Berry
William Berry was held in the Pekin jail in Pekin, Illinois, in August 1869. A mob of several dozen men came to the jail around 1 a.m., broke in, and battered down the doors after Sheriff Pratt refused to give up the keys. According to the Wilmington Journal, Berry was shot at several times and then dragged to the nearest tree and hanged. His body was delivered to his wife, who took it to Circleville, and the paper notes that Sheriff Pratt did all he could to save the prisoner.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob broke into the Pekin jail after Sheriff Pratt refused to give up the keys, shot Berry and hanged him from a tree.
Reported by: Chicago Tribune, citing special despatches from Peoria and St. Louis (reporters); The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, citing an Illinois report (reporters); Chicago Times correspondent (reporters).