Vintage Vermont Villainies: True Tales of Murder & Mystery from the 19th and 20th Centuries

by John Stark Bellamy II

Containing accounts of ten classic murders and two inexplicable disappearances, Vintage Vermont Villainies is a veritable "best of the best" of Vermont homicides occurring between 1874 and 1957. Bellamy's catalog of miscreants includes Mary Rogers, whose seduction of two brothers paved the way to eliminating her inconvenient husband; and John Winters, whose date with the electric chair enlisted the sympathies of Clarence Darrow.

Genres: True Crime, History, Nonfiction

226 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2007

About the author

John Stark Bellamy II is the author of six books and two anthologies about Cleveland crime and disaster. The former history specialist for the Cuyahoga County Public Library, he comes by his taste for the sensational honestly, having grown up reading stories about Cleveland crime and disaster written by his grandfather, Paul, who was editor of the Plain Dealer, and his father, Peter, who wrote for the Cleveland News and the Plain Dealer."

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admit, I am biased. I have read all of and own most of Bellamy's books about Cleveland disasters,woes, and crimes. I thought that this book was well done, but I did not have the same passion for it as his local fare. Mostly, because when I read (re-read) his local works, I know where these places are, and in some cases, I have relatives who remeber the incident as well, so I can get a first person reaciton as well. If you live in Vermont, you will probably get more out of this book than I did.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeply researched, very well written, and a tad heavy on the courtroom aspects of each case, but still fascinating, frightening, and perfect for fans of historical true crime.

[Don LaFountaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

In fairness, if given the opportunity, I probably would have rated this book 3 1/2 stars instead of four. However since I am from Vermont, I am a little biased in favor of books about my home state, and that partly influenced my rating.

I enjoyed reading this book because I was interested in the topic of true crimes, I love history, (especially history about my home state), and because it was a very quick read. The book not only described the crimes, but also the courtroom drama that coincided with the story. The cases are from the 19th and early 20th centuries, so if the reader is looking for new crimes, they will be disappointed.

Some of the stories included are:
- The 1880 Meaker Tragedy, a story about the murder of a young child by her stepmother and stepbrother,
- The murder of Marcus Rogers by his wife Mary,
- A prison escape in the 1950's that led to the death of an innocent housewife, Elizabeth Weatherup,
- The disappearance of Paula Welden, which led to a sweeping change of Vermont's police force.

This book will mainly appeal to Vermonters, and to true crime and history fans. It is not "action packed", so anyone looking for that type of true crime book will probably enjoy this book as much as I did. I found the courtroom descriptions as interesting as the characters involved, and feel that it added to my enjoyment of the book.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

This made for a quick read. Some of the cases were pretty unique, but complaints are 1) too much court room information. I'm not sure if this was a limitation of research resources, but it's just plain boring reading about law stuff. The author also has a weakness of listing names and names of attorneys without adding any real information. 2) There wasn't enough context in the setting. I would've like to known more about Vermont itself.

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who liked Bellamy's series about historical crime and horror in Cleveland will like this book about historical crime and horror in Vermont. It's basically the same thing; only the setting is different. However, I am disappointed by the lack of photographs and illustrations; his Cleveland books had many pictures, but this Vermont one has none at all. I would have liked to have seen what the people in the stories looked like.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little slow for me ( I like more action ), but a true crime lovers book, detailing ten classic murders and two inexplicable disappearances, and the most notorious of Vermont homicides occurring in Vermont between 1874 and 1957. the author , John Stark Bellamy II is a former librarian, which explains the well researched aspects of this book.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book contains 12 or 13 short pieces about famous murder cases and disappearances in the state of Vermont from the mid nineteenth century through the 1950s. It's based on excellent local primary source research and is quite well written.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought I would learn a little history of this state!

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a stickler for editing, and this is the second book I have read where there were typos and errors. Gah.