Dick Coleman
Dick Coleman, a Black man, was held in the Covington, Kentucky jail because officials feared mob violence, and on December 6, 1899 he was being taken to Maysville under a guard of deputies and police. Accounts say a crowd of about 1,000 met the party at the courthouse, and that the sheriff and guards tried to stop them but could not, so the officers handed him over. The mob dragged him through the streets, bound him to a sapling or stake, and set fire to brush around him. Newspaper accounts disagree on details, including whether he was still alive when the burning began and whether his eyes were cut or torn out.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of about 1,000 took Dick Coleman from the sheriff and guards at Maysville, Kentucky, and burned him at the stake; the sheriff and guards reportedly tried to stop the lynching but could not.
Reported by: Sheriff Perrine and the guarding officers (the agency that held him); The Evening Bulletin (reporters); newspaper dispatch datelined Maysville, Ky. (reporters).