Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-11-24
THE LAST OF THE MOLLIES.
Only Two Left of the Forty who Were In
VOIved in the Assassinations.

PorTsvILLE, November 23.-The re
cent meeting of the Ancient Order of Hi
bernians in Pittsburg revives an interes
in Molly Maguireism, with which the
order is inseparably connected in this re
gion. Every newspaper reader was made
familiar with the workings of the Board
of Erin and the American branch during
the troublous years of 1868, when one
exposure after another of the prostitution
of the Hibernian Society was followed al,
most daily with new arrests, trials, con.
victions, and hangings. Out of the forty
odd persons who were involved di,
rectly in the exposures all have vanished
from the anthracite region except two,
and they, like martyrs to a despised cause,
remain in prison here doing penance as
much for the sins of Others as for their
own. True twenty-One were banged, a
number served short terms and were long
ago released, and quite lot who turned
States evidence were pardoned, and have
found elsewhere sympathy they could
not get here. They were despised by
good people for their bad deeds, aid by a
certain other element because they
peached ON their pals.
The two men who remained incarcerat-
ed here are Christ. DOnnelly and Mike
O'Brien, both of them at one time body
masters" of the branch of the Ancient
Order of Hibernians at their old homes.
They are serving two terms of seven years
each. They have frequently but vainly
applied for pardons, and have now given
up hope of escaping the Judgment pro-
nOunCed on them by the court, with the
exception of the three years cOmmuta-
ton which their good couduct merits
under the law. DOnnelly lived in New
Castle, three miles north of POttsville.
He was young man and an active politi-
clan of more than ordinary intelligence,
and well qualified to become, as he did,
petty township leader. He had wife
and half dozen children. OBrien had a
wife and a family nearly all matured.
He is not man of as good intellect as
DOnnelly, but, by reason of a certain ma
tive talent, became the leader of his branch
at MahanOy City. He never held any
municipal office, rs his fourteen-year col
league had, for the reason that the native
American and anti-Irish factions pretty
we'll ruled the town from the time he
came there.
Between these nationality factions there
was deadly feud ior years, and First
street, MahanOy City, became known rs
the dead line, to cross which was rs fatal,
OF at least serious for the Mollic-lrish as it
was for the "MOdOcs," as the American
German Welsh English faction had be-
come known. Chief among this latter
clan were the Major boys. George, the
eldest brother, had been Chief Burgess of
the town. bill" and jess" were his
younger brothers. They were tall. wiry
fellows, who never ran away from fight,
and who generally felt as much satisfaction
in "thumping a Mick" as the most radi-
cal "America-fOC-A Americans" MOdOc could
feel. The intensity of this feeling was
raised to its highest pitch when one night
in 1871 George Major, while in the dis
charge of his official duties at an incendiary
fire, was fatally shot. Daniel Dougherty
was tried, under change of Venue, at Leb-
anon but proved an alabi, setting up the
unusual defence that the murder was
committed by John McCann, n stranger in
the neighbOrhOOd. Until two years later
many people believed "McCann" myth,
but the jury believed the story, and
DOugherty was acquitted, as subsequent
events proved very justly. Majors friends
- I.l, In,,1tin,r nnnnhar-
tvs innocence, while the MOllie crowd
were made equally defiant by the verdict.
On May 80, 1875, \ meeting of the
County Board was held at the house of
Jack Kchoe, the county delegate, at
Girardville. The business of the Board q,
rs it was afterward developed during the
trials, was to arrange for the proper and
efficient disposal OF the Major boys and
Bully Bill (Wm. NJ. Thomas), their chum.
Pursuant to the directions of this bloody
conclave, on the 2Sth of June following,
within a month after the meeting, the men
selected for the purpose attacked Thomas
in the stable at which he was boss at
Shoemaker's colliery, near Mahanoy City,
and fired four hnllets into his body at dis
tanCes of six inches to four feet from him,
killing one horse, wounding another, and,
though they left Thomas for dead, sup
posed "clean job, as Mollie pariance had
it, he miraculously escaped even serious
wounding. The attempt to kill the Major
boys failed by reason of their having receiv-
ed notice indirectly from the detective, and
their absence from their accustomed place
on the day set.
On August 1G, 1875, Tom Hurley, since
then fugitive from justice, and recently
reported dead in Colorado, killed, st a
Shenandoah tiremen's picnic, in broad day
light, Conner James. The assassination
took place in the presence of hundred
persons, and within feet Of the dancing
platform where hundred couples were
SaltatOrially engaged. Hurley escaped
and in MOllie circles it was regarded as
such ''clean job" that n convention Of
body masters was called, and it was agreed
to pay Hurley reward of $500. At this
meeting Donnelly and O'Brien were again
present.
They were arrested in May, 1S7G, with
nearly dozen others. The detectives
disclosures had been made meanwhile, and
a number of the guilty fled to safer bar
bOrs. The cOnspiratOrs were under con-
stant surveillance, however, and on the
evening of May 8, Capt. Anderson strolled
into the telegraph office here and sent this
message:
TO. C. and l. Police: Spring
the trap.
This message was reported to every Coal
and Iron policeman in the region. He
knew his duty, knew his man, and on the
Of the 10th there was squad Of
handcuffed men, all arranged along n stout
steel chain and guarded by the now united
force, marching up Centre street and up
the hill to the great stone castle, from
which some never came again alive, except
to cross the street to the Court House, and
to walk to the scaflold in the prison yard.
In the chain gang were Donnelly and
O'Brien. With Others they were tried for
to kill and as assessories after
the murder. Conviction had become a
mere matter of form. On each charge each
was sentenced to seven years imprison-
ment. The Communication for good behav-