Lynching of Burl Smith: September 21, 1917
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City: Middle Town of Goose Creek (Baytown, Texas)
County: Harris County
Race or Ethnicity of Victim: Black
Gender of Victim: Male
Age of Victim: Twenty-seven
Alleged Crime: Attempted Rape
Manner of Death: Hanged
Note: The ash tree from which Burl Smith was hanged no longer exists.
Source of Information: NAACP 30 Years of Lynching
Files
Burl Smith’s lynching in Pelly (formerly known as Middle Town). The hanging ash tree no longer exists.
Source: Photo courtesy of Darryl Jones. The young girl at the bottom of the photo is his great aunt, Opal Sparks-Epperson. | Date: September 21, 1917
"Negro Lynched for Alleged Assault"
Source: Houston Post (Houston, Texas) | Date: September 22, 1917
"Eleven Murder Charges are Filed in Goose Creek Lynching; More to Come"
Source: Houston Chronicle (Houston, Texas) | Date: September 22, 1917
"Negro Is Lynched By Mob of Goose Creek Workers"
Source: Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) | Date: September 22, 1917
"Another Lynching"
Source: The Pioneer (Bemidji, Minnesota) | Date: September 22, 1917
"Negro Cook Lynched"
Source: Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) | Date: September 22, 1917
"Eleven Complaints in Negro Lynching"
Source: The Houston Post (Houston, Texas) | Date: September 23, 1917
"Alleged Lynchers Are Arrested"
Source: Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) | Date: September 23, 1917
"More Arrests for Lynching Are to Be Made at Once"
Source: Houston Chronicle (Houston, Texas) | Date: September 24, 1917
"More Arrests May Be Made in Lynching Case"
Source: Houston Post (Houston, Texas) | Date: September 24, 1917
"Men Charged With Being in Mob Given Bond"
Source: Houston Chronicle (Houston, Texas) | Date: September 25, 1917
"Goose Creek Men Make Bond"
Source: Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) | Date: September 25, 1917
"Eleven Men Held Under $1000 Bail"
Source: Houston Post (Houston, Texas) | Date: September 25, 1917
"More Arrested for Lynching"
Source: The Houston Post (Houston, Texas) | Date: September 27, 1917
"Southern Texas Contingent to Camp To Be Short"
Source: Houston Chronicle (Houston, Texas) | Date: September 17, 1917
In Harris County Justice's Court
Date: September 21, 1917
Standard Certificate of Death
Source: Harris County, Texas | Date: September 22, 1917