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Murder on Maryland's Eastern Shore: Race, Politics and the Case of Orphan Jones
From a former Maryland attorney comes the true crime story of accused murderer Orphan Jones—a case mired in the racism and politics of 1930s America. Euel Lee, alias Orphan Jones, was an African American accused of murdering his white employer and family over a single dollar. The tumultuous events and cast of characters surrounding the racially charged crime garnered national media attention and changed the course of Maryland history. With exacting research, former Maryland State’s Attorney Joseph E. Moore reconstructs the murders, the ensuing roller coast of a trial, and the eventual conviction and execution of Orphan Jones. Moore details all of this in the context of Jim Crow politics and American society during the Great Depression in this gripping true crime account. “The Euel Lee case as explored by Joe Moore is more than good, readable, local history. It is about the stresses and strains in American society in the Depression, from the radicalism of a young Communist lawyer to the conscious efforts of a rural community to contain violence, confront or at least deal with their prejudices and see that justice was served for a senseless murder in their midst. Moore sets a high standard of factual accountability and entertaining narrative based upon oral history and archival research. General readers and scholars alike will not be disappointed.” —Edward C. Papenfuse, PhD, Maryland State Archivist and Commissioner of Land Patents
- GenresTrue Crime
502 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 7, 2022
What could have been an engrossing book about an African-American man living on Maryland’s eastern shore, who murders his employer and family in 1932, seems to read more like an attorney’s brief—at least in some respects. That said, Moore seems to be interested in the case because it hits close to home:
And the facts of the case are interesting, if brief. Though Orphan Jones (this sad alias for Euel Lee) readily confesses to the murder (found verbatim in Appendix 1), claiming Mr. Davis never harmed him, that he was a nice man, but that Orphan was drunk and lost control of his senses and stole a few dollars from his boss in conjunction with the murders. Usually, in a true crime book, there exists some element of mystery, but because of Jones’s immediate confession, the mystery vanishes. The book is more about Jones’s two trials and the attorneys who attempt to get him hanged, and the man who attempts to save Jones, in spite of his obvious guilt—a long two-year period.
There are, to me, some elements to the book that mar Moore’s telling of this story. One, though the book is over 250 pages, it packs a lot of information by way of what seems like a much smaller than normal-sized font. He also sites great swaths of contemporary newspaper accounts, as well as letters—in italics—instead of, in places, summarizing material and quoting only the most salient parts of those documents. Instead of writing a book that might hold the interest of a broad range of people (Jim Crow politics, racist judges and attitudes, early twentieth-century history at its worst), Moore seems to have penned a book that interests only him and the few individuals whom it might, after seventy years, inspire, out of curiosity to pick up and read.
Even so, if readers are willing to wade through the book, they may indeed find the contents quite engaging.
The Green Davis homesite has long since vanished, replaced by a trailer park on what is now a side road on the way to Ocean City . . . I spent some time in the home during my high school years in the 1950s, totally unaware that I was attending a party in the locale of [what would become] the most sensational crime in the history of my native Worcester County (208).
And the facts of the case are interesting, if brief. Though Orphan Jones (this sad alias for Euel Lee) readily confesses to the murder (found verbatim in Appendix 1), claiming Mr. Davis never harmed him, that he was a nice man, but that Orphan was drunk and lost control of his senses and stole a few dollars from his boss in conjunction with the murders. Usually, in a true crime book, there exists some element of mystery, but because of Jones’s immediate confession, the mystery vanishes. The book is more about Jones’s two trials and the attorneys who attempt to get him hanged, and the man who attempts to save Jones, in spite of his obvious guilt—a long two-year period.
There are, to me, some elements to the book that mar Moore’s telling of this story. One, though the book is over 250 pages, it packs a lot of information by way of what seems like a much smaller than normal-sized font. He also sites great swaths of contemporary newspaper accounts, as well as letters—in italics—instead of, in places, summarizing material and quoting only the most salient parts of those documents. Instead of writing a book that might hold the interest of a broad range of people (Jim Crow politics, racist judges and attitudes, early twentieth-century history at its worst), Moore seems to have penned a book that interests only him and the few individuals whom it might, after seventy years, inspire, out of curiosity to pick up and read.
Even so, if readers are willing to wade through the book, they may indeed find the contents quite engaging.
January 21, 2020
"A gathering takes little conversion to become a mob."
"There had been, it is true, in the late nineteenth century, mob violence in neighboring counties related to racial incidents, and lynchings had occurred in Somerset and Wicomico Counties in the 1800s. But other than the normally accepted racial segregation and the pervasive community attitude toward African Americans that they had to stay "in their place," Worcester County maintained a stoic and uneventful demeanor toward the racial makeup of the region."
"The grand jury, as petit or trial juries, then consisted of white men only. Black men were not chosen for jury service, and women were not allowed to serve on juries in the state of Maryland until Women's Jury Service legislation was passed in the late 1940s. It had been stated for years that women could not serve on juries because of the lack of ladies' restroom facilities in all of the courthouses of the Free State. (There was also concern among many men that allowing women would eventually lead to the removal of spittoons from all the courtrooms.)"
"The Eastern Shore, for the first time in over twenty years, had been host to a lynching. The details of the actual event are too grotesque to imagine from the perspective of seventy years of history. It is evident that the accused was taken to Peninsula General Hospital for the treatment of his wounds. Once there, he was set upon by a mob, according to one report, dragged to a window and heaved out into the waiting custody of the incensed crowd gathered below. He was removed to the front yard of the Wicomico County Courthouse where a young man shinnied up a stately tree on the lawn and swung the rope over a branch. Williams was then lynched and his body was cut down, mutilated and set afire. His burned body was then dragged the length of Main Street, through the business district of town and across the Wicomico River into the black section of town. There the mob left the charred body for the observance of the black community."
"It must be noted that in 1931, as indeed today, the office of State's attorney is one of the most powerful in the state of Maryland. The county prosecutors, in fact, have more untrammeled discretion in the matters of their authority than do judges. There is no review of the determinations of the prosecutor under the Maryland Constitution. While judges faced review by higher courts, no such examination of the State's attorney's discretion existed at the time nor does it exist in Marland today."
"Although the result was, from the nature of the judge's inquiry, a forgone conclusion, there was the realization among some that Ades had struck a nerve-he had articulated for perhaps the first time that there was a pervasive scheme in the county, among the perceived most liberal in the state, to systematically exclude all black citizens from participation in the judicial process."
"There had been, it is true, in the late nineteenth century, mob violence in neighboring counties related to racial incidents, and lynchings had occurred in Somerset and Wicomico Counties in the 1800s. But other than the normally accepted racial segregation and the pervasive community attitude toward African Americans that they had to stay "in their place," Worcester County maintained a stoic and uneventful demeanor toward the racial makeup of the region."
"The grand jury, as petit or trial juries, then consisted of white men only. Black men were not chosen for jury service, and women were not allowed to serve on juries in the state of Maryland until Women's Jury Service legislation was passed in the late 1940s. It had been stated for years that women could not serve on juries because of the lack of ladies' restroom facilities in all of the courthouses of the Free State. (There was also concern among many men that allowing women would eventually lead to the removal of spittoons from all the courtrooms.)"
"The Eastern Shore, for the first time in over twenty years, had been host to a lynching. The details of the actual event are too grotesque to imagine from the perspective of seventy years of history. It is evident that the accused was taken to Peninsula General Hospital for the treatment of his wounds. Once there, he was set upon by a mob, according to one report, dragged to a window and heaved out into the waiting custody of the incensed crowd gathered below. He was removed to the front yard of the Wicomico County Courthouse where a young man shinnied up a stately tree on the lawn and swung the rope over a branch. Williams was then lynched and his body was cut down, mutilated and set afire. His burned body was then dragged the length of Main Street, through the business district of town and across the Wicomico River into the black section of town. There the mob left the charred body for the observance of the black community."
"It must be noted that in 1931, as indeed today, the office of State's attorney is one of the most powerful in the state of Maryland. The county prosecutors, in fact, have more untrammeled discretion in the matters of their authority than do judges. There is no review of the determinations of the prosecutor under the Maryland Constitution. While judges faced review by higher courts, no such examination of the State's attorney's discretion existed at the time nor does it exist in Marland today."
"Although the result was, from the nature of the judge's inquiry, a forgone conclusion, there was the realization among some that Ades had struck a nerve-he had articulated for perhaps the first time that there was a pervasive scheme in the county, among the perceived most liberal in the state, to systematically exclude all black citizens from participation in the judicial process."
July 7, 2024
The case of Euel "Orphan Jones" Lee is brought to us by former Worcester County, Maryland State's Attorney Joseph E. Moore. Moore did a large amount of research on this case and the book reads more like a research paper than a true crime narrative, but not in a way that is overwhelming or dull.
Euel Lee, an African American worker, was charged, convicted, and eventually executed for the murder of his white employer and family. You get a first hand taste of the prejudices of the justice system in Maryland during the 1930s with the looming backdrop of Jim Crow America. This is a case unlike any other I have read about during that time and was very eye opening because of the attention to details the author is able to, not only provide, but also explain due to his legal background.
I had to give it four stars because how dare a local Marylander mispronounce Potomac and Hagerstown.
Euel Lee, an African American worker, was charged, convicted, and eventually executed for the murder of his white employer and family. You get a first hand taste of the prejudices of the justice system in Maryland during the 1930s with the looming backdrop of Jim Crow America. This is a case unlike any other I have read about during that time and was very eye opening because of the attention to details the author is able to, not only provide, but also explain due to his legal background.
I had to give it four stars because how dare a local Marylander mispronounce Potomac and Hagerstown.
May 11, 2021
Eastern Shore history comes alive!
Incredible story told with all the nuances that make us human.The characters are portrayed with all their faults as well as their virtues,their strengths and weaknesses, in she their humanity in full display. Explains the era in which this happened and explains much about the Eastern Shore today
Incredible story told with all the nuances that make us human.The characters are portrayed with all their faults as well as their virtues,their strengths and weaknesses, in she their humanity in full display. Explains the era in which this happened and explains much about the Eastern Shore today
May 27, 2022
Incredible how much of the towns are recognizable and how much is (hopefully) different. At times a little tedious, but overall I think he keeps the mix of court proceedings, newspaper readings, and events of the time moving in a readable way. Well worth the read.
November 18, 2023
Audiobook. While the author was local the narrator clearly was not based on pronunciation which was distracting at times. Narrators should not distract from the content of the story. Sad historical time on the Delmarva. Glad I found this book.
April 28, 2026
A fascinating historical anecdote. I just can't believe the lawyer went through all of that and even he knew the guy was guilty. It's like surely there are other people to defend from the very very real lynchings that are happening. Anyway fascinating stuff. Local history just hits different.
November 24, 2023
In-depth retelling of a dark period of MD history.
November 28, 2011
Joe Moore to attend discussion.
THE GLOBE-SEPTEMBER 2011
THE GLOBE-SEPTEMBER 2011
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews