Died in custody
Sampson Smith
Sampson Smith, a Black man, was in the custody of the Caldwell Parish sheriff near Columbia, Louisiana, in late January 1919 when a mob took him from the sheriff late at night. The sheriff had been taking him to Monroe for safekeeping after threats of lynching were made, and the mob overpowered them at the edge of the parish seat. His body was found the next morning hanging from a tree near the Missouri Pacific railroad.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took Sampson Smith from the Caldwell parish sheriff while he was being moved for safekeeping and hanged him to a tree near Columbia, Louisiana.
Reported by: Caldwell Parish Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); news reports.