Wells
Wells, a man held in the Waynesboro jail in Wayne County, Georgia, was taken from custody in March 1877 by a mob, according to an Atlanta correspondent of the New York Herald whose report was reprinted in the Memphis Daily Appeal. The correspondent reported that about thirty men came to the sheriff's residence, dragged the sheriff out, and, after a long struggle, forced him to hand over the jail keys. The mob then took Wells from the jail, shot him, and hanged him with a jail chain, and the account says the chain broke once before he was hanged again. The coroner's verdict made no finding about who was responsible, and no lynchers were identified.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took Wells from the Waynesboro jail, shot him and hanged him with a jail chain, according to an Atlanta correspondent of the New York Herald as reported in the Memphis Daily Appeal.
Reported by: Atlanta correspondent of the New York Herald, as reported in the Memphis Daily Appeal (reporters).