Charles Dixon
Charles Dixon, a Black man, was held in the jail at Charleston, Indiana, when a mob of about forty masked and disguised people took him and two other men from the jail on the morning of November 17, 1871. The mob hanged the three men in woods about two miles from town, and a coroner's inquest found that they died from violence at the hands of persons unknown. A later newspaper account says the sheriff unlocked a door after the mob had broken through two others, and it places the jail near Henryville rather than Charleston. Accounts also differ on which tree Dixon was hanged from.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of about forty masked people took Charles Dixon from the Charleston jail and hanged him; a coroner's inquest found he died from violence at the hands of persons unknown, and a separate account says the sheriff unlocked a door after the mob had broken through two others.
Reported by: Charlestown coroner's inquest (medical examiner or coroner); news reports.