Allen Smith
Allen Smith, a Black man, was held in the jail at Lynchburg, Tennessee, when a mob of about twenty-five people broke in. The Associated Press reported that Sheriff George R. Davidson, who was alone at the time, refused to give up the keys and fired from a window, wounding one member of the mob. After police and citizens arrived, the mob battered through the doors and overpowered the sheriff and his posse. Smith was shot to death in the corridor of the jail, a homicide according to the Associated Press account from September 1903.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of about twenty-five broke into the Lynchburg, Tennessee jail and shot Allen Smith in the corridor, according to the Associated Press; Sheriff George R. Davidson refused to give up the keys and fired on the mob.
Reported by: Associated Press (reporters).