford there is no doubt, but under what circumstances can never be proven”. Hose's contention had been that the killing was in self defense after an argument with Cranford turned violent. Le Vin concluded his report with the statement, "I made my way home thoroughly convinced that a Negro's life is a very cheap thing in Georgia".
Historian Leon Litwack states in his essay "Hellhounds", however, that during an investigation by a white detective that was separate to the Wells-organised investigation, Cranford's wife revealed that Hose had never entered the house and had acted in self-defence.