John Tanner
John Tanner, a Black man, was one of three men held in the Oxford jail in Granville County, North Carolina, in September 1888. Early on Sunday, September 2, a masked crowd of about 50 to 100 men broke into the sheriff's office, took the jail keys, and removed him and two others from their cells. The Richmond Dispatch reported the sheriff's office was forced open to obtain the keys, while The Evening Bulletin reported that the jailer and a policeman were seized. Accounts agree that Tanner was hanged, and a coroner's jury investigating the deaths adjourned without a finding, with the mob members not identified.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A masked mob of about 75 to 100 men took John Tanner from the Oxford, North Carolina jail and hanged him; the coroner's jury reached no finding and adjourned.
Reported by: Oxford jail account (news reporting of the lynching) (reporters); coroner's jury (medical examiner or coroner).