Thomas Juricks

Lynched in Piscataway, Maryland, on October 12, 1869

Biography:

Thomas Juricks worked as a laborer in Prince George’s County Maryland. In 1869, Juricks was living on Thomas Adams’s property and worked on the nearby Schoaff farm, supporting his wife and six children. Juricks’ family had recently moved from Buckeystown near Frederick to the Washington D.C. area. While working on the Schoaff farm, he injured his hand while using a scythe. There were no bandages available so he tore a piece off the leg of his trousers and fashioned a make-shift wrap for his wound. Three days later, this innocuous event proved to be Thomas Juricks’ condemnation.

A woman named Miss Dooly, a well-known Prince George’s County teacher from Fort Washington, was on her way to teach class on the morning of October 12th. Dooly allegedly arrived to a bend in the road after receiving a ride from the docks, by buggy, from a young unidentified male acquaintance of hers. Electing to travel the rest of the way on foot, she was at some point assaulted, and was beaten unconscious. Her initial screams alerted a pair of nearby hunters, and a fellow teacher, Mr. Eckert. They transported the incapacitated Dooly to the neighboring Rennoe household and then organized a posse of roughly fifty men to hunt down the assailant.

The posse, made up of local residents, first apprehended an African American man named James Jackson. Soon after, they captured Thomas Juricks, who was transporting goods further down the road on an ox-drawn cart. Juricks was chained to Jackson, despite the only evidence pointing towards either man being that they were in the area at the time of the attack. Both men were taken to Justice Brooke in Piscataway District, but without a witness or any evidence condemning them, Brooke decided to hold the two men in custody overnight in the hope that Dooly would recover enough to be able to identify her attacker. Around midnight, a group of men attempted to lynch both Juricks and Jackson, but the guards convinced the mob to disperse and allow Brooke to find evidence to identify the perpetrator.

The following morning, Dooly had still not recovered and doctors were unsure if she would survive. It was at this time that members of the community claimed to have discovered a piece of fabric near the scene of the assault that matched Juricks’ make-shift bandage from his scythe injury a few days prior. This was all that was needed to condemn Juricks and the decision was made to transport him to Marlboro, Maryland. Juricks was placed under the protection of Constables John Underwood and Anthony Anderson. As they set out for Marlboro, Juricks requested they pass by the house where his family lived so he could bid his wife farewell.

When the wagon came to a stop at the Juricks’ household, the group was approached by around twenty men clad only in shirts and underwear with the exception of one man who only wore a shirt. The entire mob wore handkerchiefs over their faces with eyeholes cut out before attacking the wagon. Constable Underwood attempted to thwart the attack by firing several gunshots but he was subdued, tied, and left on the side of the road. Anderson was forced to drive the wagon out into the woods before he was subsequently tied and left at the woods’ edge.

Pushing further into the forest, the mob stopped at an oak tree, where a noose was located. Juricks was forced into the noose and made to stand atop the wagon. When the wagon was moved, Juricks jumped and caused the rope to slip from its higher perch. His feet were now able to touch the ground saving him for a brief moment before one of the lynch mob jumped on Juricks’ shoulders while the rest of the mob swung his body back-and-forth to strangle him. Following this, the mob arranged themselves in a firing line and shot a volley of bullets into Juricks’ body.

Thomas Juricks was left to hang from the tree for two hours before a coroner’s jury was sent to cut him down and simultaneously declare him dead “from hanging by unknown persons.” His body was moved a short distance to Hatton’s Hill near a public road leading from Broad Creek to Piscataway, where he was buried to serve as a warning to nearby communities. A grand jury was called to investigate the lynching, and despite condemnation from local judges, no one was brought to trial for Juricks’ murder and the Evening Star went as far as to declare “the circumstances of this case justify, as fully as any could, the action of the community.”

Source: MSA SC 3520-18090

MLTRC Prince George’s County Public Hearing, January 25, 2025

Thomas Juricks was born in Frederick County, Maryland, date unknown. He was a freedman. He eventually moved to Prince George’s County in an area now called Fort Washington.

Mr. Juricks was a husband and a father.  He and his wife, Barbara, had six children: Milton, Abs, John, Mary Ella, Henry and Jane. The Juricks family lived on the property of Thomas Adams, in Fort Washington, near the intersection of present-day Adams and Jackson Drives – a quiet suburban area. 

In 1869, Mr. Juricks worked as a laborer for the nearby Schoaff family’s farm — at the intersection of Livingston and Old Fort Roads.  Today, a convenience store stands there. The events occurred in or right outside of Chapel Hill, a Black farming community with a Freedman’s Bureau school and Methodist meeting house.

Now that you have a sense of the place, we can tell what we know about the lynching of Thomas Juricks.

Contradictory news reports make an accurate retelling of the story impossible. And, we need to consider the source. White-owned newspapers often framed their stories to pre-judge and vilify Black victims… if not outright justifying the lynchings.  The only thing we know for certain, is that Mr. Juricks was kidnapped by a white mob in front of his family and taken into the woods and lynched.  

The story begins on October 12, 1869.

A common pretext for lynching, was accusing a Black man of assaulting a white woman.  In this story, the white woman was Miss Dooly, a well-known Prince George’s County teacher from Fort Washington.  

On that fateful morning,  Ms. Dooly was on her way to school, when a young unidentified male acquaintance gave her a buggy ride to school, according to Thomas Juricks’ biography in the Maryland State Archives.  

When they arrived at a bend in the road, she decided to travel the rest of the way on foot. At some point, Ms. Dooly was allegedly assaulted and beaten unconscious.  According to the Baltimore Sun, her screams alerted a pair of nearby hunters, and a fellow teacher. They transported Miss Dooly to a nearby house, where a doctor treated her.

We don’t know the identity of the male acquaintance who gave Miss Dooly a ride or why she decided to travel the rest of the way on foot.  

Some 50 local men assembled to hunt down the assailant. The posse first apprehended a Black man named James Jackson. Soon after, they captured Thomas Juricks, who was further down the road transporting goods on an ox-drawn cart. 

The posse chained the two men together.  The only evidence against either man was that they were in the area at the time of the attack.  Both were taken to Justice Brooke in the Piscataway District. Without a witness or any evidence, Justice Brooke held the two men overnight, hoping Miss Dooly would recover and identify her attacker.  

Around midnight, a group of men tried to lynch both Mr. Juricks and Mr. Jackson, but the guards convinced the mob to disperse. 

The following morning, doctors didn’t know if Miss Dooly would survive.  Later, community members claimed to have discovered a piece of fabric near the scene of the assault that matched Mr. Juricks’ makeshift bandage from an earlier farm injury. This was all that was needed to condemn Mr. Juricks and take him to Upper Marlboro. Mr. Juricks was placed under the protection of Constables John Underwood and Anthony Anderson.

Likely knowing he would be hanged, whether by the posse or a judge, Mr. Juricks allegedly asked to be taken by his house to say goodbye to his family.  When the wagon stopped at his home, a mob of around 20 men, wearing handkerchiefs over their faces with eye holes cut out, kidnapped Mr. Juricks.

We don’t know why the mob kidnapped Mr. Juricks in front of his family. Was it was done intentionally, to traumatize his family and the rest of the Black community?  

According to newspaper accounts, the mob — pushing further into the woods —stopped at an oak tree with a waiting noose. They forced Mr. Juricks into the noose and made him stand on top of the wagon. When the wagon was moved, Mr. Juricks jumped and the rope slipped. His feet touched the ground, saving him for a brief moment.

Then one of the lynch mob jumped on Mr. Juricks’ shoulders while the rest of the mob swung his body to strangle him. 

Often the brutality did not stop with the lynching —victims’ bodies were mutilated during and after the lynching. This happened to Mr. Juricks. Members of the mob formed a firing line and shot a volley of bullets into Mr. Juricks’ body. 

Thomas Juricks was left to swing from the tree for two hours before a coroner was sent to cut him down and declare him dead “from hanging by unknown persons.”

Mr. Juricks tragic story is difficult to hear.  But the truth of it must be faced.  It is a tragedy compounded by the lack of accountability and the shameless justification of his murder. 

An Evening Star article describing the grand jury investigation of the lynching, said that the Circuit Court in Upper Marlboro dispatched Sheriff Dyer to safely bring the prisoner to jail. But that was not possible because “justice had been already satisfied.”

Justice had already been satisfied?  Mr. Juricks was murdered before the sheriff was able to bring him to jail. He was presumed guilty and denied due process.  Given the times — even if he had made it there unharmed — a fair trial and verdict was very unlikely.

Learning that the mob murdered Mr. Juricks, the Judge initially called for an investigation. Addressing the Grand Jury, he said, “no matter how heinous the crime, this tribunal can never sanction punishment by violence and mobs …. it becomes your duty to investigate this matter fully and fairly.”

But, the Judge continued, “While it is always desirable that the law should be allowed to take its course, the circumstances of this case justify, as fully as any could, the actions of the community.” 

Think about the Judge’s words:

  • Calling a violent mob “the community” 
  • Ensuring a suspect’s safety is merely “desirable”   
  • And that the circumstances justified — “as fully as any could” — the mob’s murder of Thomas Juricks.

No one was brought to trial for Mr. Juricks murder, an example of the long history of the lack of accountability for the murder of Black people that continues today. 

Racial terror lynchings were not directed just at the person murdered, but at the entire Black community.  Newspapers report that Thomas Juricks was buried on Hatton’s Hill.

An Alexandria Gazette article admits that burying Mr. Juricks there, on a public road was intentional. The sight of his grave was hoped to be a constant and sufficient warning to the Black community of Chapel Hill. 

In spite this racial terror, the Black Community in Chapel Hill prospered. The resilient farming community grew as a collection of tight-knit families centered around two Methodist churches. And it remains a resilient and thriving Black community today.

Clearly, there is more to the story of  Thomas  Jurricks’ lynching. We remain dedicated to learning more about Mr. Jurricks,  uncovering the truth about his lynching and working to hold accountable those responsible for his brutal murder. 

Research and Remembrance Work