Duluth’s Vigilantes – Part I

All genealogists know that the potential for finding unpleasant things in their family tree is there. These are the secrets that don’t get passed down, like bigamy, illegitimate children, suicides, etc. No one really expects to discover that an ancestor was involved in something horrifying and historically condemned.

But that’s just what happened to Warren Read of Kingston, Wash., when he was researching his family tree. His mother’s beloved grandfather, his great-grandfather, Louis Dondino, was one of three men arrested in Duluth for causing a riot during the 1920 lynching of three African American circus workers accused of raping a white girl.¹ No one was ever charged with the actual lynching, and after being examined by a family physician, the alleged victim showed no physical evidence of rape or assault.²

“Thirty-eight years old, Dondino was employed in Duluth as a truck driver. Hours before the lynchings he drove his truck through downtown Duluth, gathering men to join the mob. Witnesses also placed Dondino among the crowd of rioters.

The crime of riot held a maximum sentence of five years. Dondino was paroled from prison in March 1922 and discharged a year later. He served about a year in Minnesota State Prison, Stillwater.”²

Read’s family, including his mother, had known nothing about her grandfather’s involvement in this tragic event. And yet, according to Read, “It explained some of the bitterness between my grandfather and great-grandfather that my mother never understood.”¹

While many family history researchers would want to keep a story like this to themselves, Read instead chose to write a book, “The Lyncher in Me.”  In it, he “explores the perspectives of both the victims and the perpetrators of this heinous crime. [Read] investigates the impact the denial and anger that the long-held secrets had on his family. Through this examination of the generations affected by one horrific night, he discovers we must each take responsibility for ’our deep-seated fears that lead us to emotional, social, or physical violence.’"³


The three Duluth lynch-victims, laborers for John Robinson Circus, are buried in Park Hill Cemetery in Duluth:

Elmer Jackson

Elias Clayton

Isaac McGhie

Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain July 31, 2013,
as long as acknowledgement included. 

Two mob-related lynchings happened in Duluth within a couple years of each other, and all four victims are buried in the same Duluth cemetery.  Families of those mob-participants may or may not be aware of their ancestors’ association with the event.

Don’t let the fear of discovering that an ancestor was involved in something terrible stop you from researching your family history. Based on Read’s experience, finding out about your family history can explain a great deal about your family dynamics today and help promote healing.

On Aug. 15, the story of the lynching of Olli Kinkkonen.


LLet me help you find out what parts of Minnesota history your family played a role in.

Discover your roots and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.

pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com

For more information on my Family History Research services, visit TheMemoryQuilt.com and click on Family History Research in the left-hand column.

¹http://www.d.umn.edu/writ/jour/lakevoice/?p=5556
²http://collections.mnhs.org/duluthlynchings/people.htm
³http://www.warren-read.com/