Died in jail or a lockup
John Archer
John Archer, son of Thomas Archer, was one of three men held in the jail at Shoals, Indiana. According to a newspaper dispatch from March 1886, about 100 men broke into the jail early on March 10, took him from his cell and hanged him from a maple tree in the courthouse yard. The dispatch does not say whether jail officers resisted the mob or handed the men over. The only account is that brief report from the period, which repeats accusations against the men that are not repeated here.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A brief 1886 newspaper dispatch reports that about 100 men took him from the jail at Shoals, Indiana, and hanged him from maple trees in the courthouse yard.
Reported by: news reports.