Died in jail or a lockup
Jack Williams
Jack Williams was a Black man held in the Orangeburg jail in South Carolina. According to the Chicago Daily Tribune, shortly after midnight on October 13, 1881, about twenty-five to thirty masked men entered the jail, overpowered the jailer and a policeman, took the keys, and removed him from his cell. They carried him to the edge of town and hanged him from an oak tree near the Edisto River road, and a placard was pinned to his body. Other papers give different times and dates for the killing, with some saying October 12 and others the afternoon.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody
Sources (21)
- Savannah Morning News, October 14, 1881, page 1
- Sacramento Daily Record-Union, October 14, 1881, page 4
- Daily Republican, October 14, 1881, page 1
- The Rock Island Argus, October 14, 1881, page 1
- Chicago Daily Tribune, October 14, 1881, page 3
- Bismarck Tribune, October 14, 1881, page 1
- Jamestown Alert, October 14, 1881, page 1
- Eureka Daily Sentinel, October 15, 1881, page 2
- Press And Daily Dakotaian, October 15, 1881, page 1
- The Salt Lake Herald, October 15, 1881, page 7
- The Cheyenne Daily Leader, October 15, 1881, page 1
- The Watchman And Southron, October 18, 1881, page 3
- The Fairfield News And Herald, October 19, 1881, page 2
- The Abbeville Press And Banner, October 19, 1881, page 2
- Baptist Courier, October 20, 1881, page 2
- Helena Weekly Herald, October 20, 1881, page 4
- The Grenada Sentinel, October 22, 1881, page 2
- American Citizen, October 22, 1881, page 1
- The Somerset Herald, October 26, 1881, page 4
- Iron County Register, October 27, 1881, page 2
- St. Landry Democrat, October 29, 1881, page 2