Harry Gilliam

Harry Gilliam, about 18 years old and Black, was held in the Aberdeen jail in Mississippi. In the early morning of June 28, 1897, a mob from Chickasaw County broke through the jail's outer door, held a rope to jailer Brazil's neck and demanded the keys, which he handed over. According to the Grenada Sentinel, the mob went to Gilliam's cell, carried him about four miles west of town on the Okolona road and hanged him from a tree. The Pascagoula Democrat-Star reported the death as occurring on the night of June 27, a date the other accounts do not match.

Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody

News reports (3)

• The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, July 2, 1897, page 2 The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, July 2, 1897
• The Grenada Sentinel, July 3, 1897, page 6 The Grenada Sentinel, July 3, 1897
• Macon Beacon, July 3, 1897, page 1 Macon Beacon, July 3, 1897