Catherine Matthews
Catherine Matthews, a Black woman, was held under guard at Clinton, Louisiana, in October 1875. According to Associated Press dispatches reported in the New-York Tribune, an armed body of men took her from the guard and hanged her from a tree in the courthouse yard on October 14. The same report says the group came into town the same night that John Gair was taken from the deputy sheriff and posse. The New York Herald account names her as Catherine Matthews in one dispatch and as Babe Matthews in another.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. An Associated Press report says an armed body of men took her from a guard and hanged her from a tree in the courthouse yard at Clinton, and a second dispatch says the same.
Reported by: Associated Press (reporters).