Library Guides: Lynchings on Maryland's Lower Eastern Shore: James Bowland, 1934

Biography

James Bowland
Somerset County, Maryland

James Bowland, aka Boland, was nearly lynched in September of 1934 in Somerset County, Maryland near Princess Anne. He was suspected and convicted of attempting to rape a white woman. Bowland was 33 years old (some sources say 40) at the time of his arrest and conviction, and had been employed as a farm hand for four years on his suspected victim's farm.

On September 5, 1934, James Bowland entered the home of his employer Mrs. Mary Waddy. Varying accounts of the incident highlight the pretenses of the visit. Most press coverage of the incident hold that Bowland was requesting grease from Mrs. Waddy to aid one of his farm worker tasks. It also was speculated that Bowland had been going to request his pay. However, upon neighbors witnessing Bowland's departure as well as hearing Waddy screaming, the latter accused Bowland of having tried to rape her. Waddy's neighbors proceeded to get her to a doctor, and informed the Somerset County Sheriff's office. Upon being apprehended by the authorities at his father's house the following morning, Bowland was promptly brought before a judge in town and whisked away to Baltimore for his own protection from potential lynch mobs. Bowland argued that he had accidentally knocked over Mrs. Waddy while in her home, but had not attempted to attack her in any way. By the time news of the suspected attack surfaced to the town, crowds began to form in the streets. However, they soon dispersed upon hearing of the suspect's transfer to Baltimore.

What followed in the days after Bowland's arrest is difficult to determine based upon varying news accounts. However, it is likely that some racial unrest did occur in this period of high tension. Reportedly, a group of half a dozen white men then attacked a Black man named Roy Shields in the street with clubs after he had gotten into a physical altercation with one of the group's members. This allegedly resulted in a street fight between white and Black citizens of Princess Anne. Some sources hold that attempts were made by a white mob of 200 to drive out the entire Black population from their homes and the town all together. These claims were promptly investigated by the Baltimore Afro-American, whose journalists suspected that such a large scale riot did not actually take place based on accounts of the incident. Their number of participants was estimated to be closer to 25 based upon the eye witness testimony of a printer. However, it was confirmed that Shields had definitely been the victim of such an attack, as well as any Black citizens who had attempted to come to his aid. Several white men were charged with inciting a riot, but were given a quick trial which only found them guilty of disturbing the peace. While the extent of the unrest is debated by the newspapers, a general consensus was reached that the Bowland case likely contributed to the cloud of tension lingering over Princess Anne that made such disturbances possible.

James Bowland was indicted by a Somerset County Grand Jury in October of 1934. He was tried in November in Dorchester County. After hearing evidence and testimonies from the prosecution and defense, the jury found Bowland guilty of attempted assault, and sentenced him to twenty years in Maryland Penitentiary in Baltimore.