Tom Blair
Tom Blair, also recorded as Thomas Blair, was held in the Montgomery County jail at Mount Sterling, Kentucky, when he died on the night of December 31, 1894, or in the early hours of January 1, 1895, depending on the report. An editorial in the Morgan Messenger described him as a brave, honest man and a true friend, and said many friends in Morgan County mourned his death. Press accounts say about twenty-five men overpowered the jailer, took the keys and removed him from his cell, then beat him and hanged him from a railroad trestle within the city limits. Judge Cooper called it the foulest crime ever committed by a mob in Kentucky, and Governor John Young Brown offered a reward for the killers, while a citizens' meeting condemned the lynching and asked for a thorough investigation.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of about twenty-five men overpowered the jailer, took the keys and hanged Tom Blair from a railroad trestle, according to the accounts; Judge Cooper called it the foulest mob crime ever committed in Kentucky.
Reported by: Sterling, Ky. dispatch published in the Fort Worth Gazette (reporters); Judge Cooper (court); Southern Associated Press dispatch (reporters); Morgan Messenger editorial (reporters); Sterling Gazette account (reporters); Circuit and County Judges of Montgomery County, as reported in the Governor's proclamation (court).
News reports (12)
- The Morning News, January 2, 1895, page 1
- Fort Worth Gazette, January 2, 1895, page 1
- Pine Bluff Daily Graphic, January 2, 1895, page 1
- The Evening Bulletin, January 2, 1895, page 1
- The Norfolk Virginian, January 2, 1895, page 5
- The Hazel Green Herald, January 10, 1895, page 3
- The Monticellonian, January 11, 1895, page 1
- The Mt. Sterling Advocate, January 15, 1895, page 1
- Daily Public Ledger, January 28, 1895, page 2
- The Hazel Green Herald, January 31, 1895, page 4
- The Hazel Green Herald, January 31, 1895, page 5
- The Big Stone Gap Post, January 31, 1895, page 1