Willis Griffy
Willis Griffey, a Black man, was held in the jail at Princeton, Kentucky, and another report spells his name Griffy. According to a newspaper dispatch, a masked mob of 100 or more men came to the jail on the night of October 14, 1894, demanded the keys from the jailer, who refused, and searched the house until they found them. The mob took him from his cell, put him in a covered hack, and hanged him from a beech tree about three miles from town. The dispatch also said his body was mutilated and shot, and a different account put the mob at about forty men.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A masked mob of 100 or more men took Willis Griffey from the Princeton jail after the jailer refused to hand over the keys, and hanged him from a beech tree; a dispatch reports his body was also mutilated and shot.
Reported by: dispatch (news report of the lynching) (reporters).