There are some notorious characters throughout Quincy’s history, while many are well known today, some have faded away into the shadows of history. Stephen Ballew was a smooth-talking conman who lived to take advantage of others. He was fluent in many types of cimes....including murder. Join us as we learn about the dark history of Stephen Ballew and rip his story back into view from Quincy's fading historical memory.
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Image Credit: Image included in:: Dudley, John H. The Climax in Crime of the Nineteenth Century. Quincy, Illinois, 1872.
A campaign poster rendering from his time after the story took place.
Image Credit: https://library.illinoisstate.edu/collections/ewing/history/
Closeup of the cane presented to W.G. Ewing after the trial. Image credit and more images of the cane available at: https://digital.library.illinoisstate.edu/digital/collection/hazle-ewing/id/1336/rec/3
More “Crime” Episodes
We turn back time to learn about a smooth-talking conman who’s dark and evil ways crescendoed into a scheme leading to the darkest of crimes.