Died in custody
Mort Lee
Mort Lee, a Black man, was being taken under guard by train to Huntington, West Virginia, in July 1879 when, according to a newspaper account published days later, a mob of about 300 people seized him from the train near Coal Valley and hanged him on the night of July 8. It names no one in the mob, and the only source for these events is that single newspaper report.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A newspaper account says a mob of about 300 citizens took Mort Lee from a train while he was being conveyed under guard to Huntington and hanged him near Coal Valley, West Virginia.
Reported by: newspaper account.