Tom Tinker

Thomas Tinker was held in the Mayfield, Kentucky jail in February 1915. Around midnight on February 9, a band of about fifty armed men, reportedly from the Melber or Mercer area, came into town and took him from his cell. The men hanged him from a tree in the courthouse yard and then shot and mutilated his body. According to the Associated Press, the jailer judged resistance futile and did not stop them, while another newspaper reported that he was overpowered, and the accounts do not agree on how the jailer responded.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of about fifty men took Thomas Tinker from the Mayfield, Kentucky jail, hanged him from a tree and shot or hacked his body; the jailer was reported to have judged resistance futile and did not stop them.

Reported by: Associated Press (reporters); The Public Ledger (reporters); The Commonwealth (reporters).

News reports (8)

• Bryan Daily Eagle And Pilot, February 10, 1915, page 1 Bryan Daily Eagle And Pilot, February 10, 1915
• The Montgomery Advertiser, February 11, 1915, page 10 The Montgomery Advertiser, February 11, 1915
• The Pensacola Journal, February 11, 1915, page 1 The Pensacola Journal, February 11, 1915
• The Public Ledger, February 11, 1915, page 4 The Public Ledger, February 11, 1915
• The Grenada Sentinel, February 12, 1915, page 2 The Grenada Sentinel, February 12, 1915
• The Commonwealth, February 12, 1915, page 1 The Commonwealth, February 12, 1915
• The Bolivar County Democrat, February 13, 1915, page 2 The Bolivar County Democrat, February 13, 1915
• Macon Beacon, February 19, 1915, page 2 Macon Beacon, February 19, 1915