Allen Sturgis
Allen Sturgis, a Black man about 21 years old, was held at the jail in Thomson, McDuffie County, Georgia, in early June 1888. A group of men broke open the jail door with sledgehammers, took him from his cell and hanged him from an oak about half a mile away. A coroner's jury found he died by hanging at the hands of parties unknown and that his neck was broken. One report says his relatives would not claim his body.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A coroner's jury under Coroner James P. Johnson found he died by hanging at the hands of parties unknown, and newspaper dispatches report that a mob broke into the jail, took him from his cell and hanged him.
Reported by: Coroner's jury, Coroner James P. Johnson (medical examiner or coroner); Augusta and Georgia newspaper dispatches (reporters).