John A. Smythe
John A. Smythe was held in the jail at Audubon, Iowa, when a mob of about one hundred armed men broke in early on February 4, 1885. According to a dispatch published in the St. Landry Democrat, the men took him from his cell, shot him, and hanged him from a rail fence, and the sheriff was on the scene but was powerless to stop them. A separate brief report said three people were taken from the same jail that night, two shot and one hanged, but it did not say which fate applied to him. No account in these sources describes how jail staff responded beyond the sheriff's presence.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. An Audubon, Iowa dispatch published in the St. Landry Democrat says a mob of about one hundred armed men broke into the jail, shot Smythe in his cell, then dragged him out and hanged him to a rail fence.
Reported by: Audubon, Ia. dispatch published in the St. Landry Democrat (reporters).