Ozias McGaha
Ozias McGaha, a Black man, was being moved by train under the escort of Sheriff Menefee of Marshall County after a sentencing in Lewisburg, Tennessee. On November 29, 1895, a crowd gathered at Fayetteville and demanded the prisoners, and the sheriff initially refused, with officers marching the men to the Fayetteville jail. Later that night, armed men broke down four doors of the jail, took McGaha out and hanged him in the courthouse yard. The newspaper accounts say the sheriff had telegraphed the governor for troops, who arrived too late, and they differ on the details, with some reporting that no shots were fired and others that the jail was stormed by about 200 men.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took Ozias McGaha from the Fayetteville jail in Tennessee and hanged him in the courthouse yard; the sheriff had refused to give up the prisoners at the train and later telegraphed the governor for troops, which arrived too late.
Reported by: Nashville dispatch (reporters); telephone report received by state officials; Fayetteville, Tennessee newspaper account (reporters).
News reports (8)
- The Morning News, November 30, 1895, page 5
- Birmingham State Herald, November 30, 1895, page 1
- Daily Public Ledger, November 30, 1895, page 2
- The Evening Bulletin, November 30, 1895, page 1
- The Roanoke Daily Times, November 30, 1895, page 5
- The Norfolk Virginian, November 30, 1895, page 5
- The News & Observer, November 30, 1895, page 1
- Hopkinsville Kentuckian, December 3, 1895, page 1