Prentiss Nelms
Frontiss Nelms, a Black man, was held by a guard near Hernando, Mississippi, in July 1880. According to the Delaware State Journal, a masked mob took him and another man from the guard on Saturday, July 17, and killed them by hanging. The Brenham Weekly Banner, citing an unnamed report, said the body was mutilated and a rope had been put around his neck. A report in The Sentinel says a band of men seized him from officers on the way to the Hernando jail, though it gives no date. Citizens held an indignation meeting in Austin that condemned the killing, and committees of white and Black residents were appointed to look for those responsible.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A masked mob took Frontiss Nelms from officers at Hernando, Mississippi, and killed him, according to the Brenham Weekly Banner citing an unnamed report and the Delaware State Journal.
Reported by: Brenham Weekly Banner (reporters); Delaware State Journal (reporters).