Please enjoy this repost of a fan favorite! On this classic episode of Common Mystics, Jennifer and Jill discuss their late mother Stella, who modeled for her daughters a discerning, yet eclectic approach to religion, spirituality, and the divination arts. Laugh with them as they relate stories that exemplify Stella's humor and strength, and learn how their mother continues to be present in their every day lives. Do YOU ever wonder if your late loved ones are communicating with YOU? Jennifer and Jill explain how they know that they are.

Support Common Mystics on Patreon and get exclusive bonus content and monthly video calls with Jen & Jill!!! https://www.patreon.com/commonmystics

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill travel to a town that feels suspended in time on the Upper Mississippi: Galena, Illinois.* Beneath its brick streets and blufftop beauty lies a harder story. In the 1830s and 1840s, northern Illinois was still raw country. As settlers poured into Galena to mine lead and find fortune, the roads filled with opportunity… and the Mississippi River towns filled with danger.

Travelers whispered of the Banditti of the Prairie—bands of thieves, killers, and fugitives said to move through the shadows of the frontier. And some believed those same shadows reached all the way to the brutal murder of George Davenport, a frontier legend who survived war, wilderness, and the dangers of the early republic… only to meet violence in old age when three men entered his home searching for hidden wealth.

Because where fortunes gather, outlaws follow. And where history leaves wounds… sometimes the past still speaks.

If you love uncovering hidden history and discovering the powerful stories woven into the places we explore, please consider supporting Common Mystics on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/commonmystics. Your support helps us continue traveling, researching, and giving voice to the forgotten stories that still linger in the shadows.

* This episode includes discussion of violence and murder. Sensitive listeners, please use discretion.

On this episode of Common Mystics*, Jen and Jill travel back to the summer of 1869, where the mighty Mississippi River carried more than lumber and passengers; it carried tension, resentment, and a tragedy that would leave six men dead.

What began as a routine journey aboard the steamboat Dubuque quickly unraveled into one of the most chilling and overlooked racial violence events in Midwestern history. A confrontation between a black deckhand and a white raftsman ignited something much larger—something rooted in the uneasy aftermath of the Civil War, economic fear, and deep racial division. Chaos took hold. Men were hunted. Lives were lost in acts described at the time as “unprovoked” and “wanton.”

But this story isn’t just about what happened. It’s about why it happened— and what it reveals about a country struggling to redefine itself.

If you love uncovering hidden history and discovering the powerful stories woven into the places we explore, please consider supporting Common Mystics on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/commonmystics. Your support helps us keep traveling, researching, and giving voice to the forgotten stories that still linger in the shadows.

*This episode contains discussion of racial violence. Listener discretion is advised.