Bill Barber
Bill Barber was one of two brothers held in the jail at Waverly, Iowa, in June 1883. Newspaper dispatches from Waverly report that on the night of June 8, a mob from Fayette County broke into the jail at about 11:30 p.m., took the brothers out and hanged them from trees about half a mile east of town. One account says the sheriff refused to give up the keys and the mob battered the doors down with sledgehammers, while another says the sheriff made no attempt to protect the men and the city marshal asked only that the hanging be moved outside the city limits.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took Bill Barber and his brother from the Waverly, Iowa jail and hanged them from a tree about half a mile east of town; the sheriff reportedly refused to hand over the keys, and the mob battered the doors down with sledgehammers.
Reported by: The Herald's specials from Waverly (reporters); Dubuque Herald dispatch (reporters); Dubuque dispatch of June 10 (reporters).