The Donnellys of Biddulph Township
by: Bruce Ricketts
The temper of the Irish has been spoken of since time began, but I am not sure that
anyone in Lucan, Ontario, could have predicted the Black Donnellys.
The family of James and Johannah Donnelly emigrated from Tipperary, Ireland, to Canada,
and settled on land being given away at the time by the Governor of Upper Canada. They
staked a claim and built their homestead on Lot 18 of the sixth concession of Biddulph
Township in the spring of 1847.
By the spring of 1880, the Donnelly homestead was a pile of burnt rubble. James,
Johannah and some of their children also lay in the rubble, having been murdered by their
neighbours (although no one has ever be found guilty of this crime).
What happened in those intervening 33 years is the stuff that makes this unsolved
crime a Mystery of Canada.
Almost immediately upon their arrival to the new world, the Donnellys began
to feud with their neighbours. Whether it was over land, business ventures, horses,
cattle, money or pride... there was always a reason to fight.
The Donnelly family consisted of James and Johannah, sons, James Jr., William, John,
Patrick, Michael, Robert and Tom, and daughter Jenny. (Playing a bit part in the final
scene was their cousin, Bridget.)
In case you are skeptical of the depth of the feuding between the Donnellys and their
neighbours, here is one illustration taken from the "Black Donnellys":
One evening Johanah was returning home on foot. She shortened her trip by cutting
through a neighbour's pasture. As they are want to do, a bull chased Johannah. She
escaped by jumping a fence. Needless to say, Momma Donnelley's dander was up. There
is no proof, nor any eyewitness to the deed, but the next morning that very bull was found
dead ,with its tongue cut out, in the very field that it had chased Johannah.
Of course you cannot have a feud with only one feuding party. The party of the second
part included almost all the townspeople of Lucan and residents of Biddulph Township.
So now that you understand the nature of the Donnellys and their relationship to the
community, then it would not surprise you to learn late on the evening of February 4, a
mob stormed the house, killed all the occupants and set the home ablaze.
The best kept secret conspiracy in the world (next to the grassy knoll issue with JFK)
is who killed James and Johannah, sons John and Tom and cousin Bridget? Why were the
killings done in such a brutal manner? Who set the house on fire?
This was a conspiracy of silence not only between the participants but, being a small
town, the residents of Lucan must of had some knowledge of the murders. The police,
lawyers and the judges were powerless to convict a single murderer.
To this very day the majority of the residents of Lucan do not talk about what became
known as the Black Donnellys. They have removed or replaced virtually all landmarks
associated with the clan and we understand that books on the subject are not carried in
the local library.
If you visit Lucan these days you can find a gravestone of the family, although the
original one was replaced in 1964 to eliminate the word murdered on it.
Another Mystery of Canada.
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