William K. Donnegan was one of the more known Underground Railroad conductors in Springfield. He moved to the city in 1845 and worked as a shoemaker on Adams St. where he even made shoes for Abraham Lincoln. In his house between Eight and Ninth streets, he hid many runaway slaves and did this for many years. Donnegan was one of the few murdered during the 1908 Race Riot in Springfield when he was lynched outside his home.