William Thompson

Wm. Thompson, a Black man, was held in the jail in Culpeper, Virginia, in August 1877. According to the Daily Dispatch, a group of about sixty masked men took him from the jail during the night of August 10, and the keys were taken from the jailer. The group led him about a quarter mile to a large poplar tree near the Confederate Cemetery, where he was hanged. Other newspaper accounts also report that a mob of masked men took him from the jail and hanged him, but they differ on the town where the jail stood.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched

Reported by: Clarke Courier (reporters); Iola Register (reporters); Baltimore dispatch printed in the Cheyenne Daily Leader (reporters).

Sources (7)

• The Daily Dispatch, August 11, 1877, page 3 The Daily Dispatch, August 11, 1877
• Chicago Daily Tribune, August 12, 1877, page 2 Chicago Daily Tribune, August 12, 1877
• The Cheyenne Daily Leader, August 12, 1877, page 2 The Cheyenne Daily Leader, August 12, 1877
• The Iola Register, August 18, 1877, page 1 The Iola Register, August 18, 1877
• The Weekly Elko Independent, August 19, 1877, page 1 The Weekly Elko Independent, August 19, 1877
• Batesville Guard, August 23, 1877, page 1 Batesville Guard, August 23, 1877
• Clarke Courier, August 23, 1877, page 2 Clarke Courier, August 23, 1877