Stephen Williams
Stephen Williams, a Black man about 23 years old, was held in the county jail at Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Early on Saturday, October 20, 1894, masked men came to the jail; according to The Times, they rode to the jailer's house and demanded the keys, and the jailer refused to hand them over. The mob battered down the jail doors, took Williams from his cell and hanged him from an iron bridge near the jail, then fired several shots at his body. A coroner's jury returned a verdict of death by unknown parties, while other reports, including a Staunton Spectator item, gave differing accounts of how the mob got in and whether jail officers resisted.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. Masked men took Stephen Williams from the Upper Marlboro, Maryland jail and hanged him; a coroner's jury returned a verdict of death by unknown parties, and the jailer refused the mob the keys.
Reported by: Upper Marlboro, Md. dispatch reprinted in the Alexandria Gazette (reporters); Staunton Spectator (reporters); coroner's jury of inquest (medical examiner or coroner).