Will Jones was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

man who was

lynched Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...

in Ellaville,

Schley County, Georgia Schley County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. (Schley is properly pronounced "sly", as this is the correct pronunciation of Governor William Schley, for whom the county is named). As of the 2020 ce ...

by a white mob on February 13, 1922. According to the

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

it was the 13th of 61 lynchings during 1922 in the United States.

Background

28-year-old Will Jones lived on a farm occupied by the landowner widow Mrs. Dora Fulford, mother-in-law of Bennie DeVane one of the accused and was regarded as an upstanding citizen by the community. News coverage at the time gave no official reason for the lynching but implied it might have been either Jones was going to report on the bootlegging that was going on in the area or that Will Jones came to the defence of 26-year-old African-American man Floyd Flournoy who had insulted Jessie Mae Devane, by asking for a ride in her buggy.

Lynching

Will Jones was shot at his home, near the Lowe settlement, between 10 and 11:00 PM Sunday, February 12, 1922. Before dying the next day, he was able to make a dying statement to County Commissioner Williamson and Mayor Rogers Williams that identified some of those who shot him. He said that on Sunday he was awakened by someone at his door asking for an auto-tire patch. When Jones refused to open the door, several men started to break in. He grabbed his

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...

and fled out of the back. It was here that he was shot at and where he was able to get off a few shots, wounding Bennie and Harvey. He then fled into the night and sought the help of others. Others had heard the gunshots and were too afraid to help Jones. He then fled to Ellaville. Here, a white mob has assembled and tracked him down to a small shack on the Hart farm, which is located near the line of

Sumter Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumter ( ...

and Schley counties around 9:00 AM. A gun battle ensued and the mob left, believing Jones dead.

Aftermath

Nine men were accused of taking part in the Lynching and warrants for arrest were issued by the coroner. Clarence Robinson, Thomas Brown, George Trussie Phillips, Henry Lewis Fulford, Henry Harvery (Jessie Mae Devane’s father), Arthur DeVane, Bennie DeVane, and John DeVane. Schley County

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

R.E. Battle was accused of helping some of the accused escape the law. Seven of the nine were local farmers and two were soldiers, on leave from

Camp Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, who were camping in the area who, according to the Atlanta Constitution, “joined the mob through a spirit of excitement and adventure atherthan because of any interest they held in the lynching of the negro.”

National memorial

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, informally known as the National Lynching Memorial, is a national memorial to commemorate the black victims of lynching in the United States. It is intended to focus on and acknowledge past racial te ...

opened in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

, on April 26, 2018, in a setting of . Featured among other things is the Memorial Corridor which displays 805 hanging steel rectangles, each representing the counties in the United States where a documented lynching took place and, for each county, the names of those lynched. The memorial hopes that communities, like

where Jones was lynched, will take these slabs and install them in their own communities.

Bibliography

Notes References * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Will 1922 riots 1922 in Georgia (U.S. state) Deaths by person in Georgia (U.S. state) December 1922 events Lynching deaths in Georgia (U.S. state) Protest-related deaths Racially motivated violence against African Americans Riots and civil disorder in Georgia (U.S. state) White American riots in the United States