Black Donnellys

James (March 7, 1816 – February 4, 1880) and Johannah (née Magee) Donnelly (September 22, 1823 – February 4, 1880) immigrated to Canada from Moneygall, County Tipperary, Ireland, with their first child, James Jr. (1842–1877), in 1842. After arriving in Canada, they settled as squatters in Biddulph Township in southwestern Ontario. They had seven more children: William Donnelly (1845–1897); John Donnelly (September 16, 1847 – February 4, 1880); Patrick Donnelly (1849–1914); Michael Donnelly (1850-1879), killed in a pub fight; Robert Donnelly (1853–1911); Thomas Donnelly (August 30, 1854 – February 4, 1880); and Jennie "Jane" Donnelly (1857–1917). James's niece, Bridget Donnelly (May 1, 1858 – February 4, 1880) also lived with them. Land title dispute The property the Donnellys settled on originally belonged to the Canada Company which sold it in turn to James Grace. Patrick Farrell had leased part of the lot occupied by the Donnellys. In 1856, owner John Grace brought an action for ejectment in the Court of Common Pleas of Huron County. Squatting was a common North American frontier practice often supported by the courts in the establishment of common law property rights. The judge, recognizing the improvements Donnelly had made to the land during his ten-year occupancy, split the lot, awarding Donnelly the north and Farrell the south. James was sentenced to be hanged on September 17, 1859. A petition for clemency started by his wife Johannah caused his sentence to be reduced to seven years in Kingston Penitentiary. Donnelly Stagecoach Line The Donnelly Stagecoach Line is believed to have been started May 24, 1873, by William Donnelly, and was a huge success. The line of stages, which ran between London, Lucan, and Exeter, was operated by William and his brothers Michael, John, and Thomas, even rivaling the official mail stage that had been in business since 1838. The Hawkshaw stage line soon felt the pressure of competition from the Donnellys. In October 1873, Hawkshaw sold his stage to Patrick Flanagan, a husky Irishman, who was determined to drive the Donnellys out of business. This set the stage for the feud between the Donnelly Stagecoach and the Flanagan & Crawly Stage — the Stagecoach Feud, as it came to be known. Stages were smashed and burned; horses were savagely beaten and killed; and stables burned to the ground. The violence in the Stagecoach Feud was mostly blamed on the Donnellys. This gave the family a bad reputation, and almost every crime committed later was blamed on the family. Although they were charged with numerous crimes, "few convictions were secured against them". Familiarity with the law In the buildup towards the murder of the family, the Donnellys became well acquainted with local law enforcement. There are various accounts of assault, arson, trespassing, verbal assault, attempted murder, murder of Patrick Farrell, theft, robbery, assaulting a police officer, as well as various altercations with many residents of the Biddulph Township. The Donnellys were not found guilty of everything of which they were accused but through their actions they made many enemies within the township. This seems to indicate that the Donnellys were a constant source of strife and destruction in their community, but these types of crimes were common for the county in which they lived. It was not just the men of the family who would get into altercations with the law as Johannah was noted to swear at officers quite often, specifically Constable Carroll. Biddulph Peace Society vigilantes In June 1879, Father John Connolly created a Peace Society/Association in Biddulph. He asked everyone who attended St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church to pledge their support. Both members and supporters of the society agreed to have their homes searched for stolen property, but the Donnellys refused to sign the pledge. The Vigilance Committee formed out of the Peace Society. Evidence indicates that The Biddulph Peace Society or some of its individual members may have been responsible for some of the arson, property damage, and physical violence cases in Biddulph. The Peace Society used vigilantism, however, as means to enforce the traditional code of silence and the other unwritten social rules of Irish culture, which the Donnelly family were never shy about violating. For example, at a time when the religious persecution of the Catholic Church in Ireland was still in living memory, Fr. John Connolly was reported to be preaching anti-Protestantism from the pulpit when James Donnelly stood up, denounced the priest for his sermon, and said his family would from that time on attend the Catholic parish in London, Ontario. This was because the Donnelly family had many Protestant friends who later attended their funeral. When the Tithe War was still a recent memory among many local residents and the Land War was taking place against Protestant Anglo-Irish landlords in Ireland, James Donnelly donated money towards the establishment of a local Anglican Church in Canada parish. This further outraged the Biddulph Peace Society and many other local residents in the process, but less so than the Donnelly family's past and present use of both violence and intimidation. In August 1879, a militant splinter group of the Peace Society began covert meetings at the Cedar Swamp Schoolhouse in Biddulph. Constable James Carroll was part of the splinter group, as were many other local Irish-Canadians with long lists of grievances against the Donnelly family. This group became known as the Vigilance Committee / Society, which was later blamed for the massacre of the Donnelly family. ==Massacre==

Members of the Vigilance Committee allegedly gathered at the Cedar Swamp Schoolhouse late in the evening of February 3, 1880, before proceeding to the Donnelly homestead. William Donnelly survived and was listed as the informant on the death certificates for all five, dated April 1 and 2, 1880, with the cause of death listed as "supposed to be murdered." Cause for attack There were many feuds associated with the reason behind the death of the Donnellys, however, what is considered to be the "final straw" was the belief that the Donnellys committed arson against Patrick Ryder's barn. After the fire, some members of the community had had "enough" of the Donnellys and decided to take the law into their own hands once they heard that there was no supporting evidence linking the Donnellys to the burning of the barn. This news reached the congregation of St. Patrick's Church and the priest addressed that an "evil had fallen among the community" and offered a reward of C$500 for the "detection of the wicked persons" and he vowed that the "guilty party" would be punished for the crime of arson. Weapons list Firearms, pitchfork (Tom Ryder), axe (Purtell), shovel (Pat Quigley and Tim Toohey), clubs and shortened wooden stake made of cordwood. The original plan was to handcuff the Donnelly men, escort them from the homestead, where they would be hanged from a tree until they confessed their many violent crimes against their neighbors. However, one of the problems with their plan was that no one really knew how this could be properly executed. Therefore, the plan was to be changed when they arrived on the Donnelly property. Jim Feeheley would visit the Donnelly house earlier in the night as a distraction and to get an understanding on the type of situation they would be encountering that night. There were some more problems associated with these plans such as the fact that the society had not planned on Donnelly leaving the Donnelly home and taking his horse to Big Jim Keefe. The society thought Keefe was spying for them; and finally, they also did not expect hired farmhand Johnny O’Connor to be inside the house during the night chosen for the attack. In the morning, James Donnelly sat down at the kitchen table with his son, Tom, and asked him to write a letter to Alderman Edmund Meredith, the London lawyer who was going to be handling the Donnelly's case against Patrick Ryder. He wrote; Once the letter was delivered, the day carried on as it normally would; at roughly 4 o'clock Johnny, James and Jim returned to their house on Roman Line. This timeframe was given by William Casey because he stated that he remembered the sound of the Donnellys speeding down Roman Line and that they were being "reckless." Casey stopped what he was doing in the front yard to bear witness to this recklessness and took note of the time at which they passed by his home. They had picked up Johnny O'Connor from town, because James Donnelly needed assistance on the farm; this was a normal occurrence. When the chores were completed it was Mr. Donnelly that insisted that Johnny O'Connor stay the night and to sleep in Mr. Donnelly's bed as a form of protection as well as the bed was extremely big. As the Donnellys were getting ready for bed, Feeheley stopped by to say "hello" before returning home from Whalen's. The men used the liquor as a way to numb their senses as well as use it as a way to enhance their courage and their motivation. Carroll walked into the room and slowly took the handcuffs out of his pocket (these were given to him by the Constable Hodgins) and handcuffed Tom Donnelly while he was still asleep. Once Tom Donnelly was handcuffed, Carroll proclaimed that "he was under arrest," just as Tom sat up in bed along with Ms. Donnelly and Bridget Donnelly due to all the commotion. Johnny was terrified and he hid under Mr. Donnelly's bed. Since the attackers were not expecting him to be there that night, they did not know to look for him and prevent him serving as a witness. A group of men went upstairs and found Bridget hiding and they beat her. When she was limp, they brought her down the stairs to where the rest of her family were lying. Johnny O'Connor Originally the massacre was not intended to have any witnesses, however the Peace Society did not intend for Johnny O’Connor to be at the Donnelly's farmhouse and for him to escape the fire. The O’Connors were considered to be good friends of the Donnellys and assisted them regularly with chores around their farm; the mob did not take this into consideration when planning their attack. However, the difference was that the men were not as relaxed as they were at the beginning of their rampage so they decided to try to get Will Donnelly to come out of the house, instead of storming it. They attempted to do this by beating his prized stallion in order to lure him out of the house in response to the dying screams of his horse. The problem was that the stables were so far from the home and no one inside was able to hear what was going on outside. Jim Ryder called for "Will!" while carrying a shotgun to the side door of the house. "There's been enough bloodshed tonight boys. Let's go home." These words spoken by Jim Feeheley ended the massacre, which would have continued to Big Jim Keefe's house. There were two trials in London, Ontario, at the courthouse on Ridout Street. ==First trial==

The preliminary hearings started on February 4, 1880, at McLean's Hotel in Lucan, Ontario. There were three preliminary hearings leading up to the first trial in October 1880. The vigilantes harassed not only the father, but also Johnny's mother, Mary: while she was in London, on one occasion when she passed Patrick "Grouchy" Ryder on the street, he threatened and insulted her. She laid a charge against him of using abusive language. At his court appearance, fellow vigilantes swore that he was in Biddulph at the time of the alleged infraction, and this led to his discharge. Young Johnny was not deterred from testifying by any of the group's activities. The trial took place on Monday, October 4, 1880, in London, Ontario, with James Carrol being charged with the murder of Johannah Donnelly. The crown prosecutor was Aemilius Irving assisted by James MaGee; the defense consisted of Hugh MacMahon, William Meredith and John Blake. The two key witnesses were Johnny O’Connor and William Donnelly. Johnny O’Connor's testimony ran, in part: Tom told him to read the warrant: Carroll said there was lots of time for that: then in a few minutes a whole crowd jumped in and commenced hammering them with sticks and spade; then Tom ran out into the front room and outside: I saw him run out and Bridget ran upstairs and I ran after her and she shut the door and I ran back again in the room and got under the bed behind the clothes basket: then they started hammering Tom outside: the bed was about two feet and an inch high from the floor and no curtains about the bottom of the bed: they carried Tom in the house again: I heard them throw him down on the floor, and heard the handcuffs rattling or whatever they had on his hand: then someone said, "Hit that fellow with a spade and break his skull open." Then the fellow hit his three or four whacks with the spade: when Tom was outside I heard him say, "Oh! Oh! Oh!" I did not see them hit Tom with the spade, but heard them; then some of them told the fellow that had the light to bring it here to where Tom was: he brought the light and they were doing something to Tom: they were standing round him: I saw the standing round him: then I saw Thomas Ryder and John Purtell standing near the room door, the bedroom door; then some of them asked where was the girl; another one answered, "Look upstairs"; then they went upstairs and saw some of them too, but did not know any of them; then they came down: I heard nothing going on upstairs, and poured coal oil on the bed and set it on fire; it was the bed I was under; I heard someone say that oil would burn off the blanket, and wouldn’t burn at all; then they all run out when they set fire to it; then I got out from under the bed and put on my pants and tried to quench the fire with my coat; I hit the fire with my coat: I then heard Tom breathing, then I went out to the front room and saw Tom dead on the floor; then I ran out to the kitchen and tramped on the old women; there was a light from the fire in my bed, also from Tom’s bed: the door of Tom’s room was open, and the door from the front room into the kitchen: the old women was lying between the door from the front room into the kitchen and the kitchen door going outside; I then ran out and went over to Whalen’s, Pat Whalen, and rapped at Whalen’s door. He then went to explain what James Carroll, Thomas Ryder and John Purtell were wearing that night. "Purtell had dark clothes, Ryder a peaked cap, and Carroll had grey pants; their faces were not blackened: I saw one man with his face blackened, and a long coat on, a middling sized man; Carroll saw me in bed, he looked right at me, and I saw him looking right at me for a while; he did not speak to me: I did not see anyone strike the Donnellys, I only heard them." William Donnelly was another key witness for the prosecution. Here is his testimony. I was disturbed about half past two by John coming out of his room through my room to the kitchen; he couldn’t go to the kitchen without going through my room; I didn’t speak to John, he said I wonder whose hollering fire and rapping the door, he kept right on and opened the door; when John opened the door going into the kitchen from my room, I heard them holler, "Fire! Fire! Open the door Will!" I heard them shouting as soon as I was thoroughly awakened; I heard the door opened; I then heard two shots in rapid succession almost together; John fell back against the door from my bedroom to the kitchen; the distance between the kitchen door and my bedroom is about six or seven feet; his head came down to the jam of the door; I was lying next to the door with the glass top: my wife was sleeping on the outside: there is a stove close to the bed: I turned the side of the blind and looked out: I saw John Kennedy, James Carroll and James Ryder: they were partly in front of the glass window: Kennedy was standing where his name is now marked on the plan about three feet from the door: James Carroll and James Ryder were standing where their names are written on the plan about nine feet from my window: I saw three others outside of the fence, near to the little gate: I calculated that they were Wm. Carroll, Patrick Ryder Jr., and Michael Heenan: I couldn’t swear positively to them; I don’t speak positively as to them; I speak positively as to John Kennedy, James Carroll and James Ryder; these persons are well known to me. The defence witnesses were friends and family of the vigilante community, and backed the stories and alibis of each of the members that stood trial. John Purtell, one of the prisoners stated that he was not a member of the committee and had never attended any of the meetings. Instead he was a hired man of James McGrath's and lived with him and never left the house that night. James and his father Matthew backed his story. Prisoner Thomas Ryder said he was a brother of Patrick "Grouchy" Ryder and that he spent the night at home playing cards with his brother-in-law Valentine Mackey, his brother James Ryder Sr., and James Toohey. Those named agreed that they played cards and went home to their own places. After a four and a half hour parley, the foreman of the jury announced that there was no chance of an agreement on a final verdict. One juror declared that he would not have convicted Carroll even if he had seen the killings himself. Another said he did not want to convict Carroll on Johnny O’Connor's word alone. The rest voted for acquittal out of fear for the dozens of others involved. In the end, one jury member was undecided, seven wanted to acquit, and four wanted to convict, resulting in a hung jury. ==Second trial==

The second trial of James Carroll was overseen by Justice Matthew Crook Cameron, who was described as an "old Tory mugwump" and past leader of the Ontario Conservative Party. Like Justice J.W. Meredith, he steered the trial to ensure an acquittal of Carroll on February 2, 1881. James Reaney compares the two trials, noting how much smaller the second one seemed and that it lacked the legal conjecture and maneuvering that had marked the first trial. Before the trial the lawyers for both sides, Irving and Hutchinson, agreed to keep the trial date close to the New Year so that the jury pool would not have time to be tainted by either side. Nevertheless, the jury consisted entirely of Protestants ruling on an Irish Catholic defendant. The lawyers also agreed to drop William Donnelly's testimony about the death at Whalen's Corners, as it was decided it would not be necessary until the potential trials of five other defendants, which would only take place if James Carroll were convicted. Even Crown prosecutor Charles Hutchinson had written to Aemilius Irving stating that trying to secure a guilty verdict was a "waste of time and money," because of the widespread negative feelings toward the Donnellys throughout Middlesex County. ==Legacy==

The publication of Thomas Kelley's The Black Donnellys in 1954 generated much interest in the case. The family tombstone, with the inscription "murdered" was the focus of curiosity and vandalism. Public access to the St. Patrick's Cemetery was denied. Remaining descendants of Donnelly family eventually chose to have the original tombstone replaced. Today the Donnellys are widely known in Canadian folklore, and the story of their murder is told throughout Canadian and American farming communities. However, despite the popularity of the Donnelly story throughout North America, the inhabitants of Lucan and Biddulph Township have tried to suppress the subject. Up until recently, even among those who were born and raised in the Lucan area, many had never heard the story of the Donnelly massacre until they were adults. Oral accounts of the murders were purportedly suppressed locally due to the number of residents who had ancestors who were directly involved in the circumstances. In recent years, several newcomers to the area have started businesses centred on the Donnelly story, creating tourism venues for visitors fascinated by the events surrounding their deaths, much to the dismay of older inhabitants. One of the more well known of these myths is that of the Midnight Lady who supposedly rides up and down the Roman Line every February 4. Another is that the ghosts of the murdered family members can be seen floating in the fields near the murder site and that horses will not ride past the former Donnelly homestead after midnight. Ray Fazakas best illustrates the situation in his book, when he states that despite the fact that the Donnellys have been removed from Biddulph, they have managed to remain alive thanks to Canadian folklore. ==Lucan Area Heritage & Donnelly Museum==

While for many years the story of the Donnelly massacre was suppressed in the town of Lucan, in 1995 the Lucan and Area Heritage Society formed to celebrate the heritage of the Lucan area by gathering local, historical artifacts. Over the next few years, interest in the area's heritage increased within the community, and so the collection continued to grow. In 1998, the museum acquired an 1850s log cabin with a very similar floor plan to that of the Donnelly homestead, making it a dramatic setting for visitors to hear the retelling of the Donnelly story, and visualize the tragic events that occurred in the early morning hours of February 4, 1880. The Lucan Area Heritage Society, District Lions Club, and Township of Lucan Biddulph raised over $600,000 for the construction of a new museum building after the University of Western Ontario identified the need for a new museum to spur economic growth in the community. This building reached completion in 2008, and opened to the public in 2009. The new Lucan Area Heritage & Donnelly Museum now highlights the Ray Fazakas Donnelly Collection, rotating exhibits, the "Donnelly Log Cabin", and the Hearn barn, which displays a variety of artifacts relating to agriculture in Biddulph in the past 150 years. ==Cultural references==

In the 1970s, the history of the Donnelly family and their tragic end was portrayed in a trilogy of plays, each in three acts, written by James Reaney. The trilogy includes Sticks and Stones, The St. Nicholas Hotel and Handcuffs. The plays were born from Reaney's "Listeners' Workshops," a process by which a work was created from actions and images. Sticks and Stones premiered at the Tarragon Theatre, November 24, 1973. Stompin' Tom Connors wrote two songs in reference to the Donnelly family: "The Black Donnellys' Massacre" and "Jenny Donnelly", the latter of which was covered by Chantal Vitalis. The Donnellys are mentioned in Steve Earle's 1990 song "Justice in Ontario", comparing the conviction of six motorcycle gang members in a murder in Port Hope, Ontario, to the massacre of the Donnellys by unpunished assailants, as examples of unequal justice. Gene MacLellan sings a song called "Death of the Black Donnellys", released on his 1997 posthumous album Lonesome River, which refers to the Donnellys as Satan's spawn and their killers "...send them back to Hell". In the 1980s, the London, Ontario, punk band The Black Donnellys formed, taking their name from this infamous feud. In 2005, Chris Doty wrote The Donnelly Trials, a play he based on the court script where twelve members of the audience become the jury deciding the fate of the defendants with the script providing two separate endings for either a "Guilty" or "Not Guilty" verdict. The play was performed in the same courtroom in which the actual trial took place. In 2007, an NBC television series entitled The Black Donnellys followed the lives of four Irish brothers and their entrance into organized crime in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. The title is a homage to the infamous family, though the show is otherwise not related to the historical Donnellys. In 2012, on October 26 and 27, the Waterford Heritage and Agricultural Museum hosted Moonlight & Mayhem ~ The Murder of Michael Donnelly. This was an outdoor, after dark, theatrical production recreating the gruesome murder of Michael Donnelly which happened at the Commercial Hotel in Waterford. It was a guided walking tour presented twice nightly. In 2013, The Donnellys ran from April 11 until April 20. It was presented by the Owen Sound Little Theatre at the Roxy Theatre in Owen Sound, Ontario. It was a musical drama by Peter Colley and directed by Corry Lapointe. In 2015, running from March 7 to 29 at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Catalyst Theatre's production of Vigilante, Jonathan Christenson as writer/director/composer/lyricist. The play is also touring in early 2017. In 2017 it was filmed by Aaron Huggett in Ontario, Canada, screenings will be in October 2017. ==References in books and plays==

• • Stage play. • • • • • • • • Stage play. • • Reaney, James. (1974-1975). The Donnelly Trilogy. • ==See also==