This photograph shows J. G. Burton, John Gay, and William Gay hanging from a railroad bridge over Fossil Creek in Russell, Kansas. They were charged with killing R. D. Dinning who mysteriously disappeared. An investigation ensued and J. G. Burton was arrested and implicated the others. Each made a confession and disclosed where the body was buried. On January 14, 1894 between 1:00 and 2:00 in the morning a mob of about 20 men quietly entered the jail and took the men to a small railroad bridge just east of Russell. The jail was a small wooden building surrounded by a fence eight feet high, but no officers were alerted when they took the prisoners. In the jail, were two cells in which the prisoners were confined. The masked mob broke off the locks with sledge hammers and removed the men. They were marched to the bridge where ropes were placed around their necks. The mob leader clapped his hands and the men were pushed off the bridge and then each man was shot. The mob left the scene going north.
Kansas Memory
Kansas Historical Society
Lynching of J. G. Burton, John Gay, and William Gay in Russell County, Kansas - 2