Died in jail or a lockup
Name not reported
An unnamed Black man held in a Clay County, Missouri jail was taken out by citizens and hanged in April 1855, according to a brief item in the Opelousas Patriot. The account gives no name, exact date, or jail, and says nothing about how the mob got in or whether jailers resisted, gave up keys, or handed him over. Nothing more is reported about who he was.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. The Opelousas Patriot reported that citizens hanged the man without judge or jury, with no account of how the mob reached him.
Reported by: Opelousas Patriot (reporters).