Ernest Tidrington (1883-1930)

Ernest Tidrington, the "Boss of Baptisttown," was a man of many hats, holding jobs as an attorney, politician, sheriff, janitor, detective, and community organizer among others, throughout his life. Born in 1883, the majority of the work Tidrington did throughout his life though related to the law and politics. Notoriously, he was a political ally of the Ku Klux Klan and was an integral vote-getter of the Black population for the Klan as well as the Republican Party. Thus, after realizing the population of Baptisttown was enough to dictate elections, he got to work with his political allies. This work would eventually cost him his life though at the hands of a political enemy in 1930.

Ernest Tidrington was born in Clarksville, Tennessee in 1883, but little is known further about his childhood or how he ended up in Evansville. Towards the beginning of his professional career, Tidrington aligned himself with Mayor Bosse.^[1] This meant that he supported him publicly and worked to get him the Black vote. As a detective in the police force, Tidrington was also able to align himself with Mayor Bosse in that they both used their status for personal gain. Eventually, though, Tidrington would abandon his alliance with Mayor Bosse and side himself with the Republican Party.^[2] This sets him up for the rest of his political career. Fred Ossenberg, a Republican politician, also had the support and alliance of Tidrington. He was even referred to as Ossenberg’s henchman as well as his vote-getter as all parties involved realized that the population of Baptisttown was enough to swing elections.^[3] Thus, Ernest Tidrington was the key to getting agendas pushed through his connection to the Black community. 

Another major aspect of Ernest Tidrington’s career was his profession as an attorney. Like it is for all, in order to become an attorney, one must gain entrance into the bar to certify that one is ready to engage in the legal profession. In Tidrington’s case, in the early 1920s, he was made to defend his morality and character rather than prove his knowledge of the law.^[4] This meant that he had to convince juries that he was a citizen of great morality and thus was fit to practice law. Many debated this in the jury as well as judges and ordinary citizens, and it can be assumed that his race played a role in the hesitancy. In the end though, his character was seen as being adequately defended and he began work as an attorney.

Interestingly, due to his political connections with Herbert Males, a Republican mayoral candidate backed by the KKK, he was promised a new Black school to be constructed and named after him in return for his support.^[5] There were many that opposed this though due to negative perceptions of the initiatives Tidrington was taking for the community as well as the great amount of power he had and held over others. Therefore, because of the controversy, the school was agreed by all parties to be named after Abraham Lincoln instead.^[6] One of the political opponents who despised Tidrington was Luther Bell. Bell owned a poolroom, which was shut down at the command of Tidrington by another politician he openly supported. Of course, this fueled Bell's hatred. Thus, at the beginning of 1930 at age 47, Ernest Tidrington was the victim of a political assassination.^[7] As he was exiting a store and sitting in his car with his wife Hallie in the passenger seat, he was struck in the head by a bullet and died instantly. Luther Bell though, surprisingly, was acquitted of the charges as his defense argued he was not of sound mind when the assassination occurred. Thus, he was sent to a mental hospital instead of prison.^[8] 

At Tidrington’s funeral service, hundreds showed up to remember the fallen Black leader as he was a crucial member of Baptisttown and was overall highly influential among the Black community in general. This is shown as both Black and White citizens of Evansville were in attendance to show their sympathy.^[9] 

This site, the northeast corner of Governor and Lincoln Street (pictured below), is the location in which Ernest Tidrington was assassinated by Luther Bell in 1930. 

^[1] Evansville Press (1906-1998); Evansville, Indiana. 18 August 1915: 1.

^[2] Evansville Press (1906-1998); Evansville, Indiana. 1 June 1918: 6.

^[3] Evansville Press (1906-1998); Evansville, Indiana. 18 August 1915: 1.

^[4] Evansville Press (1906-1998); Evansville, Indiana. 22 December 1919: 2.

^[5] Coures, Kelley. "The Death of the Baptisttown Boss." Evansville Living. Last modified July 21st, 2011. Accessed November 30th, 2023. https://www.evansvilleliving.com/the-death-of-the-baptisttown-boss/.

^[6] Coures, Kelley. "The Death of the Baptisttown Boss." Evansville Living. Last modified July 21st, 2011. Accessed November 30th, 2023. https://www.evansvilleliving.com/the-death-of-the-baptisttown-boss/.

^[7] Evansville Press (1906-1998); Evansville, Indiana. 23 January 1930: 1.; The Evansville Courier (1888-1998); Evansville, Indiana. 23 January 1930: 2.

^[8] Evansville Press (1906-1998); Evansville, Indiana. 25 April 1930: 1 & 5.

^[9] Evansville Press (1906-1998); Evansville, Indiana. 26 January 1930: 2