Sept. 6, 2008-Another Story Unfolds: The Legend of Tom Dooley

While planning a genealogy research trip to North Carolina to work on the Brown family, I decided to update myself on some of the family members. Jessie Wilson Brown (1826- ) had many brothers and sisters. I was interested in learning more about Joel H. Brown and Letty Brown Triplett before we make our trip. Jessie Wilson Brown was Don's great-great grandfather. Joel was his great great Uncle and Letty was his great great Aunt.

Joel left North Carolina, like all his brothers. But he returned to take care of his mother after his father James died in 1850. In reviewing the 1860 and 1870 census for Wilkes County, North Carolina, I found that Joel and his family lived in the same household with his mother, Nancy Brown. I also learned that Joel was a Baptist Minister. I didn't really come up with much other new information. So, I moved on to Letty Brown Triplett.

On the 1850 Wilkes County Census, Letty lived with her parents James and Nancy Brown and her three children (Pinkney, Angeline and Thomas). She had no husband named and was not noted to be widowed. I found her also on the 1860 and 1870 census with more children and no husband. I decided to search her children's names on Google. I started with Pinkney Triplett and the search opened an extremely interesting door and the Brown connection to The Legend of Tom Dooley. Right away I found sites describing Letty Brown Triplett and Angeline Triplett (her daughter) and their involvement in the story of Tom Dooley. At some point Letty Triplett changed her name and the names of all of her illegitimate children to Foster. So, they are referred to as Letty Foster and Angeline (Ann) Foster.

Tom Dooley was actually Tom Dula. Tom and his family lived in Wilkes County very close to the Brown family. Throughout the 1850, 1860, 1870 census you will find the Brown's and the Dula's practically next door to each other. The legend of Tom Dooley goes something like this.

Tom Dooley had several girl friends. One was Angeline (Ann) Foster and another was her cousin Laura Foster. It is said that Tom was having a relationship with both of them at the same time. Their relationships were well known by many people living near them, near Elkville, North Carolina. Ann had let it be known that she was very jealous of Laura Foster. Ann Foster must have tired of the "love triangle" because she married James Melton. But, it seems she basically just added a fourth person to the "love triangle" because Tom Dooley would visit Ann Foster Melton at her home. According to court documents, he would even sneak into her bedroom to spend the night. All the while, he was still having a relationship with Laura. As you would expect, one of them became pregnant. It was Laura. When she told Tom she was pregnant he said they would get married.

They made plans that on May 25, 1866 Tom and Laura would to go to Tennessee to be married. On May 24, the night before they were to meet, Tom was at Ann Melton's house and he and Ann left, taking some whiskey. They stayed out all night. Laura left her home very early in the morning of May 25, with some clothes. She took her father's horse and was to travel to the Bates Place to meet Tom, as they had planned. The Bates Place was six miles from Laura's home. Laura passed a neighbor on her way to meet Tom and told the neighbor where she was going and that she and Tom were going to be married. According to the court documents, the neighbor was Betsy Scott.

When Laura didn't return home, her father, Wilson Foster, went to Ann Melton's house to see if they she had seen Laura. Mr. Foster's horse returned home the next morning, but Laura didn't. The horse's reins was still attached to it, but it appeared to have been chewed in two. Speculation was that the horse chewed it in two to get away from where he was tied. A month went by and there was still no sign of Laura. Tom Dooley was still in the area. Remember, the morning Laura disappeared she told Betsy Scott that she was on her way to meet Tom and that they were going to be married. Tom must have known that people were suspecting that he had something to do with Laura's disappearance because he left Wilkes County and went to Tennessee.

Although Laura's body had not been found, Tom Dooley was arrested in June. He was taken to the jail in Wilkesboro. In August, Ann Melton disclosed to her cousin Pauline Foster that she knew where Laura was buried. She even offered to show Pauline the location. Pauline never went to the exact location with Ann, but she later made public comments that she knew where Laura was buried. Pauline Foster was picked up and questioned. The information she gave to the authorities led them to the spot where Laura was buried.

The transcript of the trial of Tom Dooley can be found at: http://www.fmoran.com/wilkes/anny2.html
Tom was found guilty of killing Laura Foster and he was hung on May 1, 1868, almost two years after Laura was killed. Ann Foster Melton was also tried as an accomplice to the murder, but she was acquitted. To this day, many believe that Ann killed Laura and Tom is the one who buried her. The transcript of the trial contains the questioning of Ann Foster Melton and her mother, Letty Foster aka Letty Brown Triplett and many others.

You can see a hand drawn map used at the trial of Tom Dooley. On the map you will see the home of James/Ann Melton, Letty Foster, many other neighbors. The surprise on the map is to see the home of Letty's brother, Joel H. Brown labeled on the map. See the map:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tom1231/273622466/

Just to summarize. Tom Dooley was accused of murdering Laura Foster and he was hung.
Ann Foster Melton was the lover of Tom Dooley. Ann told her cousin Pauline that she knew where Laura was buried. Ann Foster Melton was also known as Angeline Triplett and she was the daughter of Letty Brown Triplett. The court documents describe Angeline and her mother Letty as having frequent drinking binges. One reference I found online suggested that Letty Triplett actually did marry a Mr. Foster and it was believed that she killed him. Letty and her daughter were quite a pair.

So, there you are, the Tom Dooley/Brown connection. Listen to "Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htBR3imbFfI

Addendum: On September 23, 2008 we met with a genealogy researcher in Wilkes County, NC to discuss the Brown family and tour the county. We mentioned that we thought that Letty Triplett Foster was a child of James and Nancy Brown. He stated that even though she appears on the 1850 census living in the Brown home, he nor any local researcher believed she was related to the Browns. He said they may have taken her in because she had no home or she may have been domestic help. So, the story of Tom Dooley remains as I described, but we now do not believe that Letty is a Brown relative and will remove her from the family history. ( Sharon, September 27, 2008)