Secrets of the Herrin Gangs

Secrets of the Herrin Gangs tells the account of Ralph Johnson, an insider with the Shelton Gang who also worked with Charlie Birger at one time. Originally published in newspapers across the country at the end of the Gang War during the Bloody Williamson years in January 1927, all 10 segments are compiled now for the first time in one volume. In addition, Jon Musgrave reveals the mystery of Johnson’s true identity and his life of crime in the second half of the book.

Ralph Johnson worked for both Carl Shelton and Shelton Brothers as well as Charlie Birger in the 1920s. Johnson is an alias and Max "Pat" Pulliam is believed to be the real writer of the Secrets story. Jon Musgrave is a writer, researcher and consultant in Marion, Illinois, the county seat of the now much quieter Williamson County in the heart of Southern Illinois. He's written Slaves, Salt, Sex & Mr. Crenshaw: The Real Story of the Old Slave House and America's Reverse Underground R.R. and co-authored The Bloody Vendetta of Southern Illinois which serves as a prequel to the Bloody Williamson era covering the feuds and Klan violence in the decade following the Civil War. Musgrave has also edited The Handbook of Old Gallatin County which covers the 19th and early 20th Century history of Gallatin Co., Illinois, and Lincoln: Fresh from Abraham's Bosom, a collection of stories, jokes and anecdotes told by, and on, Abraham Lincoln during his days in the White House.