Beyond Fact:

The Mystery Of The Biddulph Tragedy

Introduction

February 4th, 1880. It was a cold morning, and the scent of death was in the air. A house

lay in fiery ruins, with only a few remains lying where a beautiful log structure had once been.

An investigator walks up to the scene, and discovers a human skull amongst the scorched pieces

of wood. It falls to ashes in his hands. "How could this have happened without anyone taking

notice?" thought the investigator. "Why did these people deserve to die?" His partner walks over

to the remains as well, and then helps the investigator regain his balance as he gets up. "I don’t

like it," thought the investigator. Then he and his partner take one last look at the crime scene,

then walk back to their horse carriage and ride into the town of Lucan.

That is a description of what happened after the murder on that very cold morning. A

murder that has remained in the minds of many of the residents in the small town of Lucan,

Ontario, and one they are frequently questioned about. The murder of the Donnelly family, who

came from Tipperary, Ireland during the potato famine, is one of the most shocking events in

Canadian history. They were a very prominent family in the community, and they knew most of

the people in the small village of Lucan (although they lived out on the Roman Line). That being

said, they did have their enemies, though many assume that they had about the same amount of

friends as of enemies. It is not unbelievable either, considering that they had had a couple run-ins

with the law in the past, and the fact that they were immigrants. They were respected (as

contributing members of their community), and they were hated (due to accusations made
against them by the Vigilance Committee). They had their ups and downs, but no one could have

predicted the events that occurred on February 4th, 1880. No one could have foreseen the fate of

the Roman-Catholic Irish family from Tipperary. Or, maybe many predicted the murders, and

maybe many knew about it. In the end, it is you, the reader, who must be the judge.

So here I give you described, in detail, the events that did occur on February 4th, 1880, and I also

give you the truth. Though, in the end, you would have to be the judge of that...

Chapter One

Plans

It was a cold afternoon on February 3rd, 1880. A young boy was working with some

cattle in a field, when all of a sudden a young, little girl ran up to him. "Johnny?" she said. "What

is it sis?" he asked. "It’s Tom and Jim Donnelly, they’re asking for you back at the house. I think

they want you to help out on their farm tonight." Johnny didn’t hesitate with his answer "Oh,

okay," said Johnny, "Tell them I’ll be there in about a minute." Johnny had remembered how

kind the Donnellys had been to him last time he had worked for them. In fact, they had a

reputation for their benevolence. After finishing up with the last bit of cattle work, Johnny ran

home and got ready.

Once he was done getting ready, Johnny said goodbye to his parents, and made his way

to Jim and Tom’s cart, which was parked just outside of the driveway. Once he got in, he greeted

both Jim and Tom, and then they set off down the Roman Line (which had been named so due to

the amount of Roman-Catholic families that lived on it). It was a three mile ride from Johnny’s

house, to the homestead.

 Not much is known about what the three of them discussed on that cart ride, though

many assume that Jim and Tom discussed family affairs (which was okay because Johnny was a

family friend, and they knew him well enough to discuss these types of topics in front of him). It

seems the family had plans of leaving the Biddulph Township once the winter wheat harvest had

been completed. In fact, Johannah Donnelly (Jim’s wife) had told Father Connelly that she was

sick and tired of living in "terror." As they reached the one-and-a-half story, log home, a

lingering sense of gloominess entered the atmosphere.

Chapter Two

The Last Friend to Visit

Johnny knew most of the members of the family that night when he entered the quaint

Donnelly home - Tom and John (Johannah and Jim’s children), Johannah, and their cousin from

Tipperary, Ireland, Bridget. It was a usual night for the Donnelly’s from there on out: the women

got supper, while Johnny and Jim went to the barn to prepare for the chores that needed to get

done the next day. Then John left to go get a cutter from his brother William (as they would need

it for their court hearing in Granton the next morning). A little while after John left, Johannah

and Bridget announced that their dinner had been prepared, and Jim and Johnny went inside to

eat.

At 9:30, Jim decided to go to bed, and told Johnny to come with him so that he could

show Johnny where he was going to sleep. Before going, he said his prayers, and then led the

way. Jim had a four-poster bed in a room attached to the kitchen, so when he was showing

Johnny where he was to sleep, they didn’t have far to go. Johnny got undressed, and laid on his

side of the bed. As Jim began to lie down, Johnny began to doze off. Before Johnny completely
fell asleep, he heard a man enter the house. It was the voice of Jim Feeheely, who was a friend of

John and Tom. Johnny fell asleep before hearing Mr. Feeheely leave.

Chapter Three

Let’s Stay

It was a little after dinner-time when John Donnelly arrived at his brother’s house that

same night on February 3rd, 1880. William Donnelly was a distinguished looking man who,

unfortunately, also had a lame foot. When John arrived, his brother William was cutting wood

outside. While William was doing that, John decided to go inside of the house to chat with Norah

(William’s wife), and the two chatted until they heard William greet two other men: James

Keefe, and Martin Hogan. Will invited them inside, and Norah prepared tea for them.

At eleven o’ clock, as they were all sitting cozily chatting about different matters, James

decided to turn in, and left. Shortly after, Martin rose to go as well, but John suggested that, since

it was so late, that they should just stay at Will’s. Martin decided to stay, and William led his

guests to their bedroom, where they all stayed and chatted until about half an hour past midnight.

After this, Will walked tiringly to his bedroom, where he fell asleep with his wife Norah at one

o’ clock in the morning.

Chapter Four

Read Your Warrant!

Johnny awoke to the sound of murmuring and rustling. It was midnight. He looked up

and saw Jim standing beside the bed struggling to get his trousers on, he began speaking to

someone in the kitchen. Johnny looked at the doorway to find a tall, thick-set, dark-faced man
standing in the doorway! The intruder just stood in the doorway, staring at Jim. Finally, as Jim

got his trousers on and marched into the kitchen, the intruder told Jim that there was another

charge against him. After getting his farm boots on, Jim noticed something that startled him. It

was Tom handcuffed and outside in the snow! At that moment, Johannah Donnelly summoned

Bridget to light a fire, and as Tom asked the intruder to read his warrant, a whole swarm of men

gathered in the house, and the murdering began!

At this sudden moment, Johnny ran out into the kitchen, and up the stairs, but ended up

with a closed door in his face, due to the fact that Bridget Donnelly was so scared that she didn’t

even know it was Johnny. Then, in a panic, Johnny ran back into Jim’s bedroom, dove under the

four-poster bed, and hid himself behind a laundry basket. From there, Johnny witnessed what

had once been a nice, clean kitchen become a muddy and bloodied mess. He peeked out from

behind his hiding spot only once or twice, recognizing a couple faces, as well as witnessing the

horrific murder of Tom Donnelly!

After murdering Tom, some of the vigilantes entered Jim’s bedroom, poured kerosene

across the four-poster, and lit it on fire! Then, once all of the men had exited the house, Johnny

ran as fast as he could to the door, stumbling over the body of Johannah Donnelly on the way,

and finally making it out of the burning structure alive and safe. Although in a traumatic state, he

ran to the house of Patrick Whelan (who was a close friend of the Donnelly’s, and also the one

that lived the closest to them; he would be the first outsider to know of the murders).

Chapter Five

You Missed Me
 At twenty minutes after two, William Donnelly awoke to the presence of his brother

John. Once William was a bit more aware of what was going on, John told Will that there was

someone hammering at the door, and constantly calling Will’s name. John then rushed to the

door, standing at it and listening. Will then peeked through the blinds to discover three men that

he recognized standing at his door. One of the men was James Caroll, the village constable, who

sported a black beard, John Kennedy, Norah’s brother, and Martin McLoughlin, a local farmer

who was also once a friend of the Donnelly family.

Suddenly, there came a great blast of sound, and two explosions in succession toward the

outer door of the home. Then, the very pungent smell of gun powder filled the entire house. Will

then heard John cry out in pain. John had been shot! John fell to the floor, and then Norah rushed

over to him, and started dragging him towards the stove. That’s when Martin grabbed John’s arm

and dragged him into the bedroom instead, being concerned that they might be seen. John was

choking on his own blood, and eventually died five minutes later. The bullet intended for Will,

had killed Will’s brother. No one spoke until daybreak…

 Conclusion

After the murders of Jim, Johannah, Tom, John, and Bridget, they held two trials in

London, Ontario. No one was ever prosecuted for the crimes committed on February 4th, 1880,

and the case from there on was shrouded in ambiguity, becoming one of the oldest cold cases

ever known in Canada. The sad thing is, everyone refused to believe the testimonies of William

Donnelly and Johnny O’ Conner, because Will had a criminal record, and Johnny was “too

young” to know what he saw or what he was talking about. The case was just dropped, especially

when it came down to one of their key suspects, Father John Connelly. Evidently, it appears that

Father Connelly played a pivotal role in the events that took place on February 4th, 1880, but he

wasn’t convicted at the time. The reason for this is that he was a parish priest, and many in the

jury were religious, and decided that they couldn’t convict a man of religion such as a priest. The

jury was scared.

This is probably why so many people refuse to speak about the Donnelly’s these days.

Though many actually attribute their aversion to talk to a supposed curse on the name of the

Donnelly’s, or fear of offending an ancestor of the Donnelly’s or the murderers. One of these

people happens to be my father’s supervisor, who said, “When I went to Saint Patrick’s Catholic

School in the seventies, no one ever spoke of the Donnelly’s. It was never discussed in history

class or in the school at all. It was just not done. It was probably out of respect or fear for the

ancestors in the community.” She went to school in Lucan.

These days, it has become more and more evident that the Biddulph Tragedy has been

shrouded in too many myths and supernatural tales that people have lost sight of the truth in the

Donnelly murders, and they have lost sight of the facts. As such, this story has been told so many
times that it has gone somewhere few true stories of such a dark manner rarely go. The Donnelly

murders have influenced generations of Canadians, whether the story be used as a scary campfire

story, a case to solve for a cold case detective, or even as a topic for a Lawson Research

Assignment. The murder of the so-called Black Donnelly’s has gone beyond decades, and

beyond fact!