Donald I. Zebe

Donald I. “Don” Zebe was born in 1954 in the Bronx, New York, and grew up in a proud IrishAmerican family where stories of their Civil War ancestor were passed down with deep

reverence. After attending Idaho State University and spending many years in the corporate

world, Don is now semi-retired in Pocatello, Idaho.

He shares his life with Cyndee, his wife of 46 years. Their children, Mike and Jared, along with

their wives and grandchildren, also live in Pocatello, keeping the family close and continuing the

tradition of sharing stories across generations.

That tradition ultimately led Don on a deeply personal journey. As a descendant of David H.

Crowley, Don had grown up hearing his great-great-grandfather's name spoken almost like a

family legend. But the more he learned, the more he felt that the story being passed down was

incomplete. He wanted to uncover the man behind the family folklore and understand what had

truly happened.

His search led him through pension records, Secret Service files, and century-old trial transcripts

that had remained untouched for generations. What he uncovered revealed a far more complex

story, one involving corruption, the influence of Tammany Hall, Irish-American history, and a

man who found himself caught in the consequences of standing for what he believed was right.

That discovery became the foundation for Truth Buried in the Dust and The Fenian Ledger,

historical political crime thrillers rooted in nineteenth-century New York and Irish-American

history. For Don, these novels are more than works of fiction; they are an effort to bring a

forgotten chapter of his family's history back into the light.

And now, with his grandchildren growing up in the same Pocatello community, Don has

something meaningful to pass on to the next generation, not simply a family story, but a history

he personally worked to uncover and reclaim.

Based on the documented life of the author's own great-great-grandfather, The Fenian Ledger

and Truth Buried In the Dust draws upon the discovery of congressional testimonies, police

records and family documents, found more than a century later in a Bronx attic, bringing a

remarkable piece of family history to the page