Thomas Gilyard
Thomas Gilyard, a 20-year-old Black man, was being held in the city jail in Joplin, Missouri. On the night of Wednesday, April 15, 1903, a mob broke into the jail, took him and hanged him from a telegraph pole, according to a dispatch. City Attorney P. H. Decker appealed for a trial, and others tried to stop the mob, but the mob carried out the killing. One account says the coroner took the body after the mob dispersed. Another says the same night the mob attacked the Black section of the city, burning houses and driving residents out of town.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob broke into the Joplin city jail, took Thomas Gilyard from it and hanged him from a telegraph pole, according to a dispatch; City Attorney P. H. Decker appealed for a trial and people tried to stop the mob.
Reported by: Joplin city jail (holding agency) (the agency that held him); Joplin coroner (medical examiner or coroner); A dispatch from Joplin, Mo. (reporters); Associated Press (reporters).