by Erin Eddins

A fellow history enthusiast made a suggestion a few weeks back for a possible topic for Old Joe. I am always open to suggestions and eagerly set out on task. The recommendation came for an article on public hangings in

Buchanan County. A dark but interesting assignment, I decided to pursue it.

As I always do I reflected on my own memories and family history as my starting point. Let’s see, I’ve never participated in or watching a public hanging. No one in my family history has been to the gallows. The closest I could come was the posthumous execution of Oliver Cromwell, a distant uncle on my maternal grandfather’s side. But that is another story for another day and probably would be a stretch to include in Old Joe.

I delved deeper into my own history to find a link to public hangings from which to build on. Then it came to me. It was a rather sudden thought; the kind that physically shake the body. The Wild West! Perhaps the

Wyoming I grew up in was not the Wild West of olden day but the stories linger. I remembered a book a family friend had on his coffee table about the history of

Wyoming and the very graphic pictures of outlaws hanging from nooses. There were also gruesome photos of entire families hung together for what was simply declared as heinous crimes. How a four year old child can attribute to his parents’ alleged unlawfulness is beyond me.

So there it was. The platform on which my perspective of public hangings was formed came from a book about my hometown. And I would hope that the sick feeling it the concept leaves with me is something felt by all when the topic is broached.

Does that sick feeling mean we should shirk the subject? Is it better to ignore it? We could pretend it didn’t happen. But, alas, that would not be history. It is an injustice to walk away from the dark chapters of our history and

St. Joseph is no different. That chapter exists and from what I can tell it was a long one.

It was suggested that I start my research with Judge Isaac Parker, “The Hanging Judge.” Though the bulk of his career was focused on the

Arkansas and

Oklahoma region he did spend the formidable years of his political climbing in St. Joe. Born in 1838 in

Ohio, Parker quickly realized he was not interested in the farm life of his parents. Luckily his mother’s uncle was the governor. This provided opportunity to Parker. After completing primary school he attended The Barnesville Classical Institute.

He continued his education and following the bar exam Parker came to

St. Joseph. D. E. Shannon, of the Shannon and Branch Legal Firm and also Parker’s uncle provided Parker’s first legal position. Shortly he ventured out on his own. By 1861 he was working both sides of the court, municipal and criminal. That same year Parker was nominated as City Attorney and held that post for several years.

Continuing to climb the political ladder Parker moved up and moved on. It wasn’t until he became the youngest Federal Judge, presiding over the

Indian Territory, that he developed his reputation for hanging. In his first day holding court at

Fort Smith he found eight men guilty and they were sentenced to death. He continued as Judge for many years, even as his area was subdivided and rule handed to others. In all, Judge Parker sentenced more than 150 men to be hung, though it is reported that only 79 of those sentenced were ever carried out.

Parker’s story is an interesting one with far more details then I have presented here. But being as most of his legend as The Hanging Judge did not actually happen in St. Joe, I continued my search on

St. Joseph’s history of public hangings.

I found many reports of hangings. They took place in various places around town and always drew a big crowd. But there was one story I came across that I could not lump in with the rest. And that is the story of Lloyd Warner, a 19 year old black man who the citizens of

St. Joseph brutally murdered.

On November 26, 1933 a 21 year old white woman was viciously attacked, forced into an alley, beaten, bitten, bound with her own stockings and then raped. She survived and made a report of what had happened. An investigation was launched.

Two days later, Lloyd Warner admitted before a judge that he had committed the crime. The judge had Warner taken to the local jailhouse and began proceedings to have him formally charged, though he stated there was no need to rush the process. News of the confession hits the streets. The report was first made by Harold Slater. He presented the facts of the crime and confession as well as the actions that would be taking place in order to move Lloyd Warner to

Jefferson City for trial.

Our citizens allowed their anger to overtake their judgment on morality and the result was a very dark chapter of St. Joe history. A mob of nearly 5000 people gathered outside of the jailhouse that night and rallied. They demanded Warner be turned over to them for punishment for what he had done. As the tempo grew the crowd went from making verbal demands to make physical assaults. They attacked the building literally tearing it apart piece by piece. A truck with chains was used to pull the jailhouse gates off. The mob entered the building and started ransacking. They left a path of destruction as they moved from the sheriff’s quarters and on into the actually jailhouse.

Warner waited in his cell aware of the crowd outside, trusting in the jailers on duty to protect him inside his cell. He began to recount is admission of guilt. Whether this was true or simply a reaction of fear would never be determined.

At on November 28, 1993, Sheriff Otto Theisen and his men surrendered their prisoner, fearing for their own lives. The mob had forced their way in. The Governor had ordered the National Guard to aid in defending the jailhouse but the mob overtook them. The tear gas had little effect and they had been ordered that no bullets were to be fired. The Guardsmen were beaten, tanks taken and the mob continued their onslaught. It finally came down to a thin metal door between 5000 violent citizens and the jailers.

Sheriff Theisen addressed the group, “I’ve never known an Irishman to lick a Dutchman before, but there are too many Irishman here for me.” With that he released Warner to the mob. They beat him until he was unconscious. Then he was drug to 5th and Jules. At this point some reports stated he was stabbed to death while others made no mention of the stabbing at all. All reports state that he was hung from a tree on the Southeast corner of the intersection. Gasoline was taken from a nearby filling station as the mob tore bits of Warner’s clothing from his body. His leather belt was taken and divided up. The mob wanted mementoes of the event.

They doused the body in gasoline and lit it afire. Then a pyre made from wooden doors, taken from the jailhouse, was created at Warner’s feet and also set to burn. As the flames reached the body the rope was cut and Warner was left to burn atop of the wood pile. It took nearly two hours for the blaze to die down, at which time workers from the Ramsey Funeral Home collected what was left of Lloyd Warner’s body.

An investigation was launched on December 1, 1993 regarding the events of that horrible night. Time magazine even covered the story. On December 11, 1933 the Time article attributed the blame to Governor James Rolph, Jr. of

California. A short time prior to the death of Warner in St. Joseph, a similar event involving two men accused of kidnapping and murder were turned over to a mob in San Jose by order of Governor Rolph. He reportedly boasted that

California “had given the rest o the

Union a lesson in dealing with criminals.” As Time magazine stated, “

Missouri, it seemed, had been quick to learn.”

Many of you may be wondering why in a paper that is typically very light-heart and almost always positive would I share this story. As I mentioned above, we cannot pretend these things did not happen simply because they are hard to talk about. Even the darkest chapters of our history are still our history.  

Posted by: admin on Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
Filed under: Old Joe, General |