George Ward

1865 - 1901  (~ 35 years)

• Name	George Ward  [1, 2]
  Born	Jun 1865	Kentucky, USA   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  Race	Black  [1]
  Reference Number	11083
  Residence	1900	Terre Haute, Vigo, Indiana, USA   [1, 2]
  	StreetAddress: Spruce Street; 24 Age: 24; Day Laborer Occupation: Day Laborer; AbleToSpeakEnglish: Yes; CanRead: Yes; CanWrite: Yes; CityWard: 8; EnumerationDistrict: 0119; HomeOwnership: Rent; MonthsUnEmployedPastYear: 0; OwnsFarm: H; YearsMarried: 3; Married MaritalStatus: Married; Head RelationToHead: Head
  Died	26 Feb 1901	Terre Haute, Vigo, Indiana, USA   [2]
  	36 Age: 36
  Person ID	I11083	Families

  
  

  Family	Ruth Roberts,   b. 10 Feb 1877, Indiana, USA
  Children	1. Robert Ward,   b. Aug 1898, Indiana, USA ,   d. USA  [natural]
  Family ID	F8224	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - Jun 1865 - Kentucky, USA Residence - StreetAddress: Spruce Street; 24 Age: 24; Day Laborer Occupation: Day Laborer; AbleToSpeakEnglish: Yes; CanRead: Yes; CanWrite: Yes; CityWard: 8; EnumerationDistrict: 0119; HomeOwnership: Rent; MonthsUnEmployedPastYear: 0; OwnsFarm: H; YearsMarried: 3; Married MaritalStatus: Married; Head RelationToHead: Head - 1900 - Terre Haute, Vigo, Indiana, USA Died - 26 Feb 1901 - Terre Haute, Vigo, Indiana, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  Miss Ida Finkelstein was attacked and injuried on her way home from school by Mr. George Ward. She died as a result of her injuries. From her description Mr. George Ward was arrested and confessed but before Sheriff Daniel Fasig could get him out of town a large crowd pulled him from the jail and killed him. EQUAL JUSTICE INITITIVE On February 26, 1901, a white mob lynched George Ward, an African American husband and father of two, near the old Wabash River Wagon Bridge. The day prior, a white woman had been shot and stabbed in the woods near Terre Haute and died later that evening. Fear and anger gripped the community. Though there were no witnesses to the crime, Mr. Ward was arrested and reports of an alleged confession began to circulate. Less than an hour after he was taken into custody, a white mob formed outside the jail. Around noon, the mob broke into the jail using a battering ram, seized Mr. Ward, and beat him until he collapsed. The mob then dragged Mr. Ward to the bridge and hanged him from a trestle using a noose made of rope and chain. Unsatisfied, the mob, “in morbid fury,” cut down and burned Mr. Ward’s body on the west riverbank. At least 1,000 white men, women, and children came to watch the spectacle lynching. Some collected fragments of Mr. Ward’s remains as souvenirs.

  
  

• Sources

  [S295] 1900 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2004;), Year: 1900; Census Place: Harrison, Vigo, Indiana; Page: 2; Enumeration District: 0119; FHL microfilm: 1240409. Record for Robert Ward [S400] Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Lehi, UT, USA; Date: 2015;), Indiana Archives and Records Administration; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Death Certificates; Year: 1901; Roll: 14. Record for George Ward