John H. Rigus
John H. Rigus, a Black man, was being held in the Frederick jail in Frederick, Missouri, in November 1887. According to a San Antonio Daily Light report based on an Associated Press dispatch, a masked mob battered down the jail doors, took him from his cell, and hanged him from a tree about a quarter mile away, where three pistol shots were fired into his body. The sheriff was said to have denied the mob admission. Rigus, according to the account, maintained his innocence and said another man committed the assault that was alleged against him.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A masked mob battered down the Frederick jail doors, took him from his cell and hanged him, according to a San Antonio Daily Light report of an Associated Press dispatch.
Reported by: San Antonio Daily Light, reporting Associated Press dispatch (reporters).