Lynching refers to the unlawful killing of a person by a mob. Lynching is generally associated with hanging and with vigilante justice and racial violence. In terms of etymology, it is generally assumed that “lynching” derives from a man named Lynch. The problem is that there are two possible Lynches who may have lent their name to this concept.
Charles Lynch (1736-1796), the founder of Lynchburg, Virginia, is one candidate for the origin of “lynching.” Charles Lynch was an eighteenth century judge. He had a reputation for dispensing injustice, particularly by flogging the accused, without the benefit of a trial. As an American revolutionary, he was particularly fond of punishing those accused of loyalty to the British Crown.
In 1764, Charles Lynch, then a wealthy plantation owner and slave-owner, was asked to become a candidate for the Virginia Assembly. He refused on the grounds that as a Quaker he could not swear the necessary oath of office.
In 1767, he became a justice of the peace of Bedford County, Virginia. He had to take an oath of office for this position and for this reason was disowned by the Quakers.
In 1778, Charles Lynch became a militia colonel and in 1780, Lynch and other militia officers began rounding up people who were suspected of being British Loyalists. Lynch then tried them in an informal court, handing out sentences which included flogging, property seizures, and conscription into the military. While these actions were extralegal at the time, in 1782 the Virginia General Assembly retroactively legitimized his rulings.
Another Revolutionary War officer, Captain William Lynch, has been touted by some etymologists as the source of “lynching.” In 1780, Lynch and his followers appear to have founded the first lynching organization. According to one of Lynch’s men:
“The person…was placed on a horse with his hands tied behind him and a rope around his neck which was fastened to the limb of a tree…When the horse in pursuit of food or any other cause moved from his position the unfortunate person was left suspended by the neck—this was called aiding the civil authority.’”
“Lynch’s Law” was used in reference to actions of this organization in upholding their own brand of law without any actual legal authority.
The story of William Lynch was uncovered in 1836, sixteen years after his death, by the writer Edgar Allen Poe who was doing some research on hanging for his stories. Poe discovered a dated execution pact signed by Captain Lynch and his followers. Thus, according to Poe, William Lynch gave birth to “lynching.” There are many scholars, however, who feel that Poe was perpetuating a hoax.