The Donnellys: Massacre, Trial and Aftermath, 1880–1916

by John Little

A story made all the more shocking because it's true. In 1880, an organized mob of the Donnellys' enemies murder four family members and burn their house to the ground. Another sibling is shot to death in a house a short distance away. William Donnelly and a teenage boy are the only witnesses to the murders. The surviving family members seek justice through the local courts but quickly learn that their enemies control the jury and the press. Two sensational trials follow that make national and international headlines as the Donnellys continue to pursue justice for their murdered parents, siblings and cousin. Behind the scenes, political factors are at play, as Oliver Mowat, the Premier/Attorney General of the province of Ontario, fearing the backlash a conviction would render, gradually withdraws support from the prosecution of the killers. After the trials, the Donnelly's enemies continue their crusade against the family, paying off potential witnesses to the murders and fabricating one last set of charges that they hope will put the remaining Donnellys away forever.

Genres: True Crime, History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Canada, Biography Memoir

435 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 2, 2021

About the author

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Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in a two book series, by author John Little, based on the well known and largely talked about Donnelly Family, otherwise known as the "Black Donnellys".
This second book begins in 1880 when a group of the Donnelly's enemies unite to murder the family and burn their house to the ground. There are two witnesses to this horrific event and two outrageous trials when the surviving members of the Donnelly family seek justice. Not only the murders but the court cases were both astounding and horrifying.
This is an extremely well-researched, unbiased and very detailed account of one of Canada's terrible tragedies.
I highly recommend reading both books in the series!

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Little’s second volume of his two volume on Donnellys covers the murder of members of the family by fellow residents and what followed. Little’s description of the evening of the massacre relies on survivor testimony which he interweaves with an engrossing third person narrative. He does this while also examining why such events happened (and most American readers at least will see a connection to “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson).

It is a close run whether the massacre itself or the trial that follows is the more horrifying event. Little give enough background to the various forces that impact the trial. From the politicians at the top of the ladder to the various community stresses, such as religious differences, to the family of one of the surviving witnesses who were attacked as well. To say that the trial itself was a circus would be to put in mildly.

This book focuses a little more on the national and international reaction to the events than on the family lives of the surviving Donnellys themselves. This allows the reader to see the events in more historic level and how, in part, the whole violent tale holds a place in historic and folkloric tradition.

Both volumes of this two volume history are well worth reading.

[LibraryCin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Donnelly family came from Ireland in the mid-1800s to rural Ontario. James and Johanna were the parents and they had a number of sons and their youngest was a daughter. They (parents and sons) often managed to get into trouble, whether that be drinking, fistfights, vandalism, and other things. At some point (even though there were others in and around town who did these things, as well), the Donnellys fairly consistently got blamed. A vigilance committee was formed and on Feb 4, 1880, a crowd of people on the committee entered the Donnelly farmstead and murdered James, Johanna, one son and a niece visiting from Ireland. A young boy, Johnny, was staying overnight and hid under a bed while it happened. When the committee left, they headed to the next farm over, where another of the Donnelly sons lived. There was a second Donnelly son staying there and he was also killed.

This, unfortunately for me, was a volume 2, and I didn’t notice when I checked it out of the library. Well, it was an audio book, and I was unable to use my eyes at the time I checked it out so asked a friend to do it for me. Would I have noticed it was v. 2 if I had checked it out myself? I’m not sure (I didn’t notice it was v. 2 when I added it to my wishlist). Anyway, I have read enough about the Donnellys to have a good idea of the lead up, but that’s what is in v. 1 (which I will listen to soon, as well).

So, in this v. 2, it started with the murders and continued on to the trials and aftermath from there. This was very very detailed, and I am impressed with that. Unfortunately, because it was audio, I did lose focus sometimes, which is why the “lower” rating (which for me, represents “ok”) of 3 stars.

[Travis De Jong · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a silly little boy.. mark this one a big fat DNF. I read the first volume over 2 years ago and this one has been sitting on my t0-read shelf since. Thought I would finally give it a chance and knew I was in trouble when instead of the Chapters starting at 1, it continued from the last book. There was no recap and right away I had names that were long forgotten being thrown in my face. Made it about 15 pages before I called her quits.

Usually I give DNFs a 1 star but this a lesser known book and I don't want a bad rating to have any lasting effects. Sorry for letting you down John Little.

[Paul Sutter]

Hopefully you will have read Volume 1 in this two part series, POWDER KEG 1840-1880. It featured the beginnings of the Donnelly family in the Lucan area, the enemies they made, and how it was an inevitable conclusion that they were targeted for death.
John Little offers the same sort of tension and fact-packed volume that will engross you totally, even though the reader knows how this all ended. Reportedly the author had four years of research under his belt, when he undertook this most ambitious project. It was noted in volume 1, the more than 100 pages of notes, along with hundreds of books and newspapers that were used for reference material. It is pretty well the same for book two, along with a cast of close to fifty individuals who were part of the story, including the victims, the assailants , and others who factored into the story. The book opens with the night of February 4 1880 when around 1 AM a mob of twenty or so went to the Donnelly farm to begin their systematic murder of the family. The brought all sort of weapons, whether guns, clubs, pitchforks, whatever was handy and lethal. Four members of the family were murdered inside the farmhouse, including niece Bridget, visiting from Ireland, and another sibling murdered not far from there in their own residence. The main farmhouse after the massacre was burned to the ground, with the killers rejoicing as their lust for blood and revenge as satiated.
The book then looks into the court trial, for those who were charged with murder. The surviving family members held out hope that justice would be served, but because of the controversy the family generated and the fear of public sentiment and backlash if the men were found guilty, decided that prosecuting the guilty was not wise. Justice would not be served and even after the trials that went nowhere, those in the community continued their crusade against the survivors doing utmost to keep discrediting them. They showed no mercy for the family, even after the atrocities that were committed.
These two books are classics for those who appreciate true crime books. You can’t have one book without the other, as both create a chilling look at one family and their haters who took justice into their own hands.

[Susan Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I mentioned in my review of Powder Keg, these two books should be reviewed together. I read them together and would recommend that anyone interested do. It this way. I suspect the author initially might have thought he would write one book and found he had so much information that it warranted splitting into two. The first one, Powder Keg, takes us back to the beginnings of the feuds and machinations that would ultimately end with five members of a family brutally murdered. If you lived around Lucan in 1880, you might have been told they deserved their fate. They were horrible people. That myth has been perpetrated by many sources ever since. And even when the massacre was decried, there was the undertone of justifiable homicide.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Were they angels? Of course not. They were a tough immigrant family who never stood aside from a fight but the most egregious crime they committed was their acceptance and even embrace of those who were not part of the tightly knit Irish Catholic community. One of their greatest critics who fuelled the fires was the local priest. There is blame enough to go around. What happened to them that night in February 1880 was a heinous and cowardly crime. What happened afterwards was a travesty of justice that will blot the reputation of the community and the province forever.

While they never got justice in court, as William commented some years later, many of the perpetrators of the massacre and their supporters suffered greatly. Karma is sometimes the best form of justice. I liked the way the author tied things up quite neatly with several chapters dedicated to the epilogue after the trials.

Well research and written, fair and balanced, this is an excellent book to give a better perspective of the events and the people involved. The reader can expect to be outraged but by reading the book, the reader can contribute somewhat to historical justice. Five purrs and two paws up.

[Josie · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Little’s book which covers the background to Canada’s Donnelly family massacre, the murders themselves and subsequent legal proceedings, is a comprehensive and well researched telling of events in Lucan, Ontario.
The investigative style of the book provides a riveting narrative which is both shocking and engrossing. The information about the massacre and aftermath uses a variety of primary sources including survivor and witness testimony, family papers and newspaper coverage to recount the story.
As someone who has never heard of this family or event, I found the books contents both fascinating and totally enthralling. The background material about the family and township underscores the problematic nature of this towns political and religious divisions and the evident antagonism towards the Donnelly family. The malevolent activities of the vigilance committee against the Donnelly family which were described in detail were sickening. The substantive descriptions of the ensuing judicial examinations of the case make for interesting and disquieting reading. The author makes clear that the various stakeholders involved had their own vested interests in both the location and way in which the trials were conducted as well as the content. Justice was not the priority of many of the players. Political allegiances, job security, reputation, and religious considerations were powerful motivators in the drama surrounding the trials. For William Donnelly and the rest of his family there were many obstacles in the way of getting justice for his deceased relatives. The outcomes for the family were outrageous and disappointing.
I found the book to be well written and very engaging and would highly recommend it to others.

[Jacqueline De · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I have read about the massacre of the Donnelly family. The narrative is based on facts and lacks the author's opinions. The story is so well told that I didn't want to put it down, and I knew the ending.