James Thompson

Full Name

James Thompson

Victim Profile

James Thompson

Name Variations

Joe Thompson, Jim Thompson

Biography

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.

Documented or Attempted

Documented

Birth Date

Circa 1868

County of Birth; County of Death

Elmore County; Tallapoosa County

Death Date

September 30, 1898

Age at Death

30

Race

Black

Sex

Male

Researchers

Mann Boughton

Case Number

AMP 123-18980930-002

Identified by:

EJI

Mother

Susan Thompson

Father

N. Thompson

All other relatives

Thomas Thompson (sibling), Ruby Nell Thompson (adoptive niece), James Thompson (nephew)

Occupation

Farmer