Died in jail or a lockup
James Gilliland
James Gilliland was held in the jail at Somerset, Kentucky, together with his brother. According to the Daily Tobacco Leaf-Chronicle, a large mob took the two men from the jail at midnight on Monday, September 14, 1891. The mob carried them to a ravine near town and hanged them from the limbs of a large sycamore tree. The newspaper reported that the men protested their innocence and prayed before they died.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took James Gilliland and his brother from the Somerset, Kentucky jail at midnight and hanged them from a sycamore tree in a ravine near town.
Reported by: historical newspaper report.