Nicholas Snowden
MSA SC 3520-13735
Lynched in Ellicott City, September 18, 1885
Biography:
Nicholas Snowden was arrested September 13, 1885 for assaulting Alberta Fischer, a nine year old African American. Snowden, a 36 year old African American, was arrested by Sheriff N. T. Hutchins in Ellicott City, Howard County. It was reported Saturday, September 19, 1885 that a mob of 24 African American men entered Howard County's jail to lynch Snowden for his accused crime. Mr. John T. Ray, warden of the jail, told The Sun that the men came to the back door of the jail around 2 o'clock that morning. The men told the warden they had a prisoner and he directed them to the front door. The warden got the jail keys and opened the front door. Twelve of the lynchers came in and asked for Snowden. Ray noticed that even though the men were masked he could see parts of their faces. He concluded that all were African Americans.
The men scared several of the female prisoners as they looked for Snowden. They told the warden they did not intend to harm anyone. Warden Ray told the men Snowden was upstairs, but that he did not know where the keys to the cell were. Upon locating Snowden's cell the men broke the lock with an ax. Two men brought Snowden down the stairs by his collar. The men had a long piece of plow rope. The men gave back the warden's keys to the front jail doors and the lock to the corridor as they exited the jail house. The lynchers also had three or four guns with them. The warden dressed quickly and reported the incident to Sheriff Hutchins.
It took the lynchers 15 minutes to remove Snowden from the jail. Sheriff Hutchins claimed the men were a mixture of African Americans and whites. According to the prisoners the white men present did not participate directly in the lynching. The men road around the outskirts of the town before stopping at a location called Cat Rock. The men hung Snowden from a white oak tree in a grove of about 12 trees. The lynchers marched Snowden through the African American neighborhood before lynching him. His body was found later that morning around 6 o'clock by a youth who lived in the city. There was an ax, a bottle of whiskey and several masks located at the scene.
Coroner James D. Cooke summoned a jury of
inquest.
They removed the body from the grove. The body was placed in a
stained
pine coffin. Snowden was buried at Locust Cemetery in Ellicott
City.
The jury ruled that Nicholas Snowden was hung to a tree by persons
unknown
to the jury. He died from strangulation. The black
community
expressed little sympathy for the lynching of Snowden. The father
of
Alberta Fischer rejoiced in the lynching. He told the Sheriff if he had
not been convicted when tried then Snowden should have been shot.
Regardless to the sentiments of those in the town The Sun's
supplement
condemned the act on September 19, 1885:
"The lynching of a colored man at Ellicott City early yesterday morning by men of his own race is another instance of a kind of violation of law and interference with the course of justice against which The Sun has too often found it necessary to protest. In this case there was no reason to believe that the culprit would not be speedily brought to trial, and, if guilty of the revolting crime charged upon him, would be properly punished."
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