The "Black" Donnellys were an Irish Catholic immigrant family who settled in Biddulph township, Upper Canada (later the province of Ontario), about 25 km northwest of London, in the 1840s. The family settled on a concession road which became known as the Roman Line due to its high concentration of Irish Catholic immigrants in the predominantly Protestant area. Many Irish Canadians arrived in the 19th century, many fleeing the Great Famine of Ireland (1845–52). Longstanding and violent feuds between the Donnellys and their neighbours culminated in a vigilante mob attacking the Donnelly homestead on 4 February 1880. The mob killed five of the Donnelly family and burned their farmhouse to the ground. No one was convicted of the murders, despite two trials and a reliable eyewitness.
Information about the family and the events surrounding their deaths was suppressed locally for much of the 20th century, due to many residents possibly having ancestors who were involved. In 1995 the Lucan and Area Heritage Society formed to document and preserve local history, and the organization opened the Lucan Area Heritage & Donnelly Museum in 2009.
History
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.Pettit, Jennifer, and Street, Kori. "Heaven and Hell on Earth: The Massacre of The "Black Donnellys", Mount Royal College, 2006
Land title dispute The property the Donnellys settled on had 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.J.J. Talman Regional Collection, University of Western Ontario Archives, Reaney Papers, Box 23 (B1309), File 7B, Unknown, Court of Common Pleas, Ejectment Notice for James Donnelly from John Grace, May 26, 1856. 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.
Despite the settlement, hard feelings remained. At a barn raising bee on Saturday, June 27, 1857, James Donnelly and Farrell fought. There are various accounts of what transpired, but in the end Farrell suffered a blow to the head from a handspike thrown by Donnelly, and died two days later. James Donnelly then went into hiding. Almost two years later, James turned himself in to Jim Hodgins, a sympathetic Justice of the Peace.Pettit, Jennifer, and Kori Street, Kori. "Settling In and Early Troubles." Heaven and Hell on Earth: The Massacre of The"Black Donnellys" Mount Royal College, 2006. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. 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 rivalling 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,J.J. Talman Regional Collection, University of Western Ontario Archives, Donnelly Family Papers, B4877, File 9, Unknown, Queen vs. James Donnelly et al., Assault and Wounding Joseph Berryhill, September 20, 1875. arson,J.J. Talman Regional Collection, University of Western Ontario Archives, Donnelly Family Papers, B4877, File 14, Unknown, Queen vs. Thomas Donnelly et al., Arson, Patrick Flanagan's Stables, March 11, 1876. trespassing,J.J. Talman Regional Collection, University of Western Ontario Archives, Donnelly Family Papers, B4877, File 29, Unknown, "John Donnelly Complaint, Trespass on His Land," September 10, 1879. verbal assault,J.J. Talman Regional Collection, University of Western Ontario Archives, Donnelly Family Papers, B4877, File 25, Unknown, John Donnelly vs. James Carroll, Threats to Shoot, October 14, 1878. attempted murder, murder of Patrick Farrell,J.J. Talman Regional Collection, University of Western Ontario Archives, Donnelly Family Papers, B4877, File 3, John Hyndman, Information of Witnesses and Inquisition, Queen vs. James Donnelly, Murder of Patrick Farrell, June 28, 1857. theft,J.J. Talman Regional Collection, University of Western Ontario Archives, Donnelly Family Papers, B4877, File 8, Unknown, Queen vs. James Donnelly Jr., Complaint of Thomas Gibbs, Theft, April 11, 1875. robbery,J.J. Talman Regional Collection, University of Western Ontario Archives, Donnelly Family Papers, B4877, File 11, Unknown, Queen vs. Thomas Donnelly et al, Assault and Robbery Against James Curry, December 14, 1875. assaulting a police officer,J.J. Talman Regional Collection, University of Western Ontario Archives, Donnelly Family Papers, B4877, File 26, Unknown, James Carroll vs. Donnellys, Assault, October 16, 1878. as well as various altercations with many residents of 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.Pettit, Jennifer, Dr, and Kori Street, Dr. "Peace Society/Association." Heaven and Hell on Earth: The Massacre of The"Black Donnellys Mount Royal College, 2006. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. 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.Pettit, Jennifer, Dr, and Kori Street, Dr. "Vigilance Committee." Heaven and Hell on Earth: The Massacre of The "Black Donnellys Mount Royal College, 2006. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
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. The mob killed five of the Donnelly family and burned their farmhouse to the ground. Killed were James and Johanna, their sons John and Thomas, and their niece Bridget. William Donnelly survived and was listed as the informant on the death certificates for all five,Archives of Ontario - Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Registrations of Deaths, 1869-1934. MS 935, 496 reels. Roll: MS935_25. Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada. 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.Ray Fazakes, The Donnelly Album: The Complete and Authentic Account (Toronto: The Macmillan Company, 1997), 238.
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.Fazakes, The Donnelly Album, 238. 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.
There were many considerations as to what was the right form of punishments; some residents believed arranging for the Donnellys to face fines and jail time would be acceptable. However, others believed that summary execution would be a better form of punishment.
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