Dan Roberts
Dan Roberts, a Black man, was held in the Yorkville jail in York County, South Carolina, after being brought from Columbia to stand trial. Around 4 a.m. on April 5, 1887, an armed mob of 60 to 75 men broke into the jail, took him from his cell along with four other prisoners, and hanged them from trees about a mile from the courthouse. The Columbia dispatch and the Palatka Daily News say the sheriff refused to hand over the keys. The Richmond Dispatch reports the lynchers were not disguised, but no steps had been taken to identify them.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of 60 to 75 armed men forced the Yorkville jail and hanged Dan Roberts after the sheriff refused to give up the keys, according to a Yorkville correspondent to the Register.
Reported by: Yorkville correspondent to the Register, as reprinted in the Dispatch (reporters); Columbia special dispatch (reporters); The Progressive Farmer (newspaper report) (reporters); The State Chronicle (reporters).