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Collection Overview
Title: Correspondence regarding the lynching of Samuel J. Bush in Decatur, Illinois on June 2, 1893
ID: 01/02/02/POST-1650 MS 0678
Primary Creator: Baker, Nathan Martin (1837-1922)
Extent: 10.0 Items
Arrangement: Items are arranged in chronological order and printed transcriptions accompany the letters.
Date Acquired: 03/28/2014
Subjects: Lynching, Macon County (Ill.)
Languages: English
Abstract
In late May 1893, Samuel J. Bush, an African American from Mississippi, was travelling by foot through Central Illinois and was accused of rape and attempted rape by two White farm wives near the town of Mt. Zion. He was eventually found in Moultrie County and incarcerated in the Macon County Courthouse jail in Decatur on June 2nd. At 1:45 a.m. on June 3rd, a mob of vigilantes from Mt. Zion stormed the jail and lynched Bush from a nearby telephone pole. Nathan Martin Baker was a minister in the Decatur Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and wrote a letter urging States Attorney Isaac R. Mills to prosecute members of the mob. Subsequently, he published an "Open Letter" in the Decatur Daily Republican on July 3rd (reprinted at least once more on July 9th) decrying the mob's transgression of the law and the comcomitant insult to any possible justice in the case. Baker's column initiated a series of personal correspondence with readers both in support and opposed to the sentiments expressed therein.
An account of the lynching and its aftermath is found in Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua's "'Join hand and hearts with law and order' : The 1893 Lynching of Samuel J. Bush and the Response of Decatur's African American Community" (Illinois Historical Journal, vol. 83, Autumn 1990, pp. 187-200).
Scope and Contents of the Materials
Collected correspondence and clippings of Reverend N. M. (Nathan Martin) Baker regarding the lynching of of Samuel J. Bush in Decatur, Illinois on June 2nd, 1893
Collection Historical Note
According to a list of Ministers compiled from the Archives of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and found online, the Rev. N. M. Baker was attached to the Decatur Presbytery in 1893, citing its source as: "Minutes of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1893, page 142."
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Access Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions:
This collection is the physical property of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Intellectual property rights, including copyright, may reside with the materials' creator(s) or their heirs.
The Rare Book & Manuscript Library's reproduction and publication policies are available here. The library welcomes requests for reproductions made from works in our collections, though restrictions may apply to certain materials. Please contact the library with any questions.
Acquisition Source:
Swann Auction Galleries
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Folder:
[
Folder 1: Administrative information],
[
Folder 2: N. M. Baker to I. R. Mills, 06/15/1893],
[
Folder 3: W. L. Chenowith to N. M. Baker, 07/03/1893],
[
Folder 4: M. Auer to N. M. Baker, 07/04/1893],
[
Folder 5: Charles M. Fletcher to N. M. Baker, 07/08/1893],
[
Folder 6: [Clipping] "An Open Letter to the Participants in the Mob of June 3, 1893, By Rev. N. M. Baker of Long Creek Township", 07/06/1893],
[
Folder 7: F. D. Scott to N. M. Baker, 07/22/1893],
[
Folder 8: N. M. Baker to F. D. Scott, N. d.],
[
Folder 9: N. M. Baker to C. M. Fletcher, N. d.],
[
Folder 10: [Envelope] On recto in pencil: "Papers relating to the Mt. Zion Mob" and "The Mount Zion Mob and Correspondence growing out of it", N. d.],
[All]
- Folder 1: Administrative information
- Printout of Swann's Sale 2342, Lot 248, March 27th 2014. Photocopy of article: Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua. "'Join hand and hearts with law and order' : The 1893 Lynching of Samuel J. Bush and the Response of Decatur's African American Community" (Illinois Historical Journal, vol. 83, Autumn 1990, pp. 187-200).
- Folder 2: N. M. Baker to I. R. Mills, 06/15/1893
- Autograph letter ("copy") on two leaves.
- Folder 3: W. L. Chenowith to N. M. Baker, 07/03/1893
- Signed typed letter (1 leaf) with envelope.
- Folder 4: M. Auer to N. M. Baker, 07/04/1893
- Typed letter (2 leaves) with envelope.
- Folder 5: Charles M. Fletcher to N. M. Baker, 07/08/1893
- Autograph letter (1 leaf) with envelope.
- Folder 6: [Clipping] "An Open Letter to the Participants in the Mob of June 3, 1893, By Rev. N. M. Baker of Long Creek Township", 07/06/1893
- 2 copies of clipping from the Decatur Daily Republican. One is dated and one is not.
- Folder 7: F. D. Scott to N. M. Baker, 07/22/1893
- Signed autograph letter (1 leaf.)
- Folder 8: N. M. Baker to F. D. Scott, N. d.
- Autograph letter [draft or copy] (6 leaves)
- Folder 9: N. M. Baker to C. M. Fletcher, N. d.
- Unsigned autograph (1 leaf) letter. Possibly a draft, but incomplete.
- Folder 10: [Envelope] On recto in pencil: "Papers relating to the Mt. Zion Mob" and "The Mount Zion Mob and Correspondence growing out of it", N. d.
- Approximately 4.75 by 9.25 inches.