Fred Rochelle (c. 1885 – May 29, 1901) was an African-American teenager from Bartow, Florida, who was lynched and burned to death on May 29, 1901, following the alleged rape and murder of a white woman, Rena Smith Taggart, the previous day.[1][2] He was said to have been seen near where Taggart's body was found. Newspapers misreported the 16-year-old boy as "35 years of age". A mob of over 100 men as well as bloodhounds from Mulberry and Pebble was assembled to search for him but a local paper mentioned a possible lynching before any evidence was recovered or he was charged.
Rochelle was captured two days later by two black men, who evaded the mob and turned Rochelle over to the Sheriff of Polk County in Lakeland, Florida. Ten minutes later, Rochelle was turned over to a mob.[3] The mob took Rochelle back to Bartow. A special train was arranged from Lakeland so that a large crowd of spectators could attend a "barbecue" in Bartow where Rochelle was to be the "chief actor."[4] He was taken to the site of the Taggart murder, where he was chained to a barrel and doused with quantities of kerosene. At 6:00 PM the match was struck. He was burned alive for 15 minutes, and the crowd dispersed by 8:30 that evening.[3][5]
Legacy
Ossian Sweet, an African-American doctor in Detroit who was tried for defending his house from a mob in 1925, testified at his trial that he had witnessed Rochelle being lynched as a five-year-old child in Bartow.[6]
References
^Bair, Cinnamon (11 April 2010). "Black Lynched After Murder". The Ledger. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
^"Was Made A Living Torch". Boston Post. 30 May 1901. p. 1. Retrieved 18 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ab"Negro Murderer Burned at Stake by Mob of Avengers in Florida". San Francisco Call. 30 May 1901. Retrieved 16 December 2017 – via US Library of Congress.
^"Awful Crime at Bartow". Ocala Evening Star. 29 May 1901.
^Green, Lewis (June 1901). "Texas Town Burned by Robbers". The Hocking Sentinel. Retrieved 16 December 2017 – via US Library of Congress.
^Boyle, Kevin (2004). Arc of justice : a saga of race, civil rights, and murder in the Jazz Age (1st ed.). New York: H. Holt. p. 69. ISBN0805071458.
External links
The Lynching of Fred Rochelle: Bartow, Florida, 28 May 1901, blog, February 2011
This Floridian biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
fred, rochelle, 1885, 1901, african, american, teenager, from, bartow, florida, lynched, burned, death, 1901, following, alleged, rape, murder, white, woman, rena, smith, taggart, previous, said, have, been, seen, near, where, taggart, body, found, newspapers,. Fred Rochelle c 1885 May 29 1901 was an African American teenager from Bartow Florida who was lynched and burned to death on May 29 1901 following the alleged rape and murder of a white woman Rena Smith Taggart the previous day 1 2 He was said to have been seen near where Taggart s body was found Newspapers misreported the 16 year old boy as 35 years of age A mob of over 100 men as well as bloodhounds from Mulberry and Pebble was assembled to search for him but a local paper mentioned a possible lynching before any evidence was recovered or he was charged Rochelle was captured two days later by two black men who evaded the mob and turned Rochelle over to the Sheriff of Polk County in Lakeland Florida Ten minutes later Rochelle was turned over to a mob 3 The mob took Rochelle back to Bartow A special train was arranged from Lakeland so that a large crowd of spectators could attend a barbecue in Bartow where Rochelle was to be the chief actor 4 He was taken to the site of the Taggart murder where he was chained to a barrel and doused with quantities of kerosene At 6 00 PM the match was struck He was burned alive for 15 minutes and the crowd dispersed by 8 30 that evening 3 5 Legacy EditOssian Sweet an African American doctor in Detroit who was tried for defending his house from a mob in 1925 testified at his trial that he had witnessed Rochelle being lynched as a five year old child in Bartow 6 References Edit Bair Cinnamon 11 April 2010 Black Lynched After Murder The Ledger Retrieved 2016 09 10 Was Made A Living Torch Boston Post 30 May 1901 p 1 Retrieved 18 February 2017 via Newspapers com a b Negro Murderer Burned at Stake by Mob of Avengers in Florida San Francisco Call 30 May 1901 Retrieved 16 December 2017 via US Library of Congress Awful Crime at Bartow Ocala Evening Star 29 May 1901 Green Lewis June 1901 Texas Town Burned by Robbers The Hocking Sentinel Retrieved 16 December 2017 via US Library of Congress Boyle Kevin 2004 Arc of justice a saga of race civil rights and murder in the Jazz Age 1st ed New York H Holt p 69 ISBN 0805071458 External links EditThe Lynching of Fred Rochelle Bartow Florida 28 May 1901 blog February 2011 This Floridian biographical article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte This United States biographical article related to crime is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fred Rochelle amp oldid 1039543474, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
