Who killed Laura Foster? PDF Download

Author: Jan Kronsell
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 8743014674
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
The murder of Laura Foster in 1866 has been the source of many legends and both in fiction and non-fiction it has inspired many authors. The murder, which in the end led to the conviction and execution of Thomas C. Dula, also inspired the famous song, The Ballad of Tom Dooley. In this book I go through the surviving records from the time and tell the story based on these facts, before I try to give my own explanation of what actually happened in Western North Carolina in the difficult times following the American Civil War.

Author: Sharyn McCrumb
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1429990481
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
The Ballad of Tom Dooley is a literary triumph—what began as a fictional re-telling of the historical account of one of the most famous mountain ballads of all time became an astonishing revelation of the real culprit responsible for the murder of Laura Foster Hang down your head, Tom Dooley...The folk song, made famous by the Kingston Trio, recounts a tragedy in the North Carolina mountains after the Civil War. Laura Foster, a simple country girl, was murdered and her lover Tom Dula was hanged for the crime. The sensational elements in the case attracted national attention: a man and his beautiful, married lover accused of murdering the other-woman; the former governor of North Carolina spearheading the defense; and a noble gesture from the prisoner on the eve of his execution, saving the woman he really loved. With the help of historians, lawyers, and researchers, Sharyn McCrumb visited the actual sites, studied the legal evidence, and uncovered a missing piece of the story that will shock those who think they already know what happened—and may also bring belated justice to an innocent man. What seemed at first to be a sordid tale of adultery and betrayal was transformed by the new discoveries into an Appalachian Wuthering Heights. Tom Dula and Ann Melton had a profound romance spoiled by the machinations of their servant, Pauline Foster. Bringing to life the star-crossed lovers of this mountain tragedy, Sharyn McCrumb gifts understanding and compassion to her compelling tales of Appalachia, and solidifies her status as one of today's great Southern writers.

Author: John Edward Fletcher
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1625844999
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 199

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Book Description
The crime that shocked post-Civil War America and inspired the folk song that became The Kingston Trio’s hit, “Tom Dooley.” At the conclusion of the Civil War, Wilkes County, North Carolina, was the site of the nation’s first nationally publicized crime of passion. In the wake of a tumultuous love affair and a mysterious chain of events, Tom Dooley was tried, convicted and hanged for the murder of Laura Foster. This notorious crime became an inspiration for musicians, writers and storytellers ever since, creating a mystery of mythic proportions. Through newspaper articles, trial documents and public records, Dr. John E. Fletcher brings this dramatic case to life, providing the long-awaited factual account of the legendary murder. Join the investigation into one of the country’s most enduring thrillers. “Fletcher has spent a great deal of time researching almost all of the characters involved with the Foster homicide and has gone further than any researcher I know in establishing the relationships—blood, marriage and social—between the major actors in the tragedy.”—Statesville Record & Landmark

Author: John Foster West
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
Tom Dula's trial unveiled a sordid story of sexual immorality, resentment, jealousy and bitterness, and he was convicted and hanged before a huge crowd in Statesville, an event that drew national attention. The story lived on, in time becoming entwined with myth and legend, because it inspired a ballad that was sung throughout the mountains.

Author: Paul Slade
Publisher: Soundcheck Books
ISBN: 099294807X
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 151

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Book Description
The Gory Stories Behind The Murder Ballads Cheerfully vulgar, revelling in gore, and always with an eye on the main chance, murder ballads are tabloid newspapers set to music, carrying word of the latest ‘orrible murders to an insatiable public. Victims are bludgeoned, stabbed or shot in every verse and killers often hanged, but the songs themselves never die. Instead, they mutate – morphing to suit local place names as they criss cross the Atlantic and continue to fascinate each generation’s biggest musical stars. Paul Slade traces this fascinating genre’s history through eight of its greatest songs. Stagger Lee’s “biographers” alone include Duke Ellington, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Dr John, The Clash and Nick Cave. No two tell his story in quite the same way. Covering eight classic murder ballads, including “Knoxville Girl”, “Tom Dooley” and “Frankie & Johnny”, Slade investigates the real-life murder which inspired each song and traces its musical development down the decades. Billy Bragg, The Bad Seeds’ Mick Harvey, Laura Cantrell, Rennie Sparks of The Handsome Family and a host of other leading musicians add their own insights.

Author: Nick Foster
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1627793720
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
"In the remote Bocas del Toro, Panama, William Dathan Holbert, aka 'Wild Bill,' is awaiting trial for the murder of five fellow American ex-patriots. Holbert's first victims were the Brown family, who lived on a remote island in the area's Darklands. There, Holbert turned their home into the 'Jolly Roger Social Club,' using drink- and drug-fueled parties to get to know other ex-pats ... But this is not just a book about what Holbert did and the complex financial and real estate motives behind the killings; it is about why Bocas del Toro turned out to be his perfect hunting ground, and why the community tolerated--even accepted--him for a time"

Author: Janet Fitch
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0759568170
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
The unforgettable story of a young woman's odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes on her journey to redemption. Astrid is the only child of a single mother, Ingrid, a brilliant, obsessed poet who wields her luminous beauty to intimidate and manipulate men. Astrid worships her mother and cherishes their private world full of ritual and mystery - but their idyll is shattered when Astrid's mother falls apart over a lover. Deranged by rejection, Ingrid murders the man, and is sentenced to life in prison. White Oleander is the unforgettable story of Astrid's journey through a series of foster homes and her efforts to find a place for herself in impossible circumstances. Each home is its own universe, with a new set of laws and lessons to be learned. With determination and humor, Astrid confronts the challenges of loneliness and poverty, and strives to learn who a motherless child in an indifferent world can become. Oprah Winfrey enjoyed this gripping first novel so much that she not only made it her book club pick, she asked if she could narrate the audio release.

Author: Barnes
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780692597316
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 496

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Book Description
In 1958, when the Kingston Trio released their popular ballad "Tom Dooley," every time I heard the sad refrain on the radio about Tom going to be hanged for the murder of his sweetheart I'd cry. In my heart, I believed Tom was innocent. The authorities would be hanging an innocent man. Thirty years later, I saw an article in the Charlotte Observer that told about Tom Dooley, including the fact that he'd been hanged in Statesville, N.C. an hour from my home! Edith Ferguson Carter, whose family was intertwined with the story from its very beginning, was opening a Tom Dooley Museum just a mile from where the tragedy occurred. I contacted Edith and listened to her story about a young Confederate soldier and POW who returned from the Civil War to find his first love Ann had married another man, but still wanted Tom. Since he could no longer marry Ann, Tom began courting Laura, the girl who was later murdered. Area residents believe a jealous Ann was the actual murderer. On my search to find the truth, I interviewed people whose ancestors told stories about their involvement in events surrounding Laura's May 25, 1866 murder. I interviewed Edith's father, whose brother was Tom's jailor; Edith's husband's grandfather, who was the coroner; the great grandson of "Grayson" who helped the posse catch Tom and then stopped them from lynching him in Tennessee; Frank Proffitt, Jr. whose great grandmother heard Tom singing the song in his cell in Statesville and passed it down through her family and many more. Next, I searched the N.C. state archives which had summaries of Tom's two trials; interviewed experts on the "place and the times;" searched contemporary newspapers and the Wilkes, Caldwell and Iredell Heritage books to find out about the jurors, sheriffs and judges. Studying the life of his attorney, Zebulon Vance, the ex-Confederate governor of N.C., I believe I found the real reason this famous man represented Tom. The result of my research is found inside The Tom Dooley Files.

Author: Karen Wheeling Reynolds
Publisher: Little Creek Books
ISBN: 9780984639809
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
After the Civil War Tom Dooley comes home to find the love of his life, Anne Foster, married to an older man. Anne, who had promised Tom she would wait for him, married for money while Tom was away. When he returns, she makes it clear that she wants to resume their relationship. A hurt and angry Tom begins a romance with sweet Laura Foster, Anne's first cousin. However, Anne's hold on Tom is a strong one, and after a time the relationship between Tom and Anne is rekindled. Meanwhile, a few months later Laura finds out that she is pregnant. Tom struggles to do the right thing for his unborn child. He finally agrees to meet Laura and run off to Tennessee and get married. Tom visits Anne the night before he is to leave with Laura and tells Anne of his plans. What happens next turns a lover's triangle into the nation's first highly publicized crimes of passion.

Author: John Foster West
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781887905558
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Tom Dula was hanged for the murder of Laura Foster. Numerous folklores developed surrounding Foster's murder and Dula's execution. West sifts through the evidence and refutes the popular folklore versions.