Samuel Johnson (“Mingo Jack”)

Samuel Johnson, 66, a former slave known locally as “Mingo Jack” for his years as a jockey, was lynched in Eatontown on the night of March 5, 1886, hours after being arrested on a rape accusation. Constable Hermann Liebenthal arrested Johnson at his home that afternoon, then told people around town he wouldn't be surprised if Johnson were lynched before morning, and went home to sleep. That night, a mob of as many as 75 men broke into the jail, beat Johnson severely, and lynched him; a medical examiner concluded he had likely died from the beating before the hanging itself. At the coroner's inquest, ninety witnesses testified, and the prosecutor, James Steen, pursued the case despite being threatened with death — eliciting testimony suggesting Johnson probably was not the rapist at all, since witnesses placed him elsewhere and the accuser's description of the attacker's clothing didn't match his. Six men were eventually arrested in connection with the lynching; all were released on bail and never prosecuted. Two later confessions to the underlying rape, given years apart by different men, left the identity of the actual attacker unresolved. Johnson's killing is described as the first lynching in New Jersey since the Revolutionary War. A historical marker was dedicated at the site in 2022.

Eatontown, NJ · Monmouth County

• 1886: Case opens — victim reported missing or found.
• Documented milestones (renewed investigation, media coverage, family advocacy) to be added as sourced.
• Present: case remains unresolved. No named suspect has been convicted.

• Victim identity, background, and the March 5, 1886 date and circumstances, per research by local historian Gary Saretzky, published by the New Jersey Social Justice Remembrance Committee.
• Six men were arrested in connection with the lynching but released on bail and never prosecuted, per the same source; inquest testimony suggested Johnson was likely not the actual rapist.

• No one was ever convicted in Johnson's killing.
• The identity of the man who actually assaulted Angelina Herbert was never conclusively established, despite two later, conflicting confessions from other men.

• New Jersey Social Justice Remembrance Committee — “The Murder of Mingo Jack” by Gary Saretzky
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs