ALBERT GOODEN  LYNCHING

Tipton County, Tennessee Sheriff W.J. Vaughn flashes light on lynching victim Albert Gooden during early morning hours of August 17, 1937."[About the same time as another lynching in Florida] "Tennesseans were smugly telling themselves that it couldn't happen here in Tennessee. But the good white folks showed them that it could happen right here in Tipton County. On July 19 [1937], Sheriff Vaughan outraced a mob that had formed to lynch Albert Gooden, charged with the murder of a white man, that was however committed by another white man. But Gooden was blamed and charge for the murder. Sheriff Vaughan got his man to Memphis for safekeeping. The state was getting credit for a prevented lynching when the Sheriff went to bring Gooden back to the Mason jail. The Sheriff, it seems, brought the prisoner direct to the waiting mob, instead of taking him to the Mason jail and delivered him as planned without any protest. Something had happened in the meantime. The sheriff had been put on the spot and did his level best to recapture his popular standing with the lynch-minded good white folks. There wasn't but six members in the mob that on August 17 took Gooden away from the peace officer, rushed him to a railroad trestle near Covington, hanged him, cut off his penis and placed it in his mouth and riddled his body with bullets. There were no arrests, no indictments, and, consequently, no convictions.

   There was an old white Lady by the name of Miss. Delaney that walked around the town of Mason carrying news papers back in the late 60's. She could not walk as a normal person walk, straight up. She walked bented over with her head along about her knees. She was always dressed in this long black dress. She was one of the known members of the lynch mob that took part in the murder Albert Gooden. It was said by Gooden's family that she bended down to pick up a shot gun while Albert Gooden was hanging from the rope to do her part of the shooting and she stayed in that position and couldn't ever straighten up. She had to walk around for the rest of her life as if she was about to kiss the ground. So that let you know that there is a GOD. Even when there is no Justice. 

    After the Lynching and murder of Albert Gooden, Sheriff Vaughn and the Lynch mob had rounded up two of Gooden's brothers, Edd Gooden and Braxton Gooden to Lynch them. But sometime happen on that night when the lynch mob was fixing to carry out the lynching. With the help of someone shooting into the crowd of the lynch mob from a distance, Edd and Braxton Gooden manage to escape the lynch mob. Meantime the two brother left Tipton county and moved up North to keep from being Lynched. Braxton Gooden changed his name somehow after he left tipton county and never came back to visit family, until the year of 1997, when one of his other brothers passed, Spillmon Doc Gooden. But was only there for a day and a half, still being in fear of his life. Out of the two brothers that was almost lynched by the Tipton County Sheriff lynch mob, Braxton is still living up North, Edd Gooden passed in 1993 in Cleveland Ohio.

Updated 08/03/2020.