The Origin of Lynch Law
A local resident traces his ancestry to the infamous Irish namesake of America's most brutal form of vigilante justice.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
S. D. Lynch, of this city, is the proud possessor of the royal coat of arms of that family, which has been handed down from generation to generation for over three hundred years. The Lynch family is one of the most ancient, and until the middle of the seventh century was one of the most prominent families in Ireland. During the greater part of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries they possessed the principal authority in the town of Galway. And from one of these Lynchs originated what is known as 'lynch law,' he having hung his own son from a tree in his back yard without trial for depredations committed on the high seas. S. D. Lynch directly traces his ancestry to this family.
“From one of these Lynchs originated what is known as 'lynch law,' he having hung his own son from a tree in his back yard without trial.”
The term 'lynch law' remains a haunting linguistic artifact of American history, often whitewashed by its origins in civic legends like the one reported here. This story demonstrates how European settler communities in Washington maintained a sense of cultural pedigree and heritage, even as they normalized terminology rooted in violent extrajudicial murder.
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