Lynching in Olney
At Olney, Ills., a few days since, some of the citizens took a doctor by the name of Phillips to the woods and lynched him. They were under the impression that he was connected with the late robbery of Mr. Lilly, of that place. On the night of the robbery, the doctor came to the house of Mr. Solomon Bunn, near Sumner, before sun down, where he remained until a late hour the next morning.
The men were aware of this fact, but notwithstanding this, they handled the old gentleman roughly, bringing back to town, as trophies of their victory, his watch and what little money he had about is person. Where the doctor is, or what disposition the made of him, remains a mystery to quite a number of the law abiding citizens of Olney, as he has not been seen since. We learn that all suspicion against the doctor was founded upon the fact that he was at that time, or had formerly boarded with, Mr. Lilly.
Originally reported in the "Vincennes Times" and re-printed in the "Newton Enquirer", Jasper County on Friday, June 17, 1859