Cairo, Illinois - History - Lynchings

Lynchings

Cairo's turbulent history is often traced back to the lynching of black resident William James. In 1900, Cairo had a population of nearly 13,000. Of that total, approximately 5,000 residents were black. In 1900, this was an unusually high black population for a town of Cairo's size. Five percent of all black residents of the state of Illinois resided in Cairo. As a result of the large black population in a town with a traditionally southern white heritage, race relations were already strained by 1900. On the night of November 11, 1909 two men were lynched. The first man lynched was a black man named William James. James was lynched for the assault and murder of Anna Pelly, a young white woman killed three days earlier. The second man lynched was a white man named Henry Salzner. Salzner was lynched for the alleged murder of his wife that took place in August.

James was accused of killing Pelly by choking her to death in an alley with pieces of a flour sack on the dark and rainy evening of November 8, 1909. Pelly's body was discovered the next morning, and the evidence suggested that James and a possible accomplice had committed the crime. James was placed in police custody on Tuesday, where he remained until Wednesday evening. As word of the crime and evidence spread, the citizens of Cairo demanded an immediate trial for James, but the case was delayed by the court. With racial tension already at breaking point in Cairo, the townspeople grew quickly infuriated by the delay in a speedy trial. The threat of mob violence quickly developed as a result of the delay. On November 10, Will James was turned over to Sheriff Frank Davis, who quickly took James out of the city on an Illinois Central Train to avoid any potential mob violence. An angry mob had formed in Cairo and seized another train and raced to catch up with James north of town. Sheriff Davis' attempt to save James from the mob proved futile as the mob was able to intercept James and the sheriff. The mob returned James to Cairo and led him to the intersection of Commercial Avenue and Eighth Street. The mob of approximately 10,000 attempted to hang James from large steel arches that spanned the intersection. When the noose was placed around the neck of James, he confessed "I killed her, but Alexander took the lead". The hanging failed when the rope broke, the mob then shot James several times, killing him. Following the shooting, the mob dragged the body back to the scene of Anna Pelly's murder. His head was cut from his body and placed on a pole that was stuck into the ground, and then the body of James was burned. Following the killing of Will James, the infuriated townspeople went out in search of the accomplice, Arthur Alexander. When the mob was unable to locate Alexander, they instead entered the court house and broke through the cell where Henry Salzner was being held. Salzner was hanged from a telegraph pole near the courthouse, and the crowd shot his body many times following the hanging. After hanging Salzner, the mob continued searching for Alexander long into the night. Police and sheriff deputies located Alexander before the mob, and they were able to get him escorted to the county jail by disguising him as a police officer. The mob pressed on still searching for Alexander, and the mayor and chief of police had to be guarded in their homes as the mob threatened them as well. The Governor of Illinois dispatched 11 companies of militia to Cairo in order to restore order. By the time the mob discovered Alexander was at the jail the following morning, soldiers had already arrived and were able to restore order before any further violence took place.