Died in jail or a lockup
James Brown
James Brown, a flatboatman from Illinois according to the Batesville Guard, was being held in the jail at Lake Providence, Louisiana, in January 1881. On the night of January 7, 1881, a mob took him from the jail and hanged him, and one report said the sheriff was away at the time. Accounts differ on whether he was hanged from a tree or a lamp post, on whether the jail was broken open, and on whether the town was called Providence or Lake Providence.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took James Brown from the jail near Lake Providence, Louisiana, and hanged him; accounts differ on the hanging site, a lamp post or a tree.
Reported by: news reports.