Mountain Paranormal
The Black Donnellys
Photos and Article By Leanne Pluthero
Mountain Paranormal Investigator and Researcher
The 2nd Donnelly tombstone.
The original tombstone with the word "MURDERED" that was erected by St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church.
The remaining family had the original replaced in 1964.
It was a very snowy night 131 years ago, shortly after midnight on Feb 4th 1880, when Martin Hogan, along with brothers John and William Donnelly, head to bed with no knowledge of what is about to take place a few hours from then.
William climbs into bed with his loving wife of 5 years, while his brother and friend sleep in the room adjacent from them. Only a few streets over, an hour later, a mob of enraged neighbors will forever change the history on the Roman Line. The first man of the vigilance committee to enter the Donnelly's homestead was James Carroll, who has had an outstanding feud for the past 2 years with the infamous Black Donnelly's. Carroll then handcuffs the first person he sees which is Tom Donnelly, the youngest son of James and Johannah . While Carroll is handcuffing Tom, his mother Johannah and cousin Bridget awake from the sounds of struggling in the next room. James Donnelly is awakened in the front room when several men of the committee enter to kill him. A local lad, Johnny, who was helping the Donnelly's with their cattle was also staying there that night. He tried to escape upstairs when Bridget shut the door in his face. He then hid under the closest bed he could find. Tom then attempted to run outside while still handcuffed, but failed when some of the crew dragged him back inside. Meanwhile, other crew members are upstairs find and kill Bridget Donnelly. The hostile group then spreads coal oil and sets fire to the home which the Donnelly's have fought for as their land for the past 36 years. While the home is up in flames with the family inside burning, Johnny escapes out the back and runs to the closet house of Patrick Whalen where he explains he just watched the death of four Donnelly's. They then wait a few hours and return to the scene, where the house is completely engulfed in flames. Just as they arrive Bridget's burning body falls from the top level of the home into the snow that has accumulated since Johnny fled. Shortly after murdering Bridget, Tom, Johannah and James Donnelly, the committee makes their way to where the other Donnelly sons are sleeping, with no idea the rest of their family has been killed. They approach William Donnelly's home just after 2am, they surround the home and start yelling "fire." John is the first to awake, he opens the front door where he is mistaken for his older brother and shot to death. The satisfied committee of men walk away with smiles on their faces, knowing they just ended one of the longest bloodiest battles. While John's bleeding body is left on the front porch, Martin Hogan, William and his wife Nora hide inside.
The Roman Line - Lucan, Ontario, Canada
Even back 131 years ago, news traveled fast of the murders and people started to show up to what is left of the gruesome scene to see the remains of the murdered victims. Some scavenges look for souvenirs in the snow. Police then arrive and search for what remains they can find and put everything into one casket. Two days later a funeral is held for James, Johannah, Bridget, Thomas and John Donnelly. Father Connelly delivers a very controversial funeral service. The community is then left to either celebrate or mourn the death of the Black Donnellys.
So, how did this family get the name Black Donnelly's? Its dated back to 1844 when James and Johannah Donnelly moved to Upper Canada and built a house on Lot 18, Concession 6, where they begin to raise there two sons. After building a home for themselves for the past 10 years and also adding another five sons to the household, trouble is started. John Grace sells 50 acres of Lot 18 to Michael Maher while the Donnelly's are still living on this Lot. John Grace then tries to eject the Donnelly clan from half of Lot 18, which only mad the Donnelly's mad. Michael Maher did not want any trouble and sold the Donnelly's the southern half of his land. In 1857 James Donnelly is helping at a local Logging Bee, where he kills Patrick Farrell with a hand spike. James returns home where his wife demands he goes into hiding. A $400 reward is offered in his capture. Not even a year after the only daughter in the Donnelly clan is born, James turns himself into authorities. Convicted of murder, he is then sentenced to be executed. Johannah will do anything to stop her husband from execution and she gathers others for a petition that the father of her eight children will have his sentence reduced to seven years. James Donnelly is sent to Kingston to serve his time there, while at home a small portion of their land is sold to build a small schoolhouse for their children.
Seven years later, in 1865, James Donnelly returns to his family from Kingston Penitentiary. This is the start to the trouble the Donnelly boys will cause. In 1869, William is charged with larceny at the age of 24. Not long after William is in trouble with the law again. This time, with the oldest son James Jr., they are charged with robbing the post office in Granton. By 1870 most of the Donnelly boys have established themselves in careers. James Jr. moved to Michigan. Patrick trains in Wagon/ Carriage making and marries Mary Ryan who died shortly after they got married. He then gets remarried to another lady named Mary where they have five children of their own. John manages a saloon in Lucan. He elopes with Frances Derham but the marriage only lasts a few short months. The three youngest Donnelly boys, Robert, Michael and Thomas, help farm on another property in Biddulph. William continues to help out on his parents farm before the battle of the Stage Line begins.
In 1873 the fight between William Donnelly and Will Brooks, who works for the John Hawkshaw Stage Line, begins. William opens his own Stage Line where brothers Michael, Robert and Thomas also join forces and drive stages. While this battle is going on, William falls in love with Margaret Thompson and asks for her hand in marriage. However, her father has her shipped away so that the marriage does not take place. By this time, the Donnelly boys were very well known for their outrageous actions towards people. After Margaret's father shipped her away, letters started to show up for William asking him to come and get her. William and friends search the Thompson household for Margaret. They also search the neighbor Ellen Fogarty's house. The group of men are charged.
The Donnelly homestead as it stands today.
The barn and the house were rebuilt in 1881 by William. The foundation of the barn is original.
After a few years of working in the Stage Line business, the Donnelly boys are guilty of burning down many other carriages and also killing horses. Patrick Flanagan opens another rival Stage Line to get back at the Donnelly boys. Further to that, Michael, James Jr. and Robert have been squatting on Lot 26, and in 1874 they are ejected and Joseph Carswell is awarded the land. Once Joseph takes over the land he soon suffers from fires and deaths of his animals.
William Donnelly manages to find another love and marries Nora Kennedy. This angers members of the Kennedy family, such as brother-in-law Rhody and John Kennedy. Shortly after the wedding, James Jr. is charged with stealing from and assaulting Thomas Gibbs, a fruit vender. He is then convicted of assault not theft.
Towards the end of 1875 one of Flanagan's stages is destroyed. William Brooks, the Stage Driver for Flanagan, is killed when a wheel falls off his coach. Many suspect the damage was sabotage. Robert McLeod, who also drives for Flanagan, cuts off the Donnelly Stage, causing passengers to fall out of the carriage. Flanagan's and Crawley's Stables are, in turn, burned to the ground. Late in the year Flanagan is beaten and another one of his Stages are burned. The Donnelly boys also fight with Rhody Kennedy, who blames them for the fires. The Donnelly's are acquitted and Kennedy is charged with perjury. Flanagan starts the year 1876 off by giving up on the Stage business and letting Crawley continue with Richard Bryant. Crawley hires Peter McKeller who has an altercation with the Donnelly's. Michael is convicted of threatening the life of McKeller. Later that year Hugh McKinnon, a private detective, comes to Lucan and works with Constables John Bawden, John Coursey and John Reid. They all show up at Thomas Ryder's wedding to arrest the Donnelly boys for a variety of crimes. A riot then breaks out, shots are fired, the Donnelly's escape and a group of townspeople go and search for them. Many people start to come forward to press charges against the Donnelly's.
On May 15th 1877, the Donnelly clan gathers together to mourn the death of James Jr. The family says he has died from an illness as others report he was shot and killed. After the death of James Jr., the violence in Lucan increases. The Donnelly's stables and stages are burned, as is Michael's home. Lucan appoints Samual Everett as a village constable. The Donnelly's are often blamed for many crimes, but there is very seldom any proof.
Two years before the death of the Donnelly's, trouble starts between James Carroll and the family when Carroll charges them with assault. He also charges Johannah with using abusive language. The Donnelly's fire back and charge him with trying to shoot Johannah Donnelly. Robert gets sent to Kingston to serve two years after firing a shot at Constable Samuel Everett.
In 1879 things start to change for Lucan. Father John Connolly arrives at the St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church. He hears many stories about the Donnelly's and forms negative judgment before even meeting the family. In June Father Connelly creates a peace society. By August, this group begins meeting at the Cedar Swamp Schoolhouse. James Carroll is part of the group, as are many of the neighbors of the Donnelly's. They become known as the Vigilance Committee. Not to long after the creation of the committee, a cow goes missing from William Thompson's farm. The committee searched the Donnelly's farm for the cow, but the cow is later found at home. The Donnelly's find out it was a set up and have the group charged with trespassing.
The Donnely Museum - Lucan, Ontario, Canada
Shortly after the cow incident, James Carroll is made Constable. He promises to rid the township of the Donnelly's. Some of the neighbor's become very nervous over associating with the Donnelly's in the past. Once again the Donnelly's gather together on Dec, 9th to mourn another death in the family, this time Michael Donnelly gets killed in St Thomas after a squabble with William Lewis. As of 1879 only five of the Donnelly sons remain alive.
On Jan, 15th 1880, the barns of Patrick Ryder are burned down. That night Thomas, John and William are at a wedding, so the committee looks to blame James Sr. and Johannah for the fire. By this time James Sr. was 64 years old and his wife was 56. They complained that the Donnelly's are unfairly "blamed for everything." Their trial begins at the end of Jan, and is scheduled to reconvene on Feb, 4th. In the early afternoon of Feb, 3rd the committee holds a meeting at the Cedar Swamp Schoolhouse. They speak to James Feeheley and ask him to spy on the Donnelly's later that night. By mid afternoon that same day the Donnelly family is busy preparing themselves to attend their trial for the burning of the Ryder barn. They fetch Johnny O'Corror, a 13 year old neighbor, to take care of the animals. Just before dark on Feb, 3rd John Donnelly leaves the family homestead and goes to Williams house to borrow a sleigh to take the family to court the next day. He stays the night at his brother's house along with friend Martin Hogan. Back at the Donnelly's, Tom and Johnny care for the animals, eat some dinner and spend the evening with Johannah, James Sr. and their niece Bridget from Ireland.
James Sr. decides to go to bed and takes Johnny with him in the front room. James Feeheley arrives and talks with Thomas, Bridget and Johannah. Feeheley assumes that Johnny O'Corror is John Donnelly. Feeheley leaves and Tom retires to the bedroom off the back of the kitchen. Bridget and Johannah sleep together in the room next to James Sr. Shortly before midnight on Feb, 3rd the Vigilance Committee gathers at the Cedar Swamp Schoolhouse. Shortly after that... they then proceed down the Roman Line.
Leanne Pluthero
Feb. 1, 2010
Also check out WWW.DONNELLY.COM - The Official Donnelly Homepage.
The Donnelly Museum -Lucan, Ontario, Canada
