Andrew Best

Andrew Best was hanged at Coloma on Friday, January 23, 1857, before a crowd the Nevada Democrat put at about two thousand people who had come from across the county. Sheriff Carson took him from the jail to the gallows, and the Rev. Mr. McDonald of Coloma prayed with him there. The Nevada Journal reported that he appeared calm, climbed the gallows with a firm step, and had nothing to say from the scaffold. According to the same paper, his body hung for twenty-five minutes before it was cut down.

Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state

Reported by: Sheriff Carson (the agency that held him); news reports.

News reports (2)

• The Nevada Democrat, January 28, 1857, page 2 The Nevada Democrat, January 28, 1857
• The Nevada Journal, January 30, 1857, page 1 The Nevada Journal, January 30, 1857