Edward Bennett
Edward Bennett, a Black man, was held in the jail at Herne, Texas, after a deputy sheriff and a posse brought him to town. On the afternoon of Sunday, May 11, 1890, a mob of about fifty men broke into the jail, took him out and hanged him from the first tree they reached, according to a newspaper dispatch from Herne. A second newspaper, which gives his name as Ed Bennett, likewise reports that a mob took him from the jail and hanged him from a tree. Neither account says whether the jailer or deputies tried to stop the mob or gave up the prisoner.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A Times-Democrat dispatch from Herne, Texas, says a party of about fifty men broke open the jail and hanged Edward Bennett, a second account gives the same date and the mob's hanging of Ed Bennett from a tree.
Reported by: Times-Democrat dispatch from Herne, Tex. (reporters).