Officers Intercepted, Negro Lynched In Downtown Tyler, TX

Smith County LynchingsTyler Texas Lynchings
Written By DG Montalvo

Smith County Jail, Tyler, TX, Built In 1881

1890 - WE REMEMBER JOHN AMBROSE

On Thursday, March 13, 1890, the Brenham Weekly Banner reported the lynching of a Black man in Tyler, Texas.

The article read, “John Ambrose, colored, was being carried from the jail to the new courthouse at Tyler to be tried on a charge of attempted outrageous assault on a young lady, Frank Perry, the young lady's brother, and J. J. Hamilton, her cousin, intercepted the officer and killed the negro.”

Further research led to an account in the Texas Christian Advocate reading, “While the Sheriff was taking John Ambrose, a negro charged with assault upon a young lady, into court, at Tyler, the lady's brother, Frank Perry, shot the negro five times, killing him.”

Perry acted as judge, jury, and executioner of Ambrose.

“Southern lynching took on an even more racialized character after the Civil War. The act and threat of lynching became “primarily a technique of enforcing racial exploitation—economic, political, and cultural.”
— STEWART E. TOLNAY AND E. M. BECK, A FESTIVAL OF VIOLENCE: AN ANALYSIS OF SOUTHERN LYNCHINGS

Source:

  1. Brenham Weekly Banner, March 13, 1890

  2. Texas Christian Advocate, March 13, 1890

DG Montalvo

DG Montalvo is a justice advocate, author, and creative. He’s a lifelong student of the Biblical prophets and their God-given vision for justice and shalom. DG loves to give his time and attention to a few important causes as well as stirring for moral revival or a revolution of values. He’s recently started blogging, has a few books in the works, and bought equipment for podcasting. Who knows what’s next?

DG is a first-generation Mexican Native American. Late in life, after 20yrs years of work in the design/advertising world, plus many varied positions in mega-churches & international NGOs, he earned a Master of Arts in Global Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. Fuller is one of the world’s most influential evangelical institutions and the largest multidenominational seminary.

There he honed his research skills while studying The Mission of God and Justice.

DG lives with his beloved wife of almost 20 years, Jenny, in the heart of East Texas, Tyler, along with their two beagles, Chompsky & Chelsea.

He loves the adventure of the open road & stimulating conversation. But most of all, his grandkids Eli & Jude.

Previous

10,000 Lynch Negro At The Stake In Downtown Tyler, TX
Next

Masked Men Lynch Negro Near Lindale, TX