William Berry
Wm. Berry was held in the Pekin jail in Illinois in August 1869. A mob of several dozen men came to the jail around 1 a.m., broke in the front door and battered down the doors after Sheriff Pratt refused to give up the keys. According to the Wilmington Journal, the men shot at Berry several times, then dragged him to the nearest tree and hanged him. Accounts say Sheriff Pratt did all he could to save him. His body was delivered to his wife, who took it to Circleville, and the inquest was opened the next morning and adjourned to Monday.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of several dozen men broke into the Pekin jail after Sheriff Pratt refused to give up the keys, shot Berry, and hanged him from a tree.
Reported by: Sheriff Pratt of the Pekin jail (the agency that held him); Chicago Tribune, citing special despatches from Peoria and St. Louis (reporters).