Deposition of Ann Whalen, February 1880

[ View From Upstairs, Lucan Area Heritage and Donnelly Museum, The museum's log home is a recreation of the original Donnelly cabin that burned the night of the murders in 1880. Copyright Great Unsolved Canadian Mysteries Project, Jennifer Pettit,   ]ANN WHALEN. — I live near the Donnellys; my husband’s name is Patrick Whalen. I recollect the night of the murder; I was wakened up between one and two o-clock by the boy Connor’s rapping; I asked who it was; John Connors had no shoes or stockings on; he told me that a lot of men had come in women’s clothes and hunted the Donnellys out, and set the bed on fire; the old man was there; after a short time the old man went over; after a little while the boy Connors told us that he thought the old woman was killed, and shortly after that Tom was killed; he said the he thought they were all killed; in the morning he said he was under the bed behind the clothes basket; he said that he was woke up with the noise; he said that Carroll was there; when he spoke about Carroll I may have told him to take care of what he said; I think I told him not to say anything about it; the reason I said this was, I did’nt want to be brought into it; he told me no more names after that.

Source: Public Archives of Ontario, Irving Fonds, F1027, 82 08, MS6500, Unknown, Deposition of Ann Whalen, February 31, 1880.

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