Died in jail or a lockup
Elias Pearce
Elias Pearce, a Black man, was held in the jail at Quitman when a group of masked men took him from the jail on the night of April 5, 1878, and hanged him in the woods, according to the Enterprise Courier as reprinted in the Pascagoula Democrat-Star. Accounts of his family or what others remembered of him are not part of this report.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. The Enterprise Courier, as reprinted in the Pascagoula Democrat-Star, reports that masked men took him from the Quitman jail and hanged him in the woods.
Reported by: Enterprise Courier (as reprinted in the Pascagoula Democrat-Star) (reporters).