Additional information
by Michael Delaware (Author)
GREAT MIDWEST BOOK FESTIVAL'S 2026 HISTORY CATEGORY WINNER
In the nineteenth century, heinous, bloody crimes shocked Michigan's emerging western frontier.
A farmer, intent on marriage, disappeared after leaving a Leonidas tavern in 1853, culminating in the conviction of three men even though the body was undiscovered. A shooter fatally wounded a beloved sheriff during an 1867 Kalamazoo midnight jailbreak attempt, sparking a nationwide manhunt. The 1897 shooting of a couple in their Van Buren County home famously remains unsolved today. A brutal murder opposite the iconic train depot mortified Niles in 1892, and in 1894, an Okemos woman went mad after losing her husband, poisoned her son and tossed his body down a well.
Author Michael Delaware unfolds these and other true crime stories and mysteries from Victorian western Michigan.
Author Biography
Michael Delaware is an Arizona native who left home at age eighteen. He lived for fifteen years in Georgia, where he managed and owned a small business. Moving to Michigan in 1999, he resides today in Battle Creek. Following a passion for storytelling, he began producing videos for YouTube on local history in 2010. Today he is the host of a regional podcast, Tales of Southwest Michigan's Past. His books include Crime & Corruption on the Michigan Railroad, Victorian Southwest Michigan True Crime and Murder in Victorian Western Michigan, which won the History category at the 2026 Great Midwest Book Festival. He is a sought-after public speaker and can be contacted through MichaelDelaware.com.
