Died in custody
John Davis
In January 1878, John Davis was one of two Black men being held by officers on the border of Fayette and Jessamine counties in Kentucky, about eleven miles from Lexington. A disguised mob took him from those officers and hanged him by the roadside around midnight, according to the Memphis Daily Appeal. The other man was taken and killed in the same way. The paper reported that the sheriff was pursuing the group responsible.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched
Reported by: news reports.