Stories of historical murders on the South Shore

John F. Gallagher

Author

John F. Gallagher served with the Boston Police Department for more than thirty years and rose to the rank of superintendent and chief of detectives. After his retirement in 2008, John’s interest in local history and his background in criminal investigation motivated him to research and write about obscure, century-old murders in towns throughout the South Shore of Massachusetts.

John’s first book, “A History of Homicide in Hanover: Murder on Broadway“, chronicles three separate, sensational crimes in his hometown.

In 2008, John obtained a copy of “Images of America: Hanover”, a pictorial history of Hanover, Massachusetts. Inside the book was a photograph of a house with a message scrawled across its surface – “Three Irishmen shot here by Seth Perry in 1845.” The caption below the photograph provided scant information, so John decided to find out more. His research led to the facts of what happened in 1845, and the discovery of two other murders committed in Hanover – one in 1874, another in 1904.

Fascinated by these stories, he decided to compile the details of each murder and share what he had learned by writing and publishing “A History of Homicide in Hanover: Murder on Broadway.” Since the publication of his first book, the author has written three other books – “Arsenic in Assinippi: The Trial of Jennie May Eaton for the Murder of Her Husband, Rear Admiral Joseph Eaton“, a 1913 murder in Norwell, Massachusetts; “A Monument to Her Grief: The Sturtevant Murders of Halifax, Massachusetts,” an 1874 triple murder in a Halifax, Massachusetts farmhouse; and “Passion, Poison, and Pretense: The Murder of Hingham’s Postmaster“, recounting the 1857 investigation into Postmaster Hosea Gardner’s mysterious death; the issues of capital punishment in mid-nineteenth century Massachusetts, and the enactment of a historic revision to the Commonwealth’s murder statute.

"Dear Mr. Gallagher, I hope that this email finds you well. My name is Brandon, and I just wanted to message you to tell you how much I enjoyed reading two of your books: Arsenic in Assinippi and Murder on Broadway. I know that this is a common saying in praising a work, but I could not put them down! I went from one novel to the next without a moment’s break. The way that you form the historical aspects, namely the legal cases, court proceedings, and local events, alongside the more personal explanations of how the events occurred, the people’s emotions and reactions, and the more domestic back stories leading to the cases, allowed for me to appreciate these stories all the more. Although these books are based on fact, much of the time, when someone is reading about such topics, they forget that these are accounts of real events. Your books do a wonderful job of grounding themselves in historical truth, reminding the reader that these are not just fictional tales, and that, as unfortunate as some cases may be, they are important and close to home. Last, I want to express my appreciation to how thorough these books are in their details and descriptions. Truly, it demonstrates how much time and research must have gone into each person’s story. I am lucky to say that I have signed copies of both of these books, as my parents, right before Christmas, went to one of your signing events -knowing how much I appreciate signed copies of books- in Hanover. I was so excited to read them when I opened the present, and I am so glad that I did. I now feel as though I have a stronger connection to the town in which I grew up (Weymouth) and the surrounding area. "

Best regards, Brandon Wencek