John Shy
John Shy was held in the jail at Glasgow, Kentucky, along with his brother. In the early hours of May 2, 1870, a mob of about forty to fifty mounted men broke open the jail door, took the two brothers and hanged them from a tree at the edge of town, according to a Courier-Journal account reprinted in the Kentucky Gazette and a Nashville Banner report. The Banner says they were taken about four hundred yards from the jail. The jailer was present when the mob came, and the bodies were found shortly after daylight.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. The Nashville Banner reported that about fifty people broke open the Glasgow jail, took the Shy brothers and hanged them from a tree; the Courier-Journal account reprinted in the Kentucky Gazette says about forty mounted men forced the jail door with only the jailer present.
Reported by: Nashville Banner (reporters); Courier-Journal, reprinted in the Kentucky Gazette (reporters).