Eli Hilson, Jr. was murdered December 19, 1903 after ignoring warnings to leave his land in November. White cappers (KKK) shot up his house with his pregnant wife and children inside. But he still refused to leave. A few weeks later they caught him traveling alone in his wagon and shot him in the head. His body was thrown in the back and the horse carried it home. He was 39 years old and Hannah sick in bed had just delivered their eleventh child.
The tragedy of racial injustice is that its consequences affect more than its intended victim. It often permeated the victim's home and community leaving an aftermath of disgrace and financial devastation. This was the beginning of America's era of lynchings in the south. Up and coming black families were forced into ruin, and any hope of achieving the American Dream described generally as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was cut short.
Hannah's fate is very sketchy and still under research. However, Eli Hilson Sr., her father in-law's obituary shows that the family was able to retain a good reputation in Lincoln County, Mississippi and the travesty of his namesake's murder was still being felt a couple of years later.
A WELL KNOWN NEGRO PASSES AWAY
Transcript: Eli Hilson, Sr's Obituary, Brookhaven Leader, January 4, 1905, Page 4
Eli Hilson, Sr., who had lived in Lincoln County for over 40 years and was a familiar figure to a great many of The Leader's readers, died at the home of his son in McComb City on Dec. 20th, at the advanced age of 92. Before the war Eli belonged to the Weathersbys, of Amite county, and was a faithful and trusted servant of his old master and his family. He raised five sons and five daughters in this county, all of whom survive him except Eli, Jr., who was murdered in Dec 1903. He was thrifty and industrious and up to a few years ago when he became enfeebled by age, always made a good living for himself and family and enjoyed the confidence and respect of his white neighbors. For the last four years, he lived with his children. The body was brought from McComb to Brookhaven and buried in the church yard at Mt Olive, near which the old man lived for so many years.
From the previous post we know that Hannah lost the land through a mortgage foreclosure in 1905. The 74 acres were sold for less than $500.00. In 2001 the property was valued at $61,642. [To learn more about how property ownership made blacks targets in the 1900s click on the link below]
Hannah became a widow at the age of 38 years old. Her children were: Abe 19 yrs; Luna 18 yrs; Luella 15yrs; Julia 14 yrs; Willie 12 yrs; Harvey 10 yrs; Lewis 8 yrs; Arbella 6 yrs; Letha 4 yrs; Manerva 3 yrs and new born infant (?).
Franklin Carter Smith, genealogist and co-author of the book, A Genealogist Guide to Discovering Your African American Ancestors is a distant cousin on the Smith side of the family. He is currently researching where those children ended. We have both met Eli and Hannah's granddaughter, Fanny Early who lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. If the story she shared with us is any indication, of how the other children survived, the stories will be fascinating.
In the fall of 2018 free lance writer, Kim Henderson contacted Linda Rudd regarding research for an article she was writing. She had just visited the National Memorial for Peace and Justice Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. She came across Eli Hilson's name engraved on a panel [See photo below] and wanted to get the back story. I put her in touch with Fanny and excerpts from the following article ensued.
The Daily Leader, Brookhaven, MS. - October 30, 2018
SPECIAL REPORT: A Different Kind of Memorial, Part 2
Kim Henderson
Last week I told you about my visit to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. Since its opening in April, some have deemed the open-air facility a “lynching museum.” That’s because it’s the first national memorial dedicated to people terrorized by lynching.
believe that confronting the truth about our history is the first step towards recovery and reconciliation. That history includes more than 4,000 racially-motivated lynchings.
A few weeks ago, I set out to discover the stories behind the names etched on the Lincoln County monument. I came up with a zero on most, but the fifth on the list was a hit. Through newspaper articles and interviews with relatives, I was able to learn about Eli Hilson, a black man who died 8 miles outside of Brookhaven on December 20, 1903.
Hilson’s lynching story isn’t typical, though. A bullet, not a noose, ended his life, and his murderer was eventually convicted. Even so, mob justice and intimidation – core elements of lynchings – played a prominent role in Hilson’s death. Here’s a portion of what Brookhaven’s The Leader wrote three days after the incident.
“Last winter Hilson, who lived on a farm of his own and was prosperous, was warned by the whitecaps to leave . . . About three or four weeks ago his home was visited in the night by whitecaps and several volleys fired into it. His wife was sick in bed at the time, with an infant only a few hours old. . . Saturday, he brought a young daughter to town in his buggy to spend Christmas holidays with his brother . . . and as he was returning home between sunset and dark was assassinated. Hilson is the second negro murdered by whitecaps in that portion of Lincoln County within the last month.”
Public outcry ensued, but for the wrong reason. The Leader provides the details.
“An old farmer who lives several miles below where this murder occurred stated that about all the negroes had been frightened out of his neighborhood, and that all white farmers who had more lands than they could work themselves were left without labor and that these lands will have to lie out, uncultivated.”
Whitecappers, by the way, were Klansmen. And while Judge Wilkinson certainly made his point, the real widow in this story was Hannah Hilson. In the months following Eli’s death, she lost the family farm to foreclosure. Her 74 acres were eventually sold for $439 to S. P. Oliver, a county supervisor.
“That’s the most tragic part of the story,” he told me by phone. “They were dispersed across the state.” Smith learned that 5-year-old Leroy went to live with a former governor of Mississippi, Robert Lowry. “It was an unlikely turn of events, but his sister was working for the Lowry family and the governor took him in, changing the child’s name to Hilson Lowery, with a nickname of Buster.”
“My dad didn’t talk about what happened to his parents,” she said. “The first time I really understood the story was when I read about it on the internet.” Early just happened to mention that her mother (the daughter-in-law Eli never met) was from Montgomery. I couldn’t help but think of the connection — the new monument, the one with the details of Eli Hilson’s lynching — swinging high on a hill overlooking her hometown. I encouraged Early to go see it. “I want to do that,” she said. “Yes. I think I will.”
End of transcript
Next Blog: The Descendants of Eli and Hannah Hilson
Love to All,
Your Family Griot - Carolyn Harris Betts
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