Filmmakers release documentary detailing the lynching of Mingo Jack

EATONTOWN, N.J – A small town secret that has been swept under the rug for years is now coming to light as filmmakers release a documentary on the chilling story of the lynching of Mingo Jack.

The “Ghost of Mingo Jack” is the true story of Samuel “Mingo Jack” Johnson, an African American man, who was wrongly accused of a crime. Johnson was murdered and lynched in Eatowntown, New Jersey in 1886 by a group of drunk and irate townspeople.

While stories about the incident have been passed down, many in the New Jersey town and surrounding areas still never heard of the name Mingo Jack.

The documentary tells the story on what happened and searches for his ghost. It also features a group of local residents who are working towards getting a marker placed at the site where the tragic event occurred.

Check out the full documentary on the lynching of Mingo Jack on Youtube:

Samuel “Mingo Jack” Johnson (1820 – March 5, 1886) was an African American man falsely accused of rape. He was brutally beaten and hanged by a mob of white men in Eatontown, New Jersey.

Johnson was born in Colts Neck in 1820 and was raised as a slave by the Laird family. Because he was short, the family used him as a jockey, and he rode a colt named Chief Mingo to victory, earning him the nickname Mingo Jack.

In 1840, New Jersey abolished slavery, and Johnson worked odd jobs in the Eatontown and Middletown areas, living in Eatontown near what is now Route 35 and Poplar Road.

In March 1886, a white woman, Angelina Herbert, was raped and beaten. She could not identify her attacker, but reported that the attacker had asked her, “Do you know Mingo Jack”? Johnson was arrested. That night, a mob of 12 to 20 people chiseled holes in the wall of the jail in which Mingo Jack was held and fired guns, attempting to kill Johnson. When that effort failed, they stormed the jail, beat Johnson and hanged him.

A sham trial was held, featuring drunken witnesses and a jury that included the prominent townsman Thomas White, resulting in acquittals for all the defendants. Information from the trial, including testimony from Mrs. Herbert, revealed that Johnson couldn’t have been the rapist.

No one was convicted for the murder of Mingo Jack, who left behind a wife and five children. Another black man, George Kearney, later confessed to the rape, although that confession may have been coerced.

In 2012, Mayor Gerald Tarantolo issued a public apology for the failure of security at the jail, calling the lynching “a low point in the history of Eatontown”. A small memorial was placed in Wampum Park.