Died in jail or a lockup
Eristus Brown
Eristus Brown was held in the jail at Union, Missouri. Before dawn on July 10, 1897, a group of mounted men surrounded the homes of the sheriff and another official, broke into the jail with sledge hammers and cold chisels, and took him from his cell. The mob hanged him from a tree. Townspeople who came to the jail to stop the lynching were addressed by a judge, but the mob had already left with him.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A 1897 newspaper account says a mob broke into the Union, Missouri jail, took him from his cell and hanged him from a tree.
Reported by: Newspaper account of the 1897 lynching (reporters).