May 2026 note – This blogpost contains long overdue updates. Life, and all its many happy and unhappy surprises, kept me from updating it sooner. I am sorry about that.
Joseph LYNCH (1846-1875) was married to my 3rd great aunt, Harriet THOMAS LYNCH. Harriet was a daughter of Renatus THOMAS (1799-1874), who was my 3rd great grandfather.
Joseph and Harriet’s headstone from the Thomas-Lynch cemetery in Richland County, South Carolina
Who was Joseph Lynch?
Family tradition says that Joseph Lynch was a northerner. The story is that he came to the south, perhaps with the war, and stayed when it was over.
Other family tradition says he came after the war was over and was a carpetbagger, so he was not well-received. Supposedly he ran his mouth a lot, and his Thomas brothers-in-law didn’t like him, according to a D., a direct descendant of Joseph. (The second sentence in this paragraph was added in May 2026 after a conversation with D.)
Either could be the truth. Frankly, there are so many Joseph Lynch’s, that it would take months to do beyond a basic search.
I didn’t find a Joseph Lynch in South Carolina in the 1860 or 1870 census. I did find one in the 1850 census, but he was born in 1848. That isn’t but 2 years from the birth year on my Joseph Lynch’s tombstone, and tombstone dates have been wrong before. But not finding a Joseph Lynch in South Carolina in 1860 or 1870 makes him being a northerner more believable.
I have more questions than answers about Joseph Lynch.
Why did Harriet marry Joseph?
Perhaps Harriet truly loved Joseph even though he was a Yankee (if he actually was.) Perhaps she felt pressured to marry someone so as not to be a burden on her aging parents. Perhaps she wanted children. Perhaps they had a shotgun wedding. Perhaps a lot of other reasons, too.
What I do know
I don’t know when or why Joseph and Harriet married, but I do know they had a daughter in July 1875 named Mary. I believed they lived in Richland County, South Carolina at that time.
Just an old train station, and certainly not one from the 1870’s
On 11 October 1875, Joseph Lynch was killed by a man named John Lynch. John Lynch used a pistol to kill Joseph. The murder took place at Summit Station on the Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad. This was reported in the Columbia Daily Record newspaper, and there was nothing more about it after that report in the newspaper. I looked on several maps, and I couldn’t find the Summit Station location but it was likely in the greater Columbia area.
BUT, according to S., another direct descendant of Joseph’s, Joseph was actually killed by a man named Cooper. Joseph was beat up by men and then shot in the back of the head. D. and S. are cousins, and D. is hoping to get more information about this from S.
Could the newspaper have printed incorrect information about who shot Joseph? Absolutely! I have checked everywhere, and I cannot find where the story was corrected in the newspaper, but that doesn’t dismiss the idea that it was incorrectly reported in the newspaper. (This is a new paragraph added in May 2026)
Three theories based on fact and tradition
The fact is that Joseph was shot by somebody at the Summit Station.
The facts, according to the newspaper, are that Joseph was shot by a man named John Lynch. A coincidence that they had the same last name? That seems fishy, doesn’t it. As Gibbs would say on NCIS, There is no such thing as coincidence. There were some John Lynch’s in South Carolina in 1860 and 1870, but none of them had a brother named Joseph.
This piece of basic research brings me to Theory Number One: Joseph’s brother, John, came down from the north looking for Joseph. There was some kind of confrontation that led to the murder.
Other family tradition says that Joseph Lynch was murdered by some of Harriet’s brothers. Word is that they didn’t like him because he was a Yankee, and they ‘took care of him.’ How does that fit with the newspaper account?
generic pistol
Theory Number Two: The confrontation at the train station was actually Joseph and his brother, John, up against Harriet’s brothers. Perhaps John had come from the north to help Joseph because Joseph feared for his life. Perhaps John accidentally murdered Joseph while in a scuffle with Harriet’s brothers who were trying to murder Joseph themselves.
Theory Number Three (which was added in May 2026): The newspaper reported the murdered incorrectly and never corrected it. Joseph was the victim of a robbery-turned-to-murder, as S. says.
If I think on it, I’m sure I’d come up with dozens of theories, but I’ll stop with these three.
I did extensive research into Joseph’s murder looking for evidence to support any of these theories – newspaper searches on several websites, South Carolina Department of Archives and History, and a few other places. As of this writing, there is no other information about this murder. That isn’t surprising, considering that it happened 151 years ago. (This paragraph was added in May 2026.)
The hard truths
No matter what led up to Joseph’s death, when he died he left behind a widow and a 3 month-old daughter named Mary. I couldn’t find Harriet in the 1880 or 1900 census, but I found her in the 1904 and 1907 Columbia city directory. In 1910, Harriet was living with her daughter, Mary, and Mary’s husband and children in Columbia, South Carolina. Harriet died in 1912. She never remarried.
Copyright © 2017 Nancy H. Vest All Rights Reserved (Original)
Copyright © 2026 Nancy H. Vest All Rights Reserved (Update)
I enjoy your blog. I had a Great Aunt whose husband shot and killed his stepmother. He never served time. At least I could never find a record for that.
My Aunt was still living with him a few years later according to the 1940 census and his father lived next door to him!! My Dad never mentioned this.
Thank you for your stories.
Oh, my! I wonder what the full story is behind that. I’m glad you’re enjoying the stories. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
You’re welcome!
I’m going to search though my maternal lineage as we have Lynch ancestor’s! I may have to look through our two published genealogy books because I’m not quite sure if I’ve added them to Ancestry.com yet! I’ve been wondering if the Lynch middle name of Joseph Lynch Martin was linked in some way?
Hmmm. Maybe we are related by marriage, too, with the Lynch line.
If his last name was really Lynch, it was easier back in those days to assume a new identity, evidently he may have been running from something or somebody for the man to show up and shoot him? Perhaps, he had knowledge of something he shouldn’t have known? We could write a novel on this ancestor!
You know, I never considered that he may have assumed a new identity. And I have thought about writing a novel or short story about this. I think I need to call tomorrow about a coroner’s inquest for this murder. Thanks, Suzan!
This was my great great grandfather that got killed. He was killed by a man with surname cooper. He was beat up by men and then shot in the back of the head. My name is Scott Jones I live 2 miles away from his grave I am his descendant and the Thomas woman named Harriet Thomas
Thank you for sharing what happened to your 2nd great grandfather. I will update this blog post with what you’ve told me. I visited that little cemetery several years ago and took pics. You and I are distant cousins. I believe our closest shared relative is Renatus Thomas who was the father of Harriet and of my 2nd great grandfather, James S. Thomas.
-Nancy
Joesph Lynch was my great great grandfather. I started this search a long time ago when my father was alive. A lot of your information is incorrect.
Leah, thank you for commenting. I very much want to know the correct story, and I will happy to rewrite my blog post about him, too. If you would, please email me at nancyhvest@gmail.com. I hope to hear from you soon.
GENI.com does have a complete family of Lynch with a Joseph Lynch whom may match your 2nd great-grandfather. They’re my cousin’s and if I explore farther in the tree I will find a grandfather in there somewhere back in time. These Lynch’s were in SC which explains the problem of your search with so many of our documents lost during the Civil War.
Also, these Lynch’s are of royal linage as are the Martin’s – when I looked back in to their tree a bit I saw many of the lineage names that migrated with the Martin lineage 🙂 So, perhaps this Lynch fellow wasn’t such a stranger?
Did you hear from the lady that commented ?
Have a great day,
Wow, Suzan. How interesting about the Lynch family. I wonder if the Martins and Lynches came to the states at the same time. I have not yet heard from the lady who commented, no. Thanks for you comments here, Suzan. You’re always so willing to help. 🙂
Eventually, it will all come together with GENI.com – it’s an incredible place. Just very confusing at first. I got a big break though on one of my lineages last week, so I’m hoping to get the same results with the Martin lineage using the same theory. I just had to give the Martin’s a break for a while. 🙂
🙂