Charles Vinson
Charles Vinson was held in the Ellensburg county jail in Washington when a mob broke in during the early hours of August 14, 1895, and hanged him from a poplar tree alongside his father. The Elmore Bulletin reported that the crowd forced open the outer jail doors and steel cage and overpowered the guards, and that the sheriff had extra deputies on duty. The Wichita Daily Eagle reported that the sheriff knew of the plan and did not use force against the crowd, so the two papers differ on the sheriff's conduct. Before he died, Charles Vinson said he hated what was happening "on my mother's account," and a collection was later taken up for Mrs. Vinson.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob broke into the Ellensburg, Washington county jail after midnight, took Charles Vinson out and hanged him from a poplar tree, and the newspaper reports that the sheriff knew of the plan and did not use force against the crowd.
Reported by: newspaper report of the mob action.