Mary Nelson
Mary Nelson was held in the Okemah county jail in Oklahoma in May 1911, along with her eighteen-year-old son. According to a Muskogee dispatch published in the Barre Daily Times, an armed mob broke down the jail door, bound and gagged the jailer, and took mother and son from the building. The jailer, Lawrence Payne, is reported to have driven them to a bridge over the Canadian river, where they were hanged. The sheriff said he knew nothing of the lynching until the next morning, and townspeople did not learn of the killings until a farmer reported them.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A Muskogee dispatch reports that an armed mob broke into the Okemah county jail, bound and gagged the jailer, and took Mary Nelson and her son; the report says the jailer, Lawrence Payne, drove them to a bridge over the Canadian river and hanged them.
Reported by: Muskogee dispatch (reporters).