John Dances
John Dances was held in the jail at Columbiana, Alabama, in Shelby County. According to the Indianapolis Journal, about two hundred armed men went to the jailer's house shortly after 5 a.m. on March 24, 1891, and forced him to unlock the cell. The mob took John Dances to woods half a mile from town and hanged him. The jailer, a deputy sheriff and another man who had come to help were forced to go along and watch. The Wilmington Daily Republican dated the lynching March 25, 1891.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. About two hundred armed men forced the jailer to unlock Dances's cell and hanged him in woods near Columbiana, Alabama, according to contemporary newspaper accounts.
Reported by: contemporary newspaper accounts.