William Barber
William Barber was held in the Waverly jail in Iowa with his brother Ike when a mob of about two hundred broke in, in June 1883. According to a Des Moines dispatch published in the Butler Citizen, the sheriff refused to hand over the keys, and the officers resisted without using violence. The mob took the two men to Murphy's Grove and hanged them, and the dispatch says both died of strangulation. Before he was taken, William gave a silk handkerchief and a gold pen to a bystander to send to his little girl, as the dispatch reports.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob broke into the Waverly jail, took William Barber from custody and hanged him, according to a Des Moines dispatch published in the Butler Citizen.
Reported by: Des Moines dispatch, Butler Citizen (reporters).