Henry Smith (1876–February 1, 1893) was an African-American boy who was killed in Paris, Texas, by a mob. Smith was accused of killing the three-year-old daughter of a police officer. It was claimed that the officer had beaten Smith during an arrest. After fleeing, Smith was found again during a search across the country. He was then taken back to Paris and handed over to a group of people who killed him by burning him. The event was reported by The New York Times and received attention from people across the nation.

Background

Henry Smith was a handyman in Paris, Texas. In early 1893, he was seen acting drunk and disorderly, and Deputy Henry Vance was sent to arrest him. Smith resisted, and Vance used his club to calm him down. On Thursday, January 26, 1893, Vance’s three-year-old daughter disappeared from the front of the boarding house where her family lived. Witnesses said they saw Smith pick up little Myrtle Vance and carry her through the city. While walking, several people asked him what he was doing with the child. One of the people Smith spoke to was the mayor of Paris. Smith said he was taking her to her mother or the doctor. Smith returned home the next morning. His wife asked him about "that white child." Smith replied, "I ain't seen no white child and don't have nothing to do with white folks." Smith left and was not seen again until he was captured in Arkansas.

About 2:00 p.m. on Friday, January 27, 1893, a search group found the child’s body covered by leaves in Gibson’s pasture. When the girl was found dead on the side of a road, the townspeople were angry. Rumors spread that the victim had suffered severe injuries from rape and physical harm. However, an investigation by journalist Ida B. Wells showed that the rape accusation was not true:

Doctors Chapman and Baldwin, who examined the child’s body, said the child died from wounds caused by being "outraged," a term used at the time instead of "rape." They also said the other injuries on her body were not serious. The child’s bloody underclothes were found some feet away from the body.

The search for the suspect captured the public’s attention, and railroad companies offered free travel to anyone helping in the search. Smith was tracked east through Reno and Detroit, Texas. On January 31, he was captured near his hometown in Hempstead County, Arkansas, at a small station called Clow, 50 miles from the Texas border. People from Paris immediately recognized Smith.

At first, Smith denied being involved in the murder. Later, he confessed on the train to Paris. He said he was drunk and wanted revenge against the child’s father. He claimed he spent the night sleeping in the pasture next to the dying child and killed her by suffocating her when he woke the next morning.

Newspapers described Myrtle Vance’s murder as the worst killing in Texas history. Soon after Smith was captured, residents decided to take the law into their own hands to ensure "the punishment fit the crime" and let the victim’s family be involved.

When the train carrying Smith arrived at Texarkana, Arkansas, it was met by a crowd of about 5,000 people. A group from Paris asked the crowd not to harm Smith but to let the guards deliver him to Paris. The crowd agreed.

When Smith realized what was waiting for him, he begged the police officers guarding him to shoot him instead of taking him to face the mob. The city’s mayor ordered all bars closed the night before Smith’s arrival, and crowds causing trouble were broken up. Schools were closed on the day of his arrival. People said, "It was not in the power of all the officers in Texas to save him… they could not if they wanted to… as they themselves were virtually prisoners in the hands of the committee from Paris." Smith repeatedly asked his guards to shoot him and not hand him over to the mob. Smith’s train arrived in Paris at 1 p.m. on February 1. A group demanded Smith from City Marshall Shanklin. He told them he could not. They pointed to the large crowd of armed, angry men and said those men were there to take Smith at all costs. Shanklin gave in and left, seeing that resistance was useless and that there would be a violent fight.

Lynching

A large group of between 5,000 and 15,000 people took Smith from his captors and placed him on a mule cart. They led Smith through town and to an open area of prairie between the cemetery and railroad tracks. There, organizers had built a 10-foot wooden platform painted with the word "Justice."

Smith was tied up and hurt badly for 50 minutes by Henry Vance, Vance's 15-year-old son, and Vance's brother-in-law. The men placed hot metal tools under Smith's feet, burned his body, and used hot irons to burn out both of his eyes. They also forced a hot iron down Smith's throat. A February 2 article in the New York Sun reported: "Every sound from the man, every movement of his body was cheered by the crowd." The February 2 edition of the Boston Daily Globe described Smith's execution as "White Savagery" and said, "Civilization Seemingly a Failure in Texas."

Finally, the crowd poured coal oil (kerosene) over Smith and set the platform on fire. Some newspaper reports said Smith was still alive during the burning. After the rope holding him broke, Smith fell from the platform and tried to run away, but people in the crowd kicked him back into the flames. When the fire destroyed Smith's body, members of the crowd gathered the ashes to collect his bones and pieces of wood as souvenirs. On February 6, the governor of Texas, Jim Hogg, called the lynching of Henry Smith a "terrible holocaust" and criticized mob violence in the state.

On February 8, the body of William Butler, Smith's stepson, was found hanging from a tree. The body had been shot multiple times.

Aftermath

Just before Henry Smith arrived in Paris, Texas Governor James S. Hogg in Austin sent telegrams to the County Attorney in Paris and to local law enforcement. He asked them to stop a planned lynching.

Sheriff D. S. Hammond of Lamar County responded by saying, "I am helpless. Have no support." Lamar County Assistant County Attorney E. A. McCuistion added, "Officers are powerless. An angry crowd is waiting for the prisoner, who is expected at 1 o'clock."

Governor Hogg replied to Sheriff Hammond and also wrote to Assistant County Attorney McCuistion.

Sheriff Hammond later told the Governor, "Henry Smith has arrived and is in charge of 5,000 to 10,000 angry people. I cannot protect him." Soon after, Assistant County Attorney McCuistion sent a message: "All is over: death by hot iron torture – a very cruel event."

Governor Hogg then gave instructions to the County Attorney and law enforcement offices.

The Paris Daily News said that when Governor Hogg began sending messages to officials (just before Smith's train arrived), it was already too late to stop the lynching. They believed his orders were not taken seriously and that it was impossible to describe the public's strong feelings in a telegram.

On February 6, Governor Hogg sent an open letter to the Texas legislature. He asked them to make state laws against lynching stronger. His suggestions included allowing the victim's family to sue for damages, making local sheriffs ineligible to run for re-election if a prisoner was harmed while in their custody, and allowing trials to be moved to different locations if there was a risk of mob violence. His letter ended with a call for action.

The Paris Daily News published a booklet titled The Facts in the Case of the Horrible Murder of Little Myrtle Vance and its Fearful Expiation at Paris, Texas, February 1, 1893. The booklet was written by James Pleasant, the child's uncle, with help from his brother Henry Vance. The copyright was given to Henry Vance, and money from the booklet's sales was meant for the Vance family. It included pictures related to the murder and lynching, messages between Governor Hogg and Lamar County officials, and opinions from newspapers, both supporting and opposing the events.