Morris Morse
Morris Morse was one of two Black men held in the Pensacola county jail in Escambia County, Florida. Before dawn on August 21, 1875, a crowd took him and Jeff Brown from the jail and hanged them from trees near Seville Square. The jailer said about 100 men broke the door and took the men, but his testimony also describes the key and lock as found in place. A coroner's jury found the men were killed by hanging at the hands of the crowd, and police who arrived afterward exchanged shots with the group and cut the men down.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A coroner's jury found that Morris Morse was hanged by a crowd that took him from the Pensacola county jail.
Reported by: coroner's jury (medical examiner or coroner); Pensacola county jailer (the agency that held him).