Terry
Hairston Terry was held in the jail at Liberty, Virginia, when a mob of masked, armed men came for him in the early morning of May 18, 1885. Accounts agree they took him from his cell and hanged him from a tree outside town. The Shenandoah Herald reported that the jailer, Kirkwood Bell, was held at gunpoint and forced to hand over the keys, and the coroner's jury returned a verdict that he died at the hands of unknown men. His mother said his father, a general, had been wounded four times in the war, and the family were well known in the community. The Governor offered a $1,000 reward for the lynchers, and the Valley Virginian called the killing cold-blooded murder.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (disputed). The Valley Virginian editorial calls the hanging cold-blooded murder, the governor offered a reward for the lynchers, and Terry's family asked for a thorough investigation; the coroner's jury returned a verdict that he died at the hands of unknown men, and friends and the community disputed the circumstances.
Reported by: The Valley Virginian (reporters); Governor Cameron's reward notice; Lynchburg newspaper dispatch reporting an inquest (reporters); the coroner; his family.
Sources (8)
- Richmond Dispatch, May 19, 1885, page 3
- Morning Journal And Courier, May 19, 1885, page 3
- Omaha Daily Bee, May 19, 1885, page 1
- Shenandoah Herald, May 22, 1885, page 2
- Springfield Weekly Republican, May 22, 1885, page 2
- Peninsula Enterprise, May 23, 1885, page 2
- The Clarion, May 27, 1885, page 3
- The Valley Virginian, June 4, 1885, page 2