- Edward Bonney
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name = Edward Bonney
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birth_date = birth date|1807|8|26
birth_place =Essex County, New York ,United States
death_date = death date and age|1864|2|4|1807|8|26
death_place =Chicago, Illinois
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nationality = American
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known_for = Private detective whose undercover investigation resulted in the break up of theBanditti of the Prairie ; also solved the murder ofGeorge Davenport
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occupation = Detective, author
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religion =Mormon
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footnotes =Edward Bonney (
August 26 ,1807 -February 4 ,1864 ) was a 19th century adventurer, private detective and later author. He is best known for his undercover work exposing the "Banditti of the Prairie " resulting from his investigation of the torture-murder of noted Illinois pioneer and frontiersmanGeorge Davenport .Biography
Bonney was born in
Essex County, New York and, after becoming married, he moved toIndiana in 1843. He eventually "fiddle-footed his way" toNauvoo , aMormon community on theMississippi River , where he and his wife decided to settle. During this time, he witnessed early theological arguments over issues such asplural marriage as well as attacks against Mormon newspapers. After the murders of Joseph andHyrum Smith inCarthage, Illinois in 1844, he became involved in fighting against criminal elements both outside and within the Mormon community. He was also particularly antagonistic of the Mormon Danites.In 1845, he moved to
Lee County, Iowa where he operated alivery stable . During the next several years, Bonney worked with law enforcement agencies to hunt down various criminals in the area as a sort of freelancebounty hunter . Bonney gradually attained a reputation as a skilled detective, adept at "piecing together odd bits of information and rumor", although he was often subject to suspicion and persecution for his membership in theMormon s.His investigations into the criminal activity occurring along the vast mid-river area of the Mississippi between 1843 and 1848, attributed to the organization known as the "
Banditti of the Prairie ", were claimed by Bonney to being carried out by fellow Mormons seeking refuge in Nauvoo and from which they based their criminal activities unhindered by law enforcement. Storm, Colton. "A Catalogue of the Everett D. Graff Collection of Western Americana". Chicago: University of Chicago, 1968. (pg. 55) ISBN 0226775798] It was not until going undercover within the organization, posing as acounterfeiter , that he was able to connect the gang to the torture-murder ofGeorge Davenport . After a four month chase throughIllinois ,Missouri ,Indiana andOhio , he finally brought most of his murderers to justice. Of the eight men taken into custody, three of the four men involved in Davenport's murder, Granville Young and brothers John and Aaron Long, were convicted and hanged. The fourth man,Robert H. Birch , agreed to turned state's evidence and later escaped from jail. Birch later became one of the founders of thePinos Altos gold mining camp in theNew Mexico Territory .Returning to Lee County the following year, he was indicted by the local district court for murder and later acquitted. He lived in
Rock Island, Illinois for a time and inProspect Park inDuPage County where he appointed as the secondpostmaster [Federal Writers' Project. "Du Page County: A Descriptive and Historical Guide, 1831-1939". Elmhurst, Illinois: I.A. Ruby, 1948. (pg. 51-52)] before settling inAurora, Illinois around 1852. Prior to this, Bonney published a sensational account of the Banditti of the Prairie. Originally published in 1850, "Banditti of the Prairies, or the Murderer's Doom!!" was an immediate success and ran though between six and eight editions until 1858. Although it is thought Bonney may have been assisted by aghost writer , most likelyHenry A. Clark , the book is considered remarkably accurate when compared with official court records and other evidence.Although not specifically anti-Mormon, the book reflected Bonney's criticism towards
organized religion . He continued working as a detective until his death inChicago, Illinois on February 4, 1864. [Thrapp, Dan L. "Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography: In Three Volumes, Volume I (A-F)". Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1988. (pg. 136-137) ISBN 0-8032-9418-2] [Roth, Mitchel P. "Historical Dictionary of Law Enforcement". Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. (pg. 34) ISBN 0-313-30560-9]Bibliography
*"Banditti of the Prairies, or the Murderer's Doom!!: A Tale of the Mississippi Valley" (1850)
References
Further reading
*Glaser, Lynn. "Counterfeiting in America: The History of an American Way to Wealth". New York: Crown Publishers, 1968.
*Lott, Frank Luther. "Literature of Pioneer Life in Iowa". Iowa City: State Historical Society of Iowa, 1923.
*Morgan, Dale Lowell. "The Humboldt: Highroad of the West". Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1985. ISBN 0-8032-8128-5
*Richman, Irving Berdine. "Ioway to Iowa: The Genesis of a Corn and Bible Commonwealth". Iowa City: State Historical Society of Iowa, 1931.
*Russell, Charles Edward. "A-rafting on the Mississip"'. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8166-3942-6
*Williams, Kenny J. "Prairie Voices: A Literary History of Chicago from the Frontier to 1893". Nashville: Townsend Press, 1980. ISBN 0-935-99000-3
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