Joseph A. Smith

Joseph A. Smith was held in the jail at Elkton, Kentucky, in late November 1889. Newspaper accounts report that a mob took him from the jail on the night of November 23 or 24 and hanged him from a tree in the courthouse yard. Accounts differ on the exact night, and the dispatch that reported the hanging came from Hopkinsville.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took Joseph A. Smith from the Elkton jail in Kentucky and hanged him from a tree in the courthouse yard, according to a Hopkinsville dispatch; the accounts do not say whether jail staff resisted or handed him over.

Reported by: A special to the Nashville newspaper from Hopkinsville, Ky. (reporters); news dispatch datelined Hopkinsville, Ky. (reporters).

News reports (5)

• Los Angeles Daily Herald, November 25, 1889, page 4 Los Angeles Daily Herald, November 25, 1889
• The Russellville Democrat, November 28, 1889, page 1 The Russellville Democrat, November 28, 1889
• The Savannah Tribune, November 30, 1889, page 1 The Savannah Tribune, November 30, 1889
• The Grenada Sentinel, November 30, 1889, page 2 The Grenada Sentinel, November 30, 1889
• The Osceola Times, November 30, 1889, page 2 The Osceola Times, November 30, 1889