Died in jail or a lockup
Pearson
Pearson was held in the jail at Springfield, Tennessee. In the early hours of June 20, 1878, a mob of armed men broke into the jail, took him from his cell along with another man, Sadler, and hanged them from a tree a few miles outside town. According to a Nashville dispatch printed in the Portland Daily Press, the jailer was unprepared and was forced to give up the keys. The Bristol News reported that both men were strangled.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took Pearson from the Springfield, Tennessee jail and hanged him, and the jailer reportedly gave up the keys.
Reported by: Nashville dispatch (reporters); Springfield, Tennessee newspaper report (reporters).