Alfred Jones
Alfred Jones, a 60-year-old Black man, was one of three Black men held in the jail in Brenham, Texas, in early December 1886. Sources say an armed, masked mob broke into the jail in the early morning, and the jailer, Jim Estes, was forced at gunpoint to hand over the keys before the mob took the men from their cells. Their bodies were found hanging from a pecan tree about a mile from town. An inquest jury summoned by Justice Hackworth found that they died by hanging at the hands of people who could not be identified, and sources disagree on whether the date was December 1 or 2 and on the town's name, which one paper gave as Brennan.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. An inquest jury found that Alfred Jones died by hanging at the hands of unidentified people after a masked mob took him from the Brenham jail, where the jailer was forced at gunpoint to give up the keys.
Reported by: inquest jury summoned by Justice Hackworth (court); Chicago Times special dispatch from Brennan, Tex. (reporters).