Varney
J. H. Varney was held at the Freestone County jail in Texas in May 1922, when a mob of about 500 men took the sheriff's keys, unlocked the jail doors and seized him. According to the Omaha Daily Bee and the Associated Press, the mob took him to Kirvin, where he was burned at an iron stake in the town square. Both accounts say the sheriff gave up the keys under the mob's pressure, and the Associated Press account says other men were also burned at the stake. The reports are based on news accounts from the time, and the exact date and details of the killing are not clear from the scans.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of about 500 men took the keys from the Freestone County sheriff, unlocked the jail and seized Varney, then burned him at an iron stake in Kirvin, according to the Omaha Daily Bee and Associated Press reports.
Reported by: Omaha Daily Bee (reporters); Associated Press (reporters).