Tom Dooley North

Carolina legend

PowerPoint by Meredith Harley Inserra from various sources on the internet.

A Civil War soldier This is the story of a handsome young Civil War soldier. He was tried and found guilty of the murder of Laura Foster, but some say he didn’t do it.

His real name was Tom Dula, often pronounced Dooley, so most people now know him as Tom Dooley.

photo from the outdoor dramaby the Wilkes Playmakers.

There are many versions to the story, so we don’t know exactly what happened, and we probably never will, but we do know it happened right here in North Carolina, in Wilkes County, in 1866.

Before the war, two of Tom’s girlfriends were Laura Foster and Ann Melton. They were cousins. Ann got married to someone else before the war ended, soLaura thought she could have Tom all to herself.

But after the war Ann Melton saw Tom and fell in love with him again, although she was married to someone else!

Ann Melton

Laura had another boyfriend too, named Bob Grayson.

Tom told Laura to gather up her things, sneak out at night, and meet him. They planned to run away to get married. She was never seen alive again.

photo from the outdoor dramaby the Wilkes Playmakers.

After weeks of searching, her body was finally found in a shallow grave. Her legs were broken and she’d been stabbed in the chest. A small bag of her clothes were also found. No one knew where Tom was.

Laura’s other boyfriend, Bob Grayson, led a search party for Tom. They found him in Tennessee and brought him back in chains. As a crowd gathered Tom asked to be unchained. Tom sat and played a song on his banjo, or was it a fiddle? It depends on who you ask.

Bob Grayson

Tom was jailed in Wilkesboro to await his trial.

Tom’s lawyer asked for the case to be moved to Statesville in Iredell County. Tom was charged with the actual murder and Ann Melton, Laura’s cousin, was charged with "influencing him to commit murder.”

This is the actual jail where Tom Dooley was held.

Tom was tried in court in Statesville and found guilty for the murder of Laura Foster.

Tom’s lawyer was Zebulon Vance, who had been governor of North Carolina.

Our neighboring town, Vanceboro, is named after him.

On the night before his execution Tom wrote a note: Statement of Thomas C. Dula-"I declare that I am the only person that had any hand in the murder of Laura Foster." Ann was released from jail based on this confession.

But was he confessing to help Ann? Some people believe Ann actually killed Laura so she could marry Tom.

On May 1st, 1866 Tom Dooley rode through the streets of Statesville in a wagon.  He sat on the top of his coffin with his banjo on his knee, joking with the people walking along.  He played his banjo, laughing as the wagon neared the gallows.  When the rope was placed around his neck, he joked with Sheriff Watson, "I would have washed my neck if I had known you were using such a nice clean new rope".  Asked if he had any last words to say, Tom held his right hand and replied, “Gentlemen, do you see this hand?  Do you see it tremble?  Do you see it shake?  I never hurt a hair on the girl's head". And he was hung.

Laura was buried on what is now known as “Laura Foster Hill” in Caldwell County, NC.

Tom is buried by the Yadkin River

Road marker on NC Highway 268 in Wilkes County.

Tom Dula’s gravestone is on private property on the Tom Dula Road in Elkville, NC, now known as Ferguson, NC. The access road has been closed.

People have chipped away at the stone to keep a souvenir.

What do you think? Did Tom really kill Laura Foster or did Ann do it? Or both?Could there be more to this story?...

The photo on the second slide may be an actual photo of Tom Dooley, although I cannot verify this. This photo is associated with Tom Dooley on at least two web sites on the internet, but that is not a definitive verification.

Notes, Links, and Sources

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Lake/4713/tomdooley.htmlhttp://www.wilkesplaymakers.com/contente.asp?page_id=dooleyehttp://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00492/page34.htmlhttp://www.main.nc.us/graham/mcclung/Dooley%20Legend.htmlhttp://www.davidholt.com/photos/tomdula.htmlhttp://www.mce.k12tn.net/johnson/legends/tom_dula.htmhttp://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?GRid=2473&page=grhttp://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMDT9http://www.americanahomeplace.com/news.LifeLegendTomDooley.htmhttp://blueridgecountry.com/FavoriteArticles/TomDooley/index.htmlhttp://www.dailyyonder.com/tom-dula-murder-sold-10-000-guitarshttp://joski56.blogspot.com/2008/01/story-of-tom-dooley.html