James Jordan
James Jordan had recently been hired at the Gray lumber mill, the main employer in Waverly, Virginia, and had worked there about two weeks. He was held in the Sussex County jail in Waverly when, according to the Richmond News Leader and Richmond Times-Dispatch as cited by the Equal Justice Initiative, an armed mob overpowered the sheriff and took him. The mob marched him to a vacant lot near the railway depot, hanged him from a tree, fired at him, and set his body on fire. The Richmond Planet reported that the Commonwealth's Attorney and the sheriff said they tried to stop the mob, and that the governor later expressed regret over the violence. Accounts differ on what happened to his body afterward, with one saying it was stolen overnight and taken to Windsor.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob overcame the sheriff, took James Jordan from the Waverly jail, hanged him from a tree and set his body on fire, according to Richmond newspaper reports cited by the Equal Justice Initiative.
Reported by: Richmond News Leader and Richmond Times-Dispatch reports, as cited by the Equal Justice Initiative (reporters).