Ed. Williams
Ed. Williams was held in the jail at Durand, Wisconsin, and was brought to court for a hearing in November 1881. The River Falls Journal reports that he was in the custody of officers when a mob took him from them before he could be returned to jail and hanged him from a tree in the courthouse yard. The Jamestown Alert describes a crowd of several hundred people, some armed, forcing its way into the courtroom, tearing him away and hanging him in the streets. Accounts differ on the date, with some giving Saturday, November 19, and another giving November 26.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (disputed). Newspapers report that a mob took him from officers and hanged him, while a separate coroner's inquest verdict on a man lynched at Durand gives a fall from the courthouse steps, though that item's name is garbled and its link to him is uncertain.
Reported by: Jamestown Alert and River Falls Journal (reporters); Durand coroner's inquest, as reported in a separate item (medical examiner or coroner).