Daniel C. Potter
Daniel C. Potter was hanged on November 12, 1880, at a muster ground near Newport in Cocke County, Tennessee, before a crowd the Knoxville Daily Chronicle put at four to six thousand and the Morristown Gazette at 5,000 or more. His wife, a son and a daughter walked with him to the place of execution, and before the drop he asked the sheriff to adjust the rope so that death would come as easily as possible. The Chronicle reported that he protested his innocence to the end and accused his accusers of perjury. The Chronicle said the knot caught under his chin and his body swung for several minutes, while the Gazette said physicians pronounced him dead about 19 minutes after the drop. His body was taken to Bridgeport for burial near relatives.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state
Reported by: Special dispatch to the Knoxville Daily Chronicle (reporters).