Printy Thompson
Printy Thompson was one of five Black men held in the Yorkville jail in York County, South Carolina. Early on the morning of April 5, 1887, a mob of about 60 to 75 armed men broke into the jail after the sheriff refused to hand over the keys, took him from his cell, and hanged him from a tree about a mile from the courthouse. The Columbia special dispatch and the Richmond Dispatch report the sheriff's refusal, and the lynchers were not identified or disguised, with no steps taken to find them.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. The Columbia special dispatch and a Yorkville correspondent to the Register report that a mob battered in the Yorkville jail doors after the sheriff refused to give up the keys, took him from his cell and hanged him from a tree.
Reported by: Columbia special dispatch (reporters); Yorkville correspondent to the Register, as reprinted in the Dispatch (reporters); The State Chronicle (reporters).