Died in jail or a lockup
Mariah Smith
Mariah Smith and her husband Floyd were held in the jail at Hernando, Mississippi, where the sheriff also served as jailer. According to a correspondent writing from Hernando for the Memphis Daily Appeal, early on November 4, 1878, an armed mob of thirty or forty people took the couple from the guard. The correspondent reported that the mob hanged them on a plantation about three miles southwest of Hernando.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched
Reported by: Memphis Daily Appeal correspondent, writing from Hernando (reporters).