James Thompson
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Full Name
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James Thompson
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Name Variations
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Joe Thompson, Jim Thompson
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Biography
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On September 30 , 1898, Jim Thompson, 30, was lynched in Tallapoosa County, AL by a mob of white citizens after being accused of the robbery and murder of three elderly white citizens. James “Joe” “Jim” Thompson was born around 1868 in Elmore County, AL to N. and Susan Thompson. He has a brother, Tom, who is two years older. According to Ms. Jackie Lacey, Tom and Jim had three other brothers, each of whom were victims of the lynching that claimed Jim’s own life. He was Black, the son of a “mulatto” father and black mother. In 1898, Jim was accused, along with 5 other Black men, of robbing and murdering an elderly white couple and another white man. For this alleged crime, four Black men were hanged and Tom, Jim’s brother was released. After the initial mass lynching, Jim was arrested but was later kidnapped, beaten, mutilated, and weighed down in the Tallapoosa River in Tallapoosa County, AL. He does not appear on any online census between 1870 and his murder. Ruby Nell Thompson, his adopted niece, continued to live in Elmore County and continued to share the story of his murder. His nephew and namesake, James Thompson, also continued to live in Elmore County until the mid-twentieth century.
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Documented or Attempted
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Documented
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Birth Date
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Circa 1868
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County of Birth; County of Death
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Elmore County; Tallapoosa County
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Death Date
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September 30, 1898
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Age at Death
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30
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Race
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Black
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Sex
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Male
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Researchers
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Mann Boughton
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Case Number
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AMP 123-18980930-002
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Identified by:
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EJI
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Mother
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Susan Thompson
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Father
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N. Thompson
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All other relatives
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Thomas Thompson (sibling), Ruby Nell Thompson (adoptive niece), James Thompson (nephew)
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Occupation
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Farmer