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Samuel Archer, a Member of a Noted Gang of Desperadoes, Hanged at Shoals, Ind. Suoats, Ind., July 19.—Sam Archer, one of the members of the famous Archer gang of desperadoes, received the reward of his many crimes yesterday from the hands of the sheriff, being hanged for the brutal mur der of Samuel A. Burch on the 11th of July, 1882. The story of the murder, as con densed from the confession of Lynch, one of the gang, is as follows: On the ed of July, 1882, Sam Marley and Matt Archer got into a difficulty, resulting in the fatal shooting of Archer and Marley. This en raged the older Archers, as they were called, very much, and they determined to punish Marley at the first opportunity, and to ac complish this end they organized theim selves into a gang of six members, viz.: Tom, Mart, John and Sam Archer, John D. Lynch and David Crane. Mart was chosen captain and adviser. The work of ferreting out the hiding-place of Marley began. Bunch's house was guarded con stantly, as suspicion rested on him as the one who was aiding Marley to escape. This espionage did not reveal the desired infor mation, and the Archers resolved to kill Bunch if he refused to reveal Marley's hiding place. They seized him, took him to a cave and murdered him. Nothing was learned of Bunch’s fate until last winter, when the deserted wife of John Archer, who had taken refuge in the Martin County Poor Asylum, gave evidence that caused the arrest of the Archers. On March 9, 1886, a mob attacked the jail at Shoals, battered down the door, and, seizing Mart, Thomas and John Archer, father, son and brother, lynched them. A week later Sam Archer was arrested in Fountain County and brought were, and was tried and convicted as above stated. Sam Archer leaves a mother, two sisters and two brothers. His oldest brother is serving a term in the penitentiary for grand sorcery, while the youngest in serv ing a term in the reform school at Plain field. The fate of the Archer family is a hard one. Four of them have been vic tims of the gallows and two others are in prison.
Newspaper Details
Delphi Journal
Delphi, Indiana, US
Wed, Jul 14, 1886
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 10 Aug 2026
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