Frank Bonham

Frank Bonham, a young farmer, was held in the jail at Independence, Kansas. On the night of Friday, March 13, 1885, a mob of more than one hundred men broke into the jail, took him out and hanged him from a railroad trestle. Newspaper accounts of the killing, printed in the days that followed, describe the crowd and the hanging but not how the jail was entered. The reports that do name the city describe the same events.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of more than one hundred men stormed the Independence, Kansas jail, took Frank Bonham out and hanged him from a railroad trestle, according to 1885 newspaper reports.

Reported by: Daily Republican (reporters); The Silver State (reporters).

Sources (11)

• Savannah Morning News, March 15, 1885, page 1 Savannah Morning News, March 15, 1885
• The Indianapolis Journal, March 15, 1885, page 1 The Indianapolis Journal, March 15, 1885
• Daily Republican, March 16, 1885, page 1 Daily Republican, March 16, 1885
• Evening Star, March 16, 1885, page 3 Evening Star, March 16, 1885
• Omaha Daily Bee, March 16, 1885, page 1 Omaha Daily Bee, March 16, 1885
• The Silver State, March 17, 1885, page 2 The Silver State, March 17, 1885
• The Semi-Weekly Miner, March 18, 1885, page 1 The Semi-Weekly Miner, March 18, 1885
• Delaware Gazette And State Journal, March 19, 1885, page 1 Delaware Gazette And State Journal, March 19, 1885
• Mccook Weekly Tribune, March 26, 1885, page 6 Mccook Weekly Tribune, March 26, 1885
• The Caldwell Tribune, March 27, 1885, page 2 The Caldwell Tribune, March 27, 1885
• Griggs County Courier, March 27, 1885, page 6 Griggs County Courier, March 27, 1885