Dave
Dave was held in the jail in Sumter County, Alabama. According to the Sumter Whig, as repeated in a book by Dr. Parsons, a group led by James D. Thornton, who had enslaved him, took him from the jail and burned him at a stake before a crowd of about two thousand people. The paper reported that rumors he had been tortured were untrue. The account comes from a newspaper report quoted in a later book, and the crowd and the events are described only in that report.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. The Sumter Whig, as quoted by Dr. Parsons, says a crowd led by James D. Thornton took Dave from the Sumter County, Alabama jail and burned him at a stake before about two thousand people.
Reported by: Sumter (Ala.) Whig (reporters); Dr. Parsons.