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"Tom Dooley" is an old North Carolina folk song
based on the 1866 murder of a woman named Laura Foster in Wilkes County, North
Carolina. It is best known today because of a hit version recorded in 1958 by
The Kingston Trio. This version was a multi-format hit, reaching #1 in
Billboard, the Billboard R&B listing, and appearing in the Cashbox country
music top 20. It fits within the wider genre of Appalachian "sweetheart
murder ballads".
The song was selected as one of the American Songs of the
Century by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National
Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. Members of the Western Writers of
America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[1]
In the documentary Appalachian Journey (1991), folklorist
Alan Lomax describes Frank Proffitt as the "original source" for the
song. Although there are several earlier known recordings, notably the one by
Grayson and Whitter made in 1929, approximately 10 years before Proffitt cut
his own recording, the Kingston Trio took their version from Frank Warner's
singing. Warner had learned the song from Proffitt, who learned it from his
Aunt Nancy Prather, whose parents had known both Laura Foster and Tom Dula
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Murder of Laura Foster
Before the war, Ann Foster, a local beauty, married an older
man, James Melton, who was a farmer, cobbler, and neighbor of both Ann and Tom.
Melton also served in the Civil War, fighting in the battle of Gettysburg.[6]
Both men were taken prisoner and at the end of the war returned home. Shortly
after arriving home, Dula resumed his relationship with Ann. Given his
reputation as a libertine,[2][9] it did not take Dula long to also begin an
intimate relationship with Ann's cousin, Laura Foster. Folklore suggest Laura
became pregnant shortly thereafter, and she and Dula decided to elope.[6] On
the morning she was to meet Dula, about May 25, 1866,[9] Laura quietly left her
home where she lived with her father, Wilson Foster, and took off on his horse,
Belle. Laura was never seen alive again.[1]
While it is not certain what happened that day, many of the
stories that have grown out of the folklore implicate Ann Melton. Some believe Ann
murdered Laura Foster because she was still in love with Dula and was jealous
of Laura because Tula was marrying her. Others believe that Dula knew or
suspected that Ann had murdered Laura, but because he still loved Ann he
refused to implicate her after he was arrested and took the blame for the
murder. Ultimately, it was Ann's word that led to the discovery of Laura's
body, leading to further speculation as to Ann's guilt. Ann's cousin, Pauline
Foster, testified that Ann had led her to the site of the grave one night to
check that it was still well hidden.[6]
Witnesses testified in court that Dula made the
incriminating statement he was going to "do in" whoever gave him
"the pock" (syphilis). Testimony indicated Dula believed Laura had
given him syphilis, which he had unknowingly passed on to Ann. The local doctor
testified that he had treated both Tom and Ann for syphilis with Blue Mass, as
he did Pauline Foster, who was in fact the first to be treated. Many believe
that Dula may have caught the disease from Pauline Foster and passed it on to
Ann and Laura.[citation needed]
Laura's decomposed body was found with her legs drawn up in
order to fit in a shallow grave. She had been stabbed once in the chest. The
gruesome murder, combined with the low murder rate, and numerous rumors that
circulated in the small back-woods town, captured the public's attention and
led to the enduring notoriety of the crime.[1]
Dula's role in the murder is unclear.[9] He fled the area
before Laura's body was found after locals accused him of murdering Laura.
Under the assumed name of Tom Hall, he worked for about a week for Colonel
James Grayson, across the state line in Trade, Tennessee. Grayson would enter
folklore as a romantic rival of Dula's, but this was not true. It was simply an
incorrect inference drawn from the lyrics of the song, and became more
widespread as the facts of the case were largely forgotten.[9] Grayson did,
however, help the Wilkes County posse bring Dula in, once his identity was
discovered.[1]
Trial[edit]
Following Dula's arrest, former North Carolina Governor
Zebulon Vance represented him pro bono, and always maintained Dula's innocence.
He succeeded in having the trial moved from Wilkesboro to Statesville, as it
was widely believed that Dula would not receive a fair trial in Wilkes County.
Dula was convicted and, although given a new trial on appeal, he was convicted
again. His supposed accomplice, Jack Keaton, was set free and, on Dula's word,
Ann Melton was acquitted. As he stood on the gallows facing death, he is
reported to have said, “Gentlemen, do you see this hand? I didn’t harm a hair
on the girl’s head”.[9] On 1 May 1868 he was executed nearly two years after
the murder of Laura Foster.[6] His younger sister and her husband retrieved his
body for burial.[1]
