On October 30, 1881, a white woman who lived near Davis, Lucinda Luckey, reported that she had been raped and assaulted.[1] Her family members accused Davis, who had known Luckey for some time, worked as a farmhand for her, and allowed her to stay in his house after she experienced a house fire.[1] He was arrested and sent to a jail in Chillicothe, Ohio over fears that he would be lynched, though he was sent back to Athens, Ohio on November 20 for his trial. The next day, November 21, a mob of White men traveled from Albany to Athens to break into the jail, overpower the sheriff, and take Davis to a bridge over the Hocking River.[2] Davis told the mob he was innocent of the crime, then was told that he would be returned to the jail if he admitted guilt. He was said to have replied, "I'm the man", after which they hanged him.[3] None of the men who killed him were charged, and members of the mob included community leaders.[2] An 1883 publication that recounted the lynching said, "No one has ever been brought to justice for complicity in it. In fact, public sympathy was so strong that little effort was made to investigate the facts."[4]
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