Ed. Williams
Ed. Williams was held in the Durand jail in Durand, Wisconsin, when a mob broke in, took him out and hanged him on Saturday, November 26, 1881, according to a newspaper report. The report says he was due to have an examination that day. It does not say whether the jail's officers resisted the mob or handed him over. A separate inquest report on another man lynched at Durand gave a verdict of death from a fall from the courthouse steps, but its garbled name makes any link to Williams uncertain.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (disputed). A newspaper report says a mob took Ed. Williams from the Durand jail and hanged him, while a coroner's inquest as reported gave a fall from the courthouse steps for a separately named man lynched at Durand, whose name in the item is garbled, so the link to Williams is uncertain.
Reported by: newspaper report; coroner's inquest as reported (medical examiner or coroner).