The Black Donnellys
Murder & Mystery
Review: Irish Potato Famine: 1845 to 1849
Starting in 1845, Ireland was struck with a massive potato famine caused
by a fungus in the potato.
So many people relied on potatoes that when the potatoes got infected,
disaster struck
During this time, Ireland went through a massive famine where 1 in 8
people died of starvation and 1 in 8 left the country
Many Irish came to Canada and settled in what is now Ontario
Meet The Donnellys
James and Judy were married in Ireland in 1840, just a few years before
the famine
While in Ireland, they had their first son, James Jr.
They were a farming family, and when they were faced with the Irish
potato famine, the family came to Canada hoping to start again
The Donnellys Come To Canada
They settled down in a town called Biddulph, near the village of Lucan
The Donnelly’s were Irish Catholics, and the majority of families in the
Lucan area were Protestants.
The Donnellys tried to be friendly to both Protestants and Catholics, but in
Lucan the two were feuding
As a result, the Donnellys were disliked by both sides
Finding Their Home
The Donnelly family could not afford any land, and instead chose to squat
on a settlement in Lucan
Once they set up their home they had seven additional children (total of
seven boys, one girl)
Brawl With Patrick Farrell
A number of squabbles ensued in which other settlers such as Patrick
Farrell became embroiled. At one point James shoots at Farrell to get him
off his land
During a neighbourhood logging activity in 1857, James Donnelly Sr. gets
drunk off liquor and killed Patrick Farrell during a brawl
James Donnelly goes into hiding, and a $400 reward is put up for his
arrest
Turning Himself In
James Donnelly tries to remain in hiding by staying in his own home and
wearing his wife’s clothes
After killing Patrick Farrell, the Donnellys adopted his son and swore to
raise him
James turned himself in and was sentenced to death, but the family
started a petition to reduce the sentence to seven years in the Kingston
Penitentiary.
Consider
If you lived in Lucan, what would your impressions of the Donnellys be?
Conflicts Brew
In 1869, William is charged with theft by a respected town member, but
due to a lack of evidence he is later found not guilty
Later in 1869, James Jr. and William are charged with robbing the post
office. They are also later found not guilty due to a lack of evidence and
witnesses
The Donnelly family becomes very verbally aggressive, and is seen in
town swearing at people and police
Donnelly Barn is Burned Down
In the middle of summer in 1870, the Donnelly barn suddenly caught on
fire
The barn had in it stocks of Donnelly crops
The cause of the fire was never truly discovered
Business Opportunities
After losing their barn, the Donnellys get involved with a Stage Line
business, a business that transported materials
The Donnellys were seen as a rough group, and they soon became fierce
rivals with the other stage lines
It’s not sure who started the rivalry, but carriages were burned and horses
killed on both sides
Violence Increases
Eventually, the Donnellys muscled out the competition, but in doing so
they begin to upset the law and everyone else in the town
Soon, a feud grew between the town and the Donnellys
Many in the town begin to accuse the Donnellys of crimes from years ago,
but they are found innocent
Eventually, even the police begin to accuse the Donnellys of crimes they
didn’t commit
Crimes & Allegations
1875 Joseph Berryhill challenges the Donnellys to a fight. The Donnellys
end up being charged with assault, and Thomas is convicted
1875 James Curry claims that James Jr. and Thomas Donnelly attack and
rob him. Nothing comes of the charge.
1877 Violence in Lucan increases. There are a number of fires. The
Donnellys’ stables and stages are burned, as is Michael Donnelly’s home.
The Donnellys’ are the only ones blamed for any fires
1878 Constable Samuel Everett claims someone fires a shot at him. He
says the guilty party is Robert Donnelly and Robert is sentenced to two
years in the Kingston Penitentiary.
1879 Constable Everett confesses that he is not certain that it was Robert
Donnelly who shot him. Robert remains in prison
Consider
Decide how the town of Biddulph should deal with the Donnellys.
Create an action plan.
A New Hope
A new catholic priest, Father Connolly, moved to Biddulph in 1879. After
hearing of the Donnellys, he decides to try and solve the problem
He creates the Peace Society, an organization dedicated to peace in
Biddulph
One of the major conditions is that people have to be willing to have their
homes searched for stolen property
The Donnellys Refuses
The Donnellys decide not to join the Peace Society
Some members of the Peace Society form their own group, the Vigilance
Committee, and are led by a constable of Biddulph
When a cow goes missing, the Vigilance Committee sneaks onto the
Donnellys property to look for the cow
The cow is found, the committee is charged with trespassing, they are
found not guilty
Vigilance Committee
The Committee swears they will get the Donnelly family out of Lucan
Not long after this, their son Michael is stabbed and killed by a local
Lucan, who is sent to jail
When some barns burn down January 1880, James Sr. and Judy
Donnelly are blamed and a trial is set for Feb 4th
They protest the idea, claiming they are blamed for everything
The Vigilance Committee decides to take things into their own hands
February 3rd, 1880
A young boy named Johnny O’Connor is set to take care of the animals
while the Donnellys go to trial
The Vigilance Committee has decided that they want to take this Donnelly
problem into their own hands, and they form a mob that marches on the
Donnelly home
The mob is led by the Constable of Biddulph
The Donnelly House
In the house is James Sr. and Judy, their son Tom and their niece
Bridgette with Johnny O’Connor
The mob approaches the home at around 1am, and the constable quickly
handcuffs Tom before he is fully awake
The rest of the family wakes up to question what right the constable has
to enter their house, when the mob rushes in
No one in the mob notices Johnny O’Connor, who hides under a bed
The Massacre
►
Johnny sees the mob kill James Sr. and Judy with farming equipment,
while Tom tries to get away
►
The mob catches Tom and drags him back in the house, where Johnny
sees them try to beat his skull open
►
Bridgette is upstairs, and so Johnny only hears of her murder
►
The crowd leaves and lights the place on fire
The Wrath Continues
Johnny O’Connor is able to sneak out of the house before the fire
consumes it, and on his way he sees the bodies of Judy, James, and Tom
The mob continues to the Donnelly’s son William’s house, where John is
staying with William
The mob surrounds the house and shouts “Fire, Fire”, in an attempt to
wake up William
Mistaken Identity
John gets up to see what is going on, and members of the mob think he is
William
Someone in the mob shoots John, and John falls dying on the ground
The mob, thinking themselves victorious cause some trouble outside and
then leave Williams home
William is forced to watch his brother die
The Day After
►
In the morning, several town members return to the Donnellys’ house and
steal souvenirs.
►
By the time the coroner arrives, most of the bodies have been stolen
►
The thirteen year old boy, James O’Connor, comes forward to tell his story
with William Donnelly
►
Thirteen people are arrested based off their testimony
Decide
After the massacre of the Donnellys, the remaining family decides to have
a funeral, but the town is split on the funeral
Should the deaths of the Donnellys be celebrated or mourned? Give a
reason why.
The Trial
There was a lot of controversy surrounding the trial for the murder of the
Donnellys
In order to secure a verdict of guilty, the prosecutor would need to provide
enough believable evidence to convince the jury that the men arrested
were responsible
The jury was to be taken from the local area
Consider
Based on what you know, why would it be hard to prove the killer guilty?
Reasons a Conviction was Difficult
It was difficult to find an impartial jury
Because Johnny O’Connor was thirteen, his testimony wasn’t accepted
Since it was night, it was believed that William didn’t get a very good look
at the mob and so he wasn’t fully believed
The jury could not decide, and so no conviction was made
ON April 13th, 1880, the O’Connor family home is burnt to the ground
Changing The Venue
The Globe still continues to raise an outcry to the effect that London and
Middlesex are unable to produce twelve men sufficiently honest capable
and impartial to try the persons accused of being engaged in the Donnelly
murders. Seeing that our contemporary has been engaged in lowering
public estimation in the credibility of the chief witnesses of the Crown, it is
clear that Toronto is about as bad a place as could be selected for the
trial. Besides, Mr. Mowat has just offered a rewards of $4,000 for such
evidence as may be "hereafter" given as will lead to the conviction of the
murderers. This is a tacit admission that the evidence thus far obtained is
not sufficient to ensure conviction, no matter where the trial may be held.
We entirely dissent from the Globe when it says:
"We are firmly of the opinion that as impartial jury cannot be got in Middlesex,
and that the community will not be satisfied with the result of a trial in London.
The prisoners could neither be condemned nor acquitted there without causing
a great many people to suspect that justice had been disregarded."
Changing The Venue
No opinions that have been expressed in London or in Middlesex have
been so adverse to the success of the Crown in this important case as
those whish have appeared in the Globe , which has depicted the chief
witness, William Donnelly as not worthy of credence, and that the boy
O'Connor has been "stuffed." The Toronto paper was never very favorable
to London, but the adverse opinion it now expresses, the allegation that
an impartial jury cannot be found here or in the adjoining county, comes
but awkwardly from a journal that has been teaching the people
throughout Ontario that the Crown witness cannot be relied upon.
Source: "Changing the Venue," London Free Press, March 23, 1880.
The Second Trial
A second trial was begun, one that brought in the Peace Society up to and
including the Father Connolly
Some of the killers who had felt bad about the murder were paid off by the
Peace Society to leave Biddulph for Michigan, but the prosecutors used
the law to have them brought back to Biddulph to stand trial
Again, the jury was hung
Life After The Trials
When the second trial drew to a close, four of the eight Donnelly children
remained alive.
Patrick and Jenny moved away from Lucan and left the family troubles
behind. William and Robert, however, remained entangled in the affairs of
Lucan and area, becoming both lawmakers and lawbreakers.
William never forgot the atrocities his family suffered that fateful night. In
1893 he wrote the Exeter Times to remind everyone that the crime was
always on his mind. In fact, he wrote, “some of the broken and wasted
bones of my family are still in my possession and will be until justice is
fully done.”
Trying To Forget
After the murder, much of the town of Lucan tried to move on
In 1954 a book entitled “The Black Donnellys” was released. A Second
Book, “The Donnellys Must Die” is released 1964
The book was the first popular retelling of the story, and it began to attract
a lot of interest in Lucan
n 1964, the town of Lucan changed the Donnelly Tombstone
Eerie Rumours
Rumour has it that the street the Donnellys lived on, the Roman Line, is
haunted, and that horses won't venture down it on the night of February
3rd & 4th, the anniversary of the Donnelly massacre. If they do, death will
follow. And, that's apparently what happened to three horses who did . . .
they died soon after their nocturnal excursion down the cursed road
Eerie Rumours
Another rumour suggests that some horses refuse to pass the old
Donnelly property . . . period . . . at any time of the year. It's said that their
riders have had to walk the skittish beasts past the homestead before
continuing down the Roman Line.
There's tales of headless horses seen galloping throughout Biddulph
Township, and of course, the more popular legend of horses going
berserk and running around mad as if suddenly possessed. Robert and
Noreen Norton, who bought the Donnelly Homestead in 1974, and moved
in with their three children, witnessed this strange phenomenon first hand