J. A. McCurdy
J. A. McCurdy was held in the Jefferson County jail in Golden, Colorado, when, around 2 a.m. on June 2, 1894, a band of about twenty men overpowered the jailer, Alexander Kerr, and forced him to surrender the keys. The men went to McCurdy's cell, took him out and lynched him. According to the Brookings Register, the sheriff arrested two men believed to have named the others, and the lynchers were to be arrested. The Custer Weekly Chronicle, citing a Golden dispatch, reports the same events without describing who McCurdy was, and no family accounts of him are given in these sources.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A band of about twenty men overpowered the jailer, Alexander Kerr, took the keys, took McCurdy from his cell and lynched him, according to the Brookings Register and the Custer Weekly Chronicle citing a Golden dispatch.
Reported by: Brookings Register (reporters); Custer Weekly Chronicle, citing Golden, Colo. dispatch (reporters).