John Taylor
John Taylor was held in the Green county jail when a mob of about 200 people came to the jail. The jailer refused to give up the keys, so the mob broke through the fence and jail doors, overpowered the guard, took the keys and removed him from his cell. The mob drove him away in a buggy and hanged him seven miles south of Reidsville, Rockingham County, North Carolina, according to the Jamestown Alert report. He was a Black man, and the report was published on June 17, 1881, six days after his death on June 11.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of about 200 people took John Taylor from the Green County jail after the jailer refused to give up the keys, then hanged him seven miles south of Reidsville, Rockingham County, N.C.
Reported by: Green County jail staff (the agency that held him). The only account of how this person died comes from the agency that held him.