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10 .4•#. THE HURON EXPOSITOR, AUGUST 9, 1079
Ses _.flipi
by Alic• 01,ii'
TOdaY the ownof: WW1 Inokai klkeany
sleepysouthWeatern °MOO hemlet. but
100 Years AP it Was, MOS to be One nt
the moOr lawless cormnunities in C,anada, a
place Where, smolt brutal mann* and
ven murder were, , common as they were
in, the freewheeliz frontier towns .of the
*Wild West.
The conflicts which plagued both Lucan
and the surrounding Biddulph Township
stemmed from the fact the Irish
immigrants who settled in the are,
• couldn't forget the feuds, secret societies
• and "bloody" -prejudices which had been
instrumental (alontil with severe p 'overty)
in driving them ou of Ireland in the first
place. The bitterness which still plagues
•the Emerald Isle divided the Biddulph
residents so not only :Was Protestant often
allied against Catholic, but also catholic
against Catholic.
Orlo Miller, in his book Death of The
Donnellys, quotes Jonathan Swift, a cynic
of the first water, who once remarked
ap ropos of the Irish. sittiation - "We have
just enough religion t� Mae us hate, but
not enough to make ii kw,* one another,"
Tragedy was hardly !a stranger to
Biddulph Township, so it was the rest of
the country that •was overwhelmed by the
• Feb. 60 18§0 headline which appeared in
weekly papers around the ,county - "A
horrible crime, five persons brutally
murdered."
• DONNELLY MURDERS
The Expositor article read, "One of the
• most daring and revolting crimes that has,
• ever disgraced the annals of •modern
History was perpetrated in the township of
Biddulph, within a short distance of. the
village of Lucan, - on Tuesday night
last...." The crime was the brutal murder
of five members of the infamous- James
• Donnelly family and their slayers were
their own neighbours, a band of, vigilantes
called the Biddulph Peace Society; who
• decideo a the courts wouldn't put an end to
the Dennellys, then they would,.
•'Newspaper reporters front Canada's
major papers and even 'from, the United
States oescended on Lucan iii no time,.
jostling for places to stay and trying to find
Ex
someone In the community whe Would hint
et what had bncopened at the two Pqqnelli
farmste4t4s.
The Esecoiter article coetinued, "As
before stated, about midnight a an et
men with blackened faces, many of time,
dressed in women's clothing. knocked*
the door of James Donnelly's house, a ene
and a half storey log building. and
demanded admittance," The ploy the men
Used was that they had come to serve the
Donnellys with yet another warrant. Once
inside, within a few minutes the vigilante*
had beaten James.. Donnell)! seniorhis son;
Tom (whom they handcuffed, first) thee
Bridget and James' wife Johanson (often;
Called Judith) to death. In a oversight the
men were to regret later, •they missed,
• finding Johnny O'Connor, a friend's 11
year old son whowas staying overnight
with the Donnellys to help them with the
morning chores, They boy crouched under.,
neath a bed and watched in terror as men
he knew killed the Donnelly family, Before
leaving, the vigilantes set the bed in the
house on fire, knowing the flames would
destroy the entire house and burn most
evidence of the crime«
SECOND MURDER'
But •the •vigilantes didn't stop here.
Three of them continued on to the William
Donnelly home, outside the settlement of
Whalen's Corners. Although they, didn't
know it at the time, William's younger
brother John, 28, had decided to spenclthe
night' with his brother and wife, Nora, Late
at • night, someone pounded on the
Donnelly door and called out that there was
a fire. John Donnelly reached the , door
first, flung it open, and was met with-yolley
Of gunfire. While his brother •watched
terrified from a bedroom window , the
young man fell back into the house with
wounds to his chest and lower stomach
and within five minutes, he died in his
sister-in-law's arms. William Donnelly, the
•intended victim, wasn't harmed. One of
the three men he had seen knoCking on his
door before the shots, were fired was his
ownbrother-in-law, John Kennedy,
The killings bad an iminediate effect on
iddulph Township - a mass amnesia
red
Which continued for Sente generations. The
men who were members of the. vigilante
,committee and their famillies all con -
leniently developed faulty memories „. a
fact that would make eonvIetinn of the
Iliddulph Pence AcietY diffiCult.
The convenient itergetfulnesS started on
the night of the murders. Although there
were three farmhouses very close to the
Donnelly home. the newspaper report said
"strange to say, the glare of the fire did not
awoken any ef the lo.mates nf thcse
homes."'
In actual fact, when the house Was set on
cue, Johnny O'Connor fled to the
neighbouring Whelan farm and still
terrified, blurted out about the fire and
about seeing the village constable James
Carroll and neighbours Tom Ryder and
John Purtell arnong_4he gang who
•murdered the Donnellys, But even with
Johnny's report, the Whalens took their
time investigating and did nothing that
night - in the morning they went back to
the Donnelly homestead and discovered
the charred remains of the, family among
the ashes.
Now the question that has always
haunted historians and writers alike is
whether or not the Donnelly family
deserved their fate. While mus murders
involving enederanged murderer are not
uncommon, this mass murder was planned
and enacted by several respected members
of the Biddulph community, men who
undoubtedly occupied their family pew at
the next Sunday service .aad who tried to
continue their lives as if the Donnelly
murder was nothing more than a faintly
unpleasant interlude.
• GUILTY OR NOT?
The Donnellys of course, weren't
guiltleds, They had been implicated in a
number of court cases for both arson and
assault, and further arson eharges were
pending against James Donnelly aria his
wife Johannah at the time of their murder.
James was also a convicted Inurder er - he
had shot another Irishmen nai,ieo Pat
Farrell in 1857 -and for two years, hid in the
woods around, Lucan to avoid capture.
When he was finally apprehended, he was
sentenced to death:, hut his wife circulated
pentien among UM eommunItY asoing tOL
a, more lenient sentence. The •court
accepted the ,appeal, and James Donnelly
spent seven years in the •Kingston;
pen itentiatY. Joh!.alt •Donnelly, an iron -
willed woman if there ever was one, kept
her family together during those years,
and also raisecl an adopted child -the son,
of the man her husband had Wed,
gn the morning after the murder', when
Johnny O'Connor, burst into his home in
Logan with the news, Michael O'Connor,,
his father, immediately telegraphed •the
remaining survivors of the Donnelly family
Patrick, the son who lived in Thorold for
all his adult life, daughter Jenny Currie. in
Glencoe and another son Robert, who later '
moved back to Lucan and operated a hotel
• known as the West End, The police
authorities in London, the nearest centre of
justice, were also notified by telegram and
began their investigation immediately.
On Friday, Feb. 6, over 500' people
walked or rode in a procession of buggies
from the O'Connor home to St. Patrick's
Church - a testimony to the fact the-
Donnellys couldn't have been universally
hated in the community.
Father jem Connolly began the service
by saying, "My beloved brethen, you are
in the presence of the most solemn scene
that has ever been brought before the gaze
of humanity." He paused, started again by
saying "my 'heart is broken" and then
leaned on the altar and wept.
Meanwhile, Huron County newspapers
continued their coverage of the crime. The
Expositor even published six drawings of
some of the characters involved in the story
including Johannah (Judith) Donnelly,
constable James Carroll and even Father
Connolly, who some accused of actively
supporting the Biddulph Peace. Society.
The use of pictures in a newspaper,
particularly on the front page, were highly
unusual in the 1880's.•
•'REIGN OF TERROR'
An article printed the second week after •
the crime statesthe feuds in Biddulph had
continued "until the whole of that section
became either friends or fOes •of the
Donnellys, who, with, the usual readiness
and spirit of the Celt. resented Any insults*
slurs, either real nr imagined, by blows."
In a letter W :the editor, published the
same week. 40,nuonymous person: named
"0" demanded to know "How is it in a
land where a civilized Government 07iist.s,
matters have been allOwed W. go ,on as they
have been doing there for years pa st,
The writer adds he wouldn't have been
surprised to. see such a brutal crime in the
wilds of Texas or California, but not in.
1
13
Canada.
"I3ut1 think Mr. Editor, so far as that
portion of Biddulph is concerned all the
advantages it has enjoyed from being in
Canada have been very Small indeed." He
added it wal.a disgreee tothe "powers that
be" that a vigilante committee had to be
organized to carry out their forrn of justice,
"G'* then concluded, the authorities
were "most culpably negligent in allowing
a reign of terror to exist there SQ long."
Next Week; Will Donnelly and his Seaford*
connection and the triala of six vigilantes.,
[MacLean Flowers
will be closed
for holidays frorn
• August 1st to
September 4, 1979
CO:nittittteie meeting
Scum control needed
Necessity •of taking steps
to contrOl algae and scum on
• Silver Creek as it flows
• through Lions Park was
discussed at a meeting of the
parks committee Tuesday.
Committee Chairman
Darwin Bannerman told the
meeting approval in principal
• had been received from
• Wintario covering the
'renovation pregram, the first
• phase of which got underway
last year and this opened the
• possibility of having the river
• area dredged this fall.
The • application for
• Wintario assistance which
• went forward early in 1978
covered a series of
renovations at the park which
• were to be carried out as the
club was •able •to provide
• matching funds. The first
• phase a •new electrical
• service, new chlorinator and
facilities to provide heated
• water in the pool - was
carried out last year,
It had been intended to
• move forward with a further
phase this year but delay in
• Wintario clearance" neces-
sitated a postponement.
Referring to the condition
of the river Mr. Bannerman
saidi
. n previous yearsit had
been possible to contain the'
algae by spraying but this
year approval for spraying
Seaforth Girls' High School
Trumpet Band
• Firt rehearsal:
Wednesday, August 15th
7 p.m.
• Band Director: C. Kalbfleisch
• ..
• Smorgcs;bord
Supper
Seaforth. Legion Hall
AugUst12
. 5 p.m.
• Adults $5.00
Children tinder 12 $2.50 pre-schoolers free
SPONSORED. BY THE LEGION
LADIES AUXILIARY •
•
Seethe
NATIONAL EXHIBITION
Special Buses leave Bus Depot in DailyExcept
Su
GODERICH (Goderich Taxi) 71U5n5dAarMs 9n:d5a5yAs .t4it
• CLINTON. (Bartliff's Bakery) 820 10:20
• SEAFORTH (United Trails) •835 . 10:35
MITCHELL (Cosy Grill) 850' 10:50
$TRATFoRD (Gray Coach) 9:20 • 11:20
Fir r-
G cl eric h
Daily August 15 - Sept. 3
rvati
ns
a
Clinton
Mitchell
Stratford
Goderieh Tiiai Bartliff's Bakery United Trails Cosy Grill • United Trails
43 *Neat St. 46 Albert St. • 100 Main St, 25 Ontario Rd. 9 Market Pl-
524,260 482-9727 527.1222 348-8741 271-7741
Coach House TraVel ,
59A Hamilton St
524.2615 or call United Trails 527-1222
•
had been refused by the almost as soon as it c011ects.
Ministry of the Environment This means that while the
because. the stream
continued through into the
Seaforth Golf Club property
and in addition there are now
trout in the stream. Another
problem aggravating •the
algae condition is that the
water flow in the stream is
less each year. This in
turn results from additional The committee agreed to
farm drains which move investigate the feasibility of
water from the ground Cleaning Silver Creek this. fall
• stream may run in, flood on
occassion, during the rest Of
the,season mere,* no water
remaining in the area to
sustain a water flow. In-
creasing use of fertilizer too,
some of which is carried into
• the stream, encourages the
growth of algae..
Last Night Thurs., Aug. 9th
. • . . •
THE •
•
ITWILLE
• ORROR
WARNING Some
Scenes May
Frighten —
Theatres Branch'
natant') - -
Recommer-cred
ADULT ENTERTAINMENT
OM.
Starts Fri ay Aug. 10 - Aug. 16
Friday & Saturday Two Showing7 900
Sunday- Thursday One Showing. p.m.
A
ot11.11:i. .
E N
• —
*4--
%11:aril 1'4 /
• A °Mit TA NCE
ESTRICTED
TO PiDSON1
IS TtariS (T• #‘01,01 ova
In space no one can hear you scream
PARK
GODERICH
30 THE SouARE.
PHONE 524.78ll
AIRCONDITIONED
Program
sublect
to charier
to ensure the stream would
run free next summer. In
addition to • dredging the
• work would 'include repairs to
gabian baskets and to the
foot bridges as well work. on
• diversion drains and on the
dam abutments. •
The committee named Dr.
J.O.• Turnbull as -chairman to
succeed Mr. Bannerman who
• after a number of years in the
• office had indicated a wish to
• be relieved. ••
A VICIOUS GANG — The Black Donnellys Will ride again across the
• boards at the Blyth Memorial Hall. The cast- posed there. were, trying on •
the Huron County Jail at Goderich for size. The play `..`The Death of the
Donnellys" will open August 21. ,
1 •
Grey Township
Thursday, •August 16
8:30 p.m.
Ethel Community Hall
PURPOSE: To discuss the Grey
township secondary Plan
Grey Township Council
LiStb.
Ornamental Railings
T.
Wingharn, Ontario
*interior or exterior
*choice of colour & design
• *ornamental posts
*room dividers
*stair railings
•free installation
• Welding For Free Estimate
•• Call 357-2429
•
BOX OFFICE OPENS Al 13.30 P M
FIRST SHOW AT DUSK
For Information Phone:
482-7030
DRIVE-IN THEATRE
LIMITED
BEECH STREET-CLINTON
A IN UNTIL SAT. AUG. it
• 2ND FEATURE
CLINT
EASTWOOD
vr Loon, • ...an army of One.
ADULT ENTERTAINMENT ADULT ENTERTAINMENT
PLEASE NOTE: Complier.*intary Passes
not valid for Clint Eastwood shows.
SUN. AUG. 12 THRU TO TUE. AUG. 14
Everything happens
on the boulevard -
and the boulevard
happens at night.
•1410 DiflitA
trr
#
iTr trIT Tov,
0# TT,
• Tit
TO rn s
-, Tirol et #010#0#1,
. Starting Wednesday,
AutP0 la a torten, a walloper, a rouser, a screechier and
atonal VUrrJaItmovnIs were ss thrlflnn !would happil
spend all of my lime in the movies:" 8011 IT AIM' WRECK If-