Lynching Cases - Maryland - Matthew Williams, George Armwood, and Euel Lee, 1931-1936, 1955, 1962-1964

Scope and Contents

Clippings report on lynching victims Matthew Williams (Salisbury, 1931) and George Armwood (Princess Anne, 1933), and the attempted lynching of Euel Lee, aka Orphan Jones (Snow Hill, 1931). Clippings cover arrests, lynchings, investigations, trials, appeals, and legal precedent set during Euel Lee case. Because the incidents and their aftermath overlapped in time, many articles reference more than one case.

Extent

17 folders

Dates

Creation: 1931-1936
Creation: 1955
Creation: 1962-1964

Document Types

Clippings

Condition Note

Clippings are fragile and in some cases fragmented. Access to original documents may be limited by condition of originals.

May Contain Harmful Content

Harmful Content (general) Published photographs of victims in folder 17 of 17.

Additional Description

Arrangement

Arrangement is geographical; when multiple items referring to a single individual exist, a separate folder has been created with their name and the location in the folder title.

Processing Information

Lynching files have been processed using detailed processing procedures. All the information in the finding aid has been verified against folder content, dates and document types have been added, and more detailed arrangement and description work has been performed.

In files on lynching cases, names of victims are listed in the scope and content note for that folder, along with the locality and year of the incident. Unnamed victims are listed with location and date, and victims of attempted lynchings are also listed when named. When many documents are found for a specific victim, they are arranged in a separate folder with the victim's name in the folder title. Content warnings have been added to folder records where photographs of lynching victims are filed, or clippings with particularly graphic headlines, and such items are encapsulated within the main folders to allow researchers to choose whether or not to engage with this content.

The lynching legislation files appear to have been originally compiled around 1941, when correspondence is found between an AFRO librarian and a Congressional Research Service librarian. A 1939 report created by the Congressional Research Service is found, which may serve as an index to the content of these files.