Hairston Terry
Hairston Terry, also reported as Lairston Terry, was held in the Bedford jail at Liberty, Virginia. His mother said his father, a general, had been wounded four times in the war and had represented the county in the State Senate for eight years, and that the family was well known in the community. Several physicians had regarded him as mentally disordered and advised that he be sent to the country to improve his condition. Early on May 18, 1885, about forty masked, armed men came to the jail, forced the jailer, Kirkwood Bell, to hand over the keys under threat, took Terry from his room and hanged him from a tree outside town. A coroner's jury found that he died at the hands of unknown men, the Governor offered a $1,000 reward for the lynchers, and his family asked for a thorough investigation.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took him from the Bedford jail after the jailer was held at gunpoint and forced to surrender the keys.
Reported by: Lynchburg newspaper dispatch reporting an inquest (reporters); coroner's jury (medical examiner or coroner); The Valley Virginian (reporters); Governor Cameron's reward notice.