John Dickinson
John Dickinson, reported to be about 18 years old, was held in the county jail at Newport in October 1880. A report published October 20 says that shortly after midnight on October 19, a group of men in disguise surrounded the jail and demanded the keys, and when they were not handed over they broke open the doors, took him out and carried him about a mile toward Newport, where they hanged him. An earlier report, published October 14, places his death at the Jacksonport jail, saying that about 2 a.m. on the Tuesday after he was brought there, masked men broke the doors open with sledge hammers and chisels and hanged him from a tree about a mile from town. The two accounts disagree on the place and the date of his death.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. Newspaper accounts say a masked mob broke open the jail doors, took John Dickinson out and hanged him from a tree near town.
Reported by: 1880 newspaper reports (reporters).