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On the flight, death and skull. New details emerge
I knew from my years as a reporter that it was not unusual to hear from key sources after publication. That is what happened with The Last Lynching in Northern Virginia. New sources came forward with new details. In September, two weeks after the book came out, a member of the Shedrick Thompson family wrote
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The mystery of Martinsburg is solved
Of the many puzzling aspects of the Shedrick Thompson story, one of the most curious is Thompson’s connection to Martinsburg, West Virginia. Why were authorities in Fauquier County so focused on that small West Virginia city? Now, thanks to Julia Mopkins, we know. Within hours of Thompson’s attack on Henry and Mamie Baxley in July
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‘That’s W.W. Pearson.’
I realized later that I forgot to ask the lady her name. Perhaps I was distracted by the photos she pulled from her notebook during a recent book signing at the Culpeper County Library. She had two black-and-white pictures, one of a man in an overcoat and hat, and the other of the same man,
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Banned in Warrenton? I hope not
I expected this book to be judged on whether it is informative, entertaining and accurate. I did not expect it to be judged on whether it was “sensitive.” Sensitive? A history book? I bring this up because of an email I received last week from a publicist at History Press, the publisher. She wrote that
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Some feedback about the book is puzzling
The Last Lynching in Northern Virginia has been out three weeks, long enough for me to get some feedback. As expected, the results are mixed. I’m delighted when I hear that someone enjoyed the book. “You addressed a very difficult and dark subject very well,” said one reader. “Well done,” said another. I also was
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For this old reporter, lynch coverage was embarrassing
Shedrick Thompson’s attack on the Baxleys and the discovery of his body hanging from an apple tree were big news in Fauquier County in 1932. The Fauquier Democrat, the county weekly, followed the case closely, as did daily newspapers in nearby Strasburg, Winchester, Front Royal and throughout Virginia. I found 29 stories about the Thompson
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‘He was wrong what he did’
I remember how excited I was when I first saw this video by Dylan Nicholls. Dylan created it in 2014 as part of a successful Kickstarter campaign to help fund a film about the Shedrick Thompson case. Dylan is a student at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., who works part time with Fauquier County
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He walked among them but was not of them
One of the first things I had to figure out when working on this book was Shedrick Thompson’s correct name. Thompson is one of the key characters in the story, the man accused of attacking the Baxleys and the man lynched on Rattlesnake Mountain. Yet in news accounts and legal documents, I found nine different
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Inserting more of me in this book
One of the first things that Dr. Wayland Marks asked when we met for coffee was, “So, what do you think? Do you think he was lynched?” I have known Marks, a Fredericksburg, Va., physician, for many years. He was among a group of 15 people who volunteered to read an early version of this
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A fortuitous phone call
One of my goals for this book was to figure out exactly what happened to Shedrick Thompson. If I have succeeded in doing that, it’s in large part because of Tom Davenport. I was still working at the newspaper when Tom called and introduced himself as a Fauquier County, Va., filmmaker. He said he was
Author & Lecturer
Jim Hall 