Silas Eastons
Silas Eastons, a Black man, was held in the Hodgenville jail in Kentucky when a mob of several dozen men came for him around 2 a.m. in late October 1901. The Evening Journal reports that the jailer surrendered the keys when the group demanded them, and the men took him from his cell and dragged him into the street. He broke free and ran, but was shot and fell about 100 yards from the jail, and the mob then hanged him from the courthouse steps. The Courier-Journal says the guard placed at the jail that night made little effort to defend him, and the sources differ on the date and the size of the mob.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (neglect alleged). A mob took Silas Eastons from the Hodgenville jail after the jailer surrendered the keys, shot him about 100 yards away and hanged him from the courthouse steps; one account says the guard placed at the jail that night made little effort to defend him.
Reported by: Courier-Journal dispatch from Hodgenville (reporters).