Josh Anderson
A man named Anderson, whose first name appears as Joshua in some accounts and Joseph in others, was held at the Owensboro jail in Daviess County, Kentucky, and one paper describes him as a farmer. In the early hours of July 17 or 18, 1902, a mob of about forty men broke into the jail, took him from his cell and hanged him from a beam over the city scales on one of the main streets. The accounts differ on how the men got in: one says the jailer did not expect them and the men battered the door down, while another says he refused to open it before it was forced. In both versions, the men surrounded the jailer and his family so they could not raise an alarm.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took Joshua Anderson from the Owensboro, Kentucky jail and hanged him from the city scales, with the jailer and his family held so they could not raise an alarm.
Reported by: news reports.