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Full Name
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Lizzie Ross Swindall
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Name Variations
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Lizzie Ross, Lizzie Swindall, Lizzie Smith, Lizzie Rutland, Lizzie Swindle, Lizzie Swindal, Lizzie Swindler
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Biography
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In March 1895, Lizzie Ross, age 15, was nearly lynched with her husband, Rufus. She watched as a white mob drug Rufus from his bed. He would struggle to escape before one of the mob members would shoot him dead. Lizzie would be hit with a bullet during this altercation so that she could not cry out. The men threatened to harm Lizzie further if she did not keep quiet and told her that her home would be guarded throughout the night but, when the men left, she ran to her neighbor, Henry Stacey, what had happened. Lizzie Ross was born to James and Henrietta Ross around 1879/1880 in Colbert, Alabama. She had six older siblings, Frank, Ella, G.H., Zed, Jesse, and Henry. Lizzie married Rufus Jackson Swindall on September 14, 1894, in Elmore County, Alabama. The witnesses were Rufus’ twin brother, Lucius Swindall, and Lizzie’s brother, Henry Ross. After witnessing her husband’s lynching, Lizzie would return home, to Colbert County and live with her mother and brother. She married George Smith on October 7, 1900. The two would divorce a short time later. Lizzie would continue to reside in Colbert, as the head of her household, where she lived with her children, Neil, born c. 1901, Evelyn, born c. 1903, and Harry, born c. 1907, as well as her mother, Henrietta. She would work as a laborer, doing odd jobs. Lizzie would marry Jack Rutland on November 14, 1924. She would die on March 18, 1926, in Colbert, Alabama at the approximate age of 46.
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Documented or Attempted
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Attempted
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Birth Date
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May 1879
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County of Birth; County of Death
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Colbert County; Colbert County
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Death Date
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March 18, 1926
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Date of Attempted Lynching
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March 1895
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Age at Death
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46
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Race
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Black
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Sex
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Female
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Researchers
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Olivia Womack
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Case Number
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AMP 051-18950300-002
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Identified by:
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Alabama Memory Project
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Mother
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Henrietta Ross
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Father
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James Ross
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Spouse or Partner
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Rufus Jackson Swindall, George Smith
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Child
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Neil Smith, Evelyn Smith, Harry Smith
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All other relatives
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Frank Ross (sibling), Ella Ross (sibling), G. H. Ross (sibling), Zed Ross (sibling), Jesse Ross (sibling), Henry Ross (sibling)
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Occupation
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Laborer
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Head of Household and Literacy Status
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Yes; No