The Bloody Vendetta of Southern Illinois

by Milo Erwin, Milo Erwin

Book by Jon Musgrave

Genres: History, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book about a vendetta - or feud - that took place in Southern Illinois in the 1870s. Two families of different political views came to head over a card game, a crop of oats that they were swindled out of, and the heart of a young lady. The killing began soon after, most of it along the current route 13 corridor. This book really is a forgotten story about Williamson County and a good yarn involving shysters, the Ku Klux Klan, crooked politicians, and more. It sounds like a good read, but unfortunately, it is not. The book is mainly written by a lawyer who was hired to defend certain participants in the vendetta and it shows. The book is full of opinion and flowery prose that doesn't ring well with the modern reader. It also reads more like a journal of events rather than a record of the vendetta. And some of the phrasing and verbiage doesn't read at all. Add in a pantheon of characters and an unclear account of events and you are left with a book better used as reference material than a gripping read. Shame, because this is a story that should be better known and is full of places and names that may be familiar to people currently living in Southern Illinois but this book is more a quick read full of flaws than a book that will grab the attention of the modern reader.

[Kathleen D · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a history of southern Illinois from the end of the Civil War to the 1920s and it's not pretty.

People lived brutish lives; murders (called assassinations inn the book) occurred frequently and often without justice being done.

And if that's not enough: the Klu Klux Klan was prominent in Illinois' southern counties at that time.

It's a mind opening account of life in rural America during that time.

[Matthew Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the history. It was a slow read because of the writing style. It is in a genuine voice but reading in the style from 150 years ago is not my favorite thing. Still I’m glad I read it to learn more from this period

[Gayle Kee · Rating 4 out of 5]

really good book of southern Illinois

[Alan Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting history of a largely unknown epoch in the history of Williamson County in Southern Illinois. In the decade or so after the Civil War, three families in the county killed a dozen or so members of the other families. Unclear what got the whole dispute going, but the assassination of one of the patriarchs kicked it into high gear.

Add into this violent mixture a dash of Klan, some remaining enmity from the Civil War (Williamson County is only a few miles from the confederacy, and many families were split apart by taking different sides in the war), and at least one criminal gang. Some of those gang members ended up on the grand juries, at least one of the prosecutors was in league with one of the families. Falsely swearing to an alibi or self defense was rampant, and resulted in many who were apparently guilty going free.

This mix sounds like the basis for a compelling story. Sadly, this book is not that story. Written largely by a local lawyer who defended many of the members accused of murder, large sections of the book read more like trial transcripts (and several pages ARE transcripts) than an historical narrative. There are far too many names and weird (to 21st century readers) descriptions: "large head, dark complexion." These details bog down the flow of the story.

A few chapters are added by a contemporary (21st century) historian, and those read much better--although he too includes lengthy quotes from badly written newspaper accounts from the 1800's.

In sum, unless you are vested in learning all the ins and outs of the relationships between residents of Williamson County over a century ago, this is a really hard book to get through. Maybe someone will do a better history someday--as the story is fascinating.