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The Tragedy of the Murderous Polly Barclay

While searching for information about Julia Force , and especially Cora Lou Vinson , I was led to other "famous" female murder cases in Georgia's history. On the 30th ult. was executed at Washington, Georgia, POLLY BARCLAY, as an accessory in the murder of her husband. --  Charleston Courier  (South Carolina), 11 June 1806 Polly Jenkins Barclay is often misstated as being the first woman hung for murder in Georgia. That is incorrect, as that distinction belongs to Alice Riley of Savannah. (We'll save her story for another post.) Point is, Polly Barclay was actually the second woman to be hung for murder in Georgia. Mrs. Barclay was tried and convicted for the murder of her husband John, most often simply referred to as "Mr. Barclay," in 1806. The murder took place in the fall of the previous year. This all happened near the city of Washington in Wilkes County, GA. Records regarding the murder are difficult to find, and historians owe a debt of g...
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White Man and 7 Negroes Lynched by Watkinsville, Georgia Mob in 1905

Accumulation of Crimes in Oconee County, Georgia Results in a Carnival of Death. Following is an account of the carousal from the 30 June 1905 Athens Weekly Banner (Georgia): " Prisoners Shot Down By An Insatiate Mob Aycock and Seven Negroes Meet Death Furious Mob Swept Down on Watkinsville Yesterday Morning at Two O'Clock, Cleared Jail of All Except One Negro, and Shot Prisoners to Death. Aycock Protested His Innocence to the Last. Mob Came Quietly, Overpowered Jailor and Town Marshal and Wreaked Its Awful Vengeance. Yesterday morning at two o'clock the most horrible lynching in the history of Georgia took place at Watkinsville, Oconee county. Seven negroes and one white man were taken from the jail and tied by their necks to fence posts near the jail and their bodies riddled with shot. One negro who was taken out was shot several times and left for dead by the mob, but he will recover. Only one more inmate of the jail was left and he would have been taken out also if th...
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