Edward Wells
Wells, a Black man, was held in the jail at Waynesboro, Georgia, in March 1877. According to the Atlanta correspondent of the New York Herald, as printed in the Memphis Daily Appeal, a crowd of about thirty men went to the sheriff's residence, dragged the sheriff out, and forced him to hand over the jail keys after a long struggle. The crowd then took Wells from the jail, shot him and hanged him from the jail chain, which broke once before he was hanged again. Other newspaper dispatches from the same days report only that unidentified men took him from the jail and lynched him, without saying whether jail staff resisted. The coroner's verdict made no suggestion about who was responsible, and no lynchers were identified.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. The Atlanta correspondent of the New York Herald, as reported in the Memphis Daily Appeal, says a crowd of about thirty men forced the sheriff to hand over the jail keys, then shot Wells and hanged him from the jail chain, and the coroner's verdict named no one responsible.
Reported by: Atlanta correspondent of the New York Herald, as reported in the Memphis Daily Appeal (reporters); the coroner.
Sources (10)
- The Dallas Daily Herald, March 22, 1877, page 1
- Chicago Daily Tribune, March 22, 1877, page 5
- Daily Kennebec Journal, March 22, 1877, page 3
- The Portland Daily Press, March 22, 1877, page 2
- Eureka Daily Sentinel, March 22, 1877, page 2
- Memphis Daily Appeal, March 28, 1877, page 2
- Ottumwa Weekly Courier, March 28, 1877, page 1
- Narragansett Herald, Hopkinton Gazette And North Kingstown Courier, March 30, 1877, page 4
- The Russellville Democrat, April 5, 1877, page 1
- The Osceola Times, April 7, 1877, page 1