Here’s more on whitecapping, from Wikipedia: History The Whitecapping movement started in Indiana around 1873, as white males began forming secret societies in order to attempt to deliver justice independent from the state. These groups were known as the 'White Caps'. The first White Cap encounters were generally aimed at those who went against a community’s values. Men who neglected or abused their family, people who showed excessive laziness and women who had children out of wedlock are all prime examples of possible targets.[2] As whitecapping spread into the Southern states during the 1890s, the targets became drastically different. In the South, White Cap societies were generally made up of white dirt farmers that intended to control black laborers and prevent merchants from acquiring more land.[3] These societies in the South made it their task to attempt to force a person to abandon his home or property. This racial character of whitecapping in the South is thought to have been ignited by the agricultural depression that occurred around the same time. With all of the attention centered on producing cotton, the South’s economy became very unbalanced. Many farmers went into debt and lost their lands to merchants through mortgage foreclosures.[4] The merchants and their black laborers became quick targets for the dirt farmers who seemed to be losing everything. Racism contributed to the problem as well, prosperous black men in the South always faced resentment that could be expressed violently.[5] Methodology Despite the different whitecapping targets, the methods used by the White Caps remained somewhat constant. Generally, the members of this society were disguised in a way that somewhat resembled that of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and always attacked at night. Physical attacks could include such things as whipping, drowning, firing shots into houses, arson and other brutalities.[6] The White Caps also used non-violent means of intimidation in order to get certain residents to abandon their homes. These include posting signs on doors of blacks' and merchants' homes, as well as cornering a target and verbally threatening them. The victims of these attacks had little support from the legal authorities until 1893, when the threat of whitecapping began to be taken more seriously. However, even when the courts got involved it took time to completely clear the jury of any White Cap members or sympathizers. Many White Cap societies had become dormant by 1894 and members were punished with fines. However, there were still active members of the White Caps who were found and punished in the early 1900s (decade).[7] Over many years, whitecapping not only affected individual people, but also the communities and counties as a whole. In the South, whitecapping discouraged many merchants and industrialists from doing business in the counties; it also threatened to drive away all of the black laborers.[8 From: Diane Jones Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2012 9:22 AM To: in-south-central@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [IN-SOUTH-CENTRAL] Brown County: Robert Robinson Arrested fortheWhitecapping of Finley Stretchberry Anyone know what whitecapping is? I’ve never heard of it! Diane From: Randi Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2012 10:14 AM To: in-south-central@rootsweb.com Subject: [IN-SOUTH-CENTRAL] Brown County: Robert Robinson Arrested for theWhitecapping of Finley Stretchberry Elkhart (IN) Truth, June 7, 1902, p. 7. AFTER BROWN COUNTY WHITECAPS Nashville, Indiana, June 7-Detectives have been at work in Brown County for several weeks trying to run down men who have been whitecapping victims here. It is thought they went to work about the time the last grand jury failed to return indictments against suspected men, and it is thought the detectives were employed by the state authorities. The work of the detectives has resulted in the arrest of Robert Robinson, a farmer near Belmont, who was captured by Constable J. W. Kennedy on a warrant charging him with helping to whitecap Finley Stretchberry some weeks ago. Robinson will have a preliminary hearing in Squire Mann's court at Nashville, June 17. He is under $100 bond for his appearance. Robinson was charged with taking a part in the whitecapping of Robert Palmer, a Baptist preacher, several months ago and, at his trial in the circuit court, was acquitted. It is thought that other arrests will follow. The IN-SOUTH-CENTRAL Rootsweb list is for genealogists and historians who have an interest in the south central district of Indiana, as defined by the Indiana Genealogial Society, including the counties of: Bartholomew, Brown, Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harris, Jackson, Lawrence, Monroe, Orange, Scott and Washington. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IN-SOUTH-CENTRAL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 7133 (20120513) __________ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com The IN-SOUTH-CENTRAL Rootsweb list is for genealogists and historians who have an interest in the south central district of Indiana, as defined by the Indiana Genealogial Society, including the counties of: Bartholomew, Brown, Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harris, Jackson, Lawrence, Monroe, Orange, Scott and Washington. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IN-SOUTH-CENTRAL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message