Erastus Brown
Erastus Brown was being held in the jail at Union, Missouri, after he was brought there to keep him from being lynched. Early on Saturday, July 10, 1897, a mob of 40 or 50 mounted men broke into the jail with sledgehammers and cold chisels and dragged him from his cell, according to the Daily Camera. Judge Coleman, speaking for the villagers gathered there, urged the mob to stop, but the men carried Brown to a willow tree about a mile southeast of town and hanged him. The mob posted guards at the homes of the sheriff and jailer.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob broke into the Union, Missouri, jail and hanged Erastus Brown from a tree, according to several newspaper accounts; one account says the judge and sheriff urged the crowd to stop, but the crowd broke in anyway.
Reported by: news reporting in the Herald, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Globe-Republican and other newspaper accounts (reporters).
Sources (23)
- El Paso Daily Herald, July 10, 1897, page 1
- The Paducah Daily Sun, July 10, 1897, page 1
- Daily Camera, July 10, 1897, page 1
- Rock Island Argus, July 10, 1897, page 1
- Santa Fe Daily New Mexican, July 10, 1897, page 1
- The Herald, July 11, 1897, page 2
- The San Francisco Call, July 11, 1897, page 4
- The Salt Lake Herald, July 11, 1897, page 7
- The Wilmington Daily Republican, July 12, 1897, page 2
- Daily Public Ledger, July 13, 1897, page 4
- The Guthrie Daily Leader, July 13, 1897, page 1
- Abilene Weekly Reflector, July 15, 1897, page 12
- The Globe-Republican, July 15, 1897, page 6
- Hutchinson Gazette, July 15, 1897, page 6
- Barton County Democrat, July 15, 1897, page 2
- Phillipsburg Herald, July 15, 1897, page 7
- Union County Courier, July 15, 1897, page 2
- Converse County Herald, July 15, 1897, page 2
- The Nebraska Advertiser, July 16, 1897, page 8
- Dakota Farmers' Leader, July 16, 1897, page 2
- Western Kansas World, July 17, 1897, page 6
- Richmond Planet, July 24, 1897, page 3
- The Abbeville Press And Banner, July 28, 1897, page 6