Houston County Sheriff's Department, Texas
End of Watch: Wednesday, January 9, 1884
Age: 29
Tour of Duty: 1 day
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: January 9, 1884
Weapon Used: Unknown weapon
Suspect Info: Lynched
The sheriff organized a posse to arrest a desperado named Sandy Robinson. Robinson was found hiding in a cabin on the Bannerman plantation on the Trinity River in Leon County. One of the posse members, James W. Lathrop, entered the door of the cabin and Robinson shot and killed him. Robinson grabbed Lathrop’s weapon and fled. Robinson was later arrested and placed in the county jail. The sheriff got wind of a lynching and summoned a guard of ten or more men to stay at the jail. Only about six men and the sheriff were present when the masked mob of 75-100 men on horseback arrived at 1:00 a.m. on February 3rd. The sheriff begged the men not to take the prisoner out, but they overpowered him, and took his keys. The sheriff succeeded in drawing his pistol, which fired off in the scuffle. No one was injured. There were about ten prisoners in the jail at the time but none of them were molested. The mob took Robinson from the jail and hanged him near the graveyard.
Lathrop was survived by his wife and at least a daughter and a step-son. His place of burial is unknown at this time.