The graves of Tom Dula (Dooley) and Laura Foster. Tom's gravestone has been stolen several times, and badly chipped by people seeking souvenirs; it is now on private property off Tom Dula Road in Ferguson. Laura's grave can be found off NC Highway 258 in Caldwell County, near the Wilkes County line.
"Throughout history, there have been many songs written about the eternal triangle.The next tune tells the story of a Mr. Grayson, a beautiful woman, and a condemned man named Tom Dooley." So begins the 1958 version of the North Carolina murder ballad " Tom Dooley" sung by The Kingston Trio. While this is an example of an Appalachian murder ballad, it is not one I would classify as a "plumb pitiful" song (in the sense of that used by Ray Davis; see About page). However, the more one looks into the history behind this song, the more "plumb pitiful" the details become. I well remember hearing this song in 1958 when I was a junior in high school. What caught my attention was not so much the unfortunate story of a murder and hanging, but the style of the singing and instrumentation used. This song and the Kingston Trio are credited with having much to do with the launch of the "Folk Music Boom" in the late 1950s to the late 1960s.
THE "STORY" OF TOM DOOLEY
There has been a lot written and posted about Tom Dooley. I'll try to cover most of the important facts here, but for more details, do not hesitate to explore the links at the end of this blog. Exploring the history of this song makes clear how the folk story/folk song process works, even with true storie s. The story has more possible twists and turns than the mountain roads traversing the region where it occurred. The song is an old Appalachian folk song based on the actual Wilkes County, North Carolina murder of Laura Foster in 1866.
First of all, the spoken introduction to the Kingston Trio's version of "Tom Dooley" seems to give the wrong impression. History is clear that the "eternal triangle" was not so much about two men and one woman, but between two women (or more) and one man, - poor old Tom Dooley. There was a Mr. Grayson, but he apparently played a somewhat minor role in the overall story.
Laura Foster (22) was murdered on the 25th of May 1866, in Elkville, NC, supposedly by Tom Dula (pronounced Dooley in keeping with the old Appalachian pronunciation of a final "a"). She was murdered rather savagely with a large knife, and buried in a shallow grave. A newspaper reported that her autopsy showed she was "inciente", in other words pregnant; interestingly, the doctor who examined the body made no mention of this in his trial testimony. Tom Dooley was apparently quite popular with the women and girls in that part of North Carolina, having been well known as a "womanizer." When Tom was about 14 or 15, he began an affair with Anne Perline (or Pauline) Foster; Anne's mother later testified at Tom's trial that she had caught both Anne (who was then also 14 years) and Tom together naked in bed at her house.
Tom continued to see Anne even after she married Mr. James G. Melton in 1859. Mr. Melton was a farmer, a cobbler and a wagon maker in the area, and was considerably older than Anne (she was then about 22). Mr. and Mrs. Melton apparently slept in separate beds in their small cabin which actually had three beds in the same room; so Tom and Anne were able to continue to see each other as before. At the age of almost 18, Tom joined the Confederate Army as a part of the 42nd North Carolina Regiment. He was reportedly a musician. He was captured and sent to Point Lookout, Maryland as a prisoner of war. At the end of the war, he returned to his home in the mountains of North Carolina.
When Tom returned home, he and Anne renewed their affair, but Tom was also smitten with Anne's cousin, Laura Foster. People in the community knew that Tom was seeing Laura at least once a week, sometimes he would even spend the night, sleeping with Laura. It was no secret that Anne became intensely jealous of the time Tom was spending with Laura.
Another complication developed when Perlline (Pauline) Foster, a distant cousin of both Anne and Laura, came from Tennessee to live and work with the Milton's in order to earn some needed money (it developed that she needed the money to pay a doctor to treat her syphilis). It wasn't long before Tom was also sleeping with Pauline (sometimes she, Tom, and Anne shared the same bed). It was not long before Tom had syphilis also. The way things (rumors and disease) spread in small communities, it wasn't long before Laura Foster, Anne Melton, James G. Melton, and perhaps another woman also had syphilis. A Dr. Carter testified at Tom's trial that Tom had come to him for treatment, and stated that he (Tom) thought he had gotten it from Laura. A Mr. R. D. Hall testified at Tom's trial that Tom told him that he (Tom) was "diseased" and he was "going to put them through that diseased him" (that is "kill"). Hall told Tom not to do that. Now, whether or not that was motive for the murder is unknown, it certainly was a possibility; if Laura were perhaps also pregnant, there was even another possible reason to kill her. However, it should be pointed out that there were many women in the vicinity without husbands who were having children, and forced marriages or even murder did not result.
It has been suggested in one version of the story that Laura was being courted by a young Yankee school teacher by the name of Bob Grayson (or Bob Cummings in another version), and that he, in fact, had killed Laura over jealousy of Tom Dooley. The newspaper accounts and trial testimonies do not support this story. There was a Col. James Grayson in the story, but he was the man who caught Tom in Tennessee; Tom. who had changed his name to Tom Hall, had been working at Col. Grayson's farm in order to earn money for new shoes. It appears Col. Grayson was not a part of the supposed "eternal triangle" the Kingston Trio mentioned in their introduction to the song.
Some people suggest that Tom asked Laura to elope with him to Tennessee so they could get married. She was last seen riding her father's horse bareback, with a small sack of clothes on her lap. She reportedly told a woman along the road that she was going to meet Tom, and that they were going to Tennessee. She was never seen alive again, and the horse returned to her father's farm the next day. Rumors were spreading. Tom hung around the community for a few days, and was even seen with Anne by witnesses, who testified that both seemed upset. Tom apparently went over the border to Tennessee shortly after. Searching turned up no trace of Laura Foster. Some testimony at Tom's trial indicates that Anne Melton told Pauline Foster what had happened to Laura, but said she would kill Pauline if she ever told; Anne even took Pauline to the vicinity of where the grave. One thing let to another, and on the 25th of June 1866, a warrant for the arrest of both Thomas Dula and Ann (sic) Pauline Melton (and also for an Ann Pauline Dula and for a Granville Dula) was sworn out by Laura's father before Justice of the Peace Pickens Fathering.
Around July 11, 1866, Tom was arrested and brought back to North Carolina. Sometime in August, Pauline Foster told the sheriff everything she knew about the situation, and even took a search party to the vicinity where Anne Melton had taken her shortly after the murder. Laura Foster's body was discovered in a shallow grave nearby. Both Tom Dooley and Anne Melton stood trial for killing Laura Foster. Tom's lawyer, Zebulon B. Vance, the former Governor of North Carolina, requested a change of venue and that Tom's trial be separated from Laura's. Tom stood trial on October 1, 1866 and was found guilty, but the verdict was overturned by some trial irregularities. The second trial was delayed twice, as each side was granted a continuance when witnesses did not appear. A special court of Oyer and Terminer (Hear and Decide) was appointed to end the delays. On January 20, 1868, that court convened and found Tom guilty of murder again. Tom appealed that verdict, but that appeal was denied. On May 1, 1868, Tom Dooley was publicly hanged in Statesville, NC, not "from a white oak tree" but from a crude gallows near the town depot. Anne Melton was not guilty for lack of evidence.
SO, WHO DID KILL LAURA FOSTER?
The short answer to this question is: we will never know for sure. After 149 years, with only the trial testimony (mostly circumstantial) to go on, many people are content to accept the fact that Tom Dooley did, in fact, kill Laura Foster himself, for his own motives. Others have suggested that Anne Melton killed Laura, perhaps out of jealousy, or for some other motive, and that Tom helped dispose of the body and took the blame for the murder. Others have suggested that both Anne Melton and Perline Foster together killed Laura out of jealousy. Tom was obviously sexually active with each of them, in addition to Laura. It is possible that both together were involved in the murder, and Tom again took the blame. Another possibility from the trial record introduces race into the story. Perline (Pauline) Foster testified that she had suggested to Wilson Foster that perhaps Laura had run away with a colored man; Wilson replied that he thought it might be so too. Further he said he didn't care what had happened to her, as long as he got his mare back.
It has recently been suggested in Tom Dooley - The Legend and The Facts that perhaps there are other possible suspects. One suspect put forward in this web article is Laura Foster's own father, Wilson Foster, in order to ensure her silence about an incestuous affair (supposition, I think). The other suspect is James Isbell, who lived in Caldwell County, not far from Elkville, where the murder took place. In 1857, James married Sara Dula Horton, Tom Dooley' second cousin. James was 28 at the time of murder, and his wife Sara was about 27 (about the same age as Laura, Anne, and Perline). It is suggested in this web article, that Tom may have had an affair with Sara Isbell before the war, since James joined the Confederacy before Tom did, Such an affair could have continued after the war as well. It is suggested that Tom could even be the father of Sara's daughter, Mary Virginia. As sexually active as Tom apparently was, he could have well been the father of many children in the vicinity. It is well known (trial testimony) that James Isbell was very active in search parties all summer, and that it was he and his-father-law that found the body. Today police detectives know that killers are often active in searches for their unfound victims. He drew the map showing the vicinity of the murder and where the grave was found, as well as the supposed paths Tom Dooley and Anne Melton used on the morning of the murder. He helped pay for the prosecution of Tom Dooley, and testified that he had no sympathy for Tom Dooley. Further, he was doing all this "solely by consideration for the public good." These facts lead to the suspicion of James Isbell as the killer, with the motive of getting back at Tom Dooley for the affair(s) with his wife, Tom appealed his conviction by saying that James Isbell had perjured himself during the trial.
With so many folk stories, ballads, books of fiction and non-fiction, and web articles, it soon becomes apparent that this "plumb pitiful" story will never reach a satisfactory conclusion.
RECORDED VERSIONS OF BALLAD OF "TOM DOOLEY"
The story of the murder of Laura Foster by Tom Dooley most likely quickly entered the folk tradition of the area. The first recorded version of "Tom Dooley" was that recorded in 1929 by Grayson and Whitter. The folk process had changed the song from actual details to something perhaps more appealing. Grayson had a connection with the song: he was the nephew of Col. Grayson, who had captured Tom Dooley in Tennessee. Here is the Grayson & Whitter version of "Tom Dooley." Notice how it has the old-time string band sound.
In 1940, another singer of old songs, Frank Proffitt, from Pick Britches Valley, NC, was recorded singing his version of the song, Proffitt remembered his dad playing the song on his banjo. Proffitt's grandmother had lived in Wilkes County, NC, and knew both Tom Dula and Laura Foster. Here is Frank Proffitt's version of "Tom Dooley."
Here is the 1958 version of the song made so very popular: Kingston Trio's version of "Tom Dooley."
Doc Watson recorded his version of "Tom Dooley" in 1964, His liner notes give his version of the Tom Dooley story based on family connections.
THE STORY CONTINUES
It seems that the story of Tom Dooley, Laura Foster, and Anne Melton will just go on and on. Many singers have covered the song "Tom Dooley" since The Kingston Trio, recorded their version, too many to mention here; a search of YouTube will bring up many of these.
A 1959 movie western, "The Legend of Tom Dooley" starred a young Michael Landon as Tom Dooley and is a very loose depiction of historical facts. The Kingston Trio's rendition of the ballad was the theme music for this movie.
Numerous b ooks of fiction and non-fiction have been written about Tom Dooley. Here are two. I have not read either of these.
by Sharyn McCrumb. This is a fictional account, but closely follows known history. The "Author's Note" on pages 297-305, discusses why she comes to the conclusions she does. "The Ballad of Tom Dooley: A Ballad Novel"
"The True Story of Tom Dooley: From Western North Carolina Mystery to Folk
Legend" by John Edward Fletcher. Non-fiction. John Edward Fletcher is a
descendant of Anne Melton's daughter, Martha Jane (Allen).
The Wilkes Playmakers, of Wilkesboro, NaC, perform "Tom Dooley: A Wilkes County Legend" every summer. It was written by Karen Wheeling-Reynolds. It is said to be a mixture of fact and fiction.
For a fictional portrayal of Anne Melton, you can't miss Marilyn Kinsella's story-telling in the voice of Anne (Foster) Melton. Her portrayal makes you think you are right there hearing her opinions about Tom, Laura, and her involvement. The folk process continues in this excellent exhibit of the story-telling part of history. After all, what is a murder ballad but a good story set to music?
AND WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO ANNE MELTON?
THE "STORY" OF TOM DOOLEY
There has been a lot written and posted about Tom Dooley. I'll try to cover most of the important facts here, but for more details, do not hesitate to explore the links at the end of this blog. Exploring the history of this song makes clear how the folk story/folk song process works, even with true storie s. The story has more possible twists and turns than the mountain roads traversing the region where it occurred. The song is an old Appalachian folk song based on the actual Wilkes County, North Carolina murder of Laura Foster in 1866.
First of all, the spoken introduction to the Kingston Trio's version of "Tom Dooley" seems to give the wrong impression. History is clear that the "eternal triangle" was not so much about two men and one woman, but between two women (or more) and one man, - poor old Tom Dooley. There was a Mr. Grayson, but he apparently played a somewhat minor role in the overall story.
Laura Foster (22) was murdered on the 25th of May 1866, in Elkville, NC, supposedly by Tom Dula (pronounced Dooley in keeping with the old Appalachian pronunciation of a final "a"). She was murdered rather savagely with a large knife, and buried in a shallow grave. A newspaper reported that her autopsy showed she was "inciente", in other words pregnant; interestingly, the doctor who examined the body made no mention of this in his trial testimony. Tom Dooley was apparently quite popular with the women and girls in that part of North Carolina, having been well known as a "womanizer." When Tom was about 14 or 15, he began an affair with Anne Perline (or Pauline) Foster; Anne's mother later testified at Tom's trial that she had caught both Anne (who was then also 14 years) and Tom together naked in bed at her house.
Tom continued to see Anne even after she married Mr. James G. Melton in 1859. Mr. Melton was a farmer, a cobbler and a wagon maker in the area, and was considerably older than Anne (she was then about 22). Mr. and Mrs. Melton apparently slept in separate beds in their small cabin which actually had three beds in the same room; so Tom and Anne were able to continue to see each other as before. At the age of almost 18, Tom joined the Confederate Army as a part of the 42nd North Carolina Regiment. He was reportedly a musician. He was captured and sent to Point Lookout, Maryland as a prisoner of war. At the end of the war, he returned to his home in the mountains of North Carolina.
When Tom returned home, he and Anne renewed their affair, but Tom was also smitten with Anne's cousin, Laura Foster. People in the community knew that Tom was seeing Laura at least once a week, sometimes he would even spend the night, sleeping with Laura. It was no secret that Anne became intensely jealous of the time Tom was spending with Laura.
Another complication developed when Perlline (Pauline) Foster, a distant cousin of both Anne and Laura, came from Tennessee to live and work with the Milton's in order to earn some needed money (it developed that she needed the money to pay a doctor to treat her syphilis). It wasn't long before Tom was also sleeping with Pauline (sometimes she, Tom, and Anne shared the same bed). It was not long before Tom had syphilis also. The way things (rumors and disease) spread in small communities, it wasn't long before Laura Foster, Anne Melton, James G. Melton, and perhaps another woman also had syphilis. A Dr. Carter testified at Tom's trial that Tom had come to him for treatment, and stated that he (Tom) thought he had gotten it from Laura. A Mr. R. D. Hall testified at Tom's trial that Tom told him that he (Tom) was "diseased" and he was "going to put them through that diseased him" (that is "kill"). Hall told Tom not to do that. Now, whether or not that was motive for the murder is unknown, it certainly was a possibility; if Laura were perhaps also pregnant, there was even another possible reason to kill her. However, it should be pointed out that there were many women in the vicinity without husbands who were having children, and forced marriages or even murder did not result.
It has been suggested in one version of the story that Laura was being courted by a young Yankee school teacher by the name of Bob Grayson (or Bob Cummings in another version), and that he, in fact, had killed Laura over jealousy of Tom Dooley. The newspaper accounts and trial testimonies do not support this story. There was a Col. James Grayson in the story, but he was the man who caught Tom in Tennessee; Tom. who had changed his name to Tom Hall, had been working at Col. Grayson's farm in order to earn money for new shoes. It appears Col. Grayson was not a part of the supposed "eternal triangle" the Kingston Trio mentioned in their introduction to the song.
Some people suggest that Tom asked Laura to elope with him to Tennessee so they could get married. She was last seen riding her father's horse bareback, with a small sack of clothes on her lap. She reportedly told a woman along the road that she was going to meet Tom, and that they were going to Tennessee. She was never seen alive again, and the horse returned to her father's farm the next day. Rumors were spreading. Tom hung around the community for a few days, and was even seen with Anne by witnesses, who testified that both seemed upset. Tom apparently went over the border to Tennessee shortly after. Searching turned up no trace of Laura Foster. Some testimony at Tom's trial indicates that Anne Melton told Pauline Foster what had happened to Laura, but said she would kill Pauline if she ever told; Anne even took Pauline to the vicinity of where the grave. One thing let to another, and on the 25th of June 1866, a warrant for the arrest of both Thomas Dula and Ann (sic) Pauline Melton (and also for an Ann Pauline Dula and for a Granville Dula) was sworn out by Laura's father before Justice of the Peace Pickens Fathering.
Around July 11, 1866, Tom was arrested and brought back to North Carolina. Sometime in August, Pauline Foster told the sheriff everything she knew about the situation, and even took a search party to the vicinity where Anne Melton had taken her shortly after the murder. Laura Foster's body was discovered in a shallow grave nearby. Both Tom Dooley and Anne Melton stood trial for killing Laura Foster. Tom's lawyer, Zebulon B. Vance, the former Governor of North Carolina, requested a change of venue and that Tom's trial be separated from Laura's. Tom stood trial on October 1, 1866 and was found guilty, but the verdict was overturned by some trial irregularities. The second trial was delayed twice, as each side was granted a continuance when witnesses did not appear. A special court of Oyer and Terminer (Hear and Decide) was appointed to end the delays. On January 20, 1868, that court convened and found Tom guilty of murder again. Tom appealed that verdict, but that appeal was denied. On May 1, 1868, Tom Dooley was publicly hanged in Statesville, NC, not "from a white oak tree" but from a crude gallows near the town depot. Anne Melton was not guilty for lack of evidence.
SO, WHO DID KILL LAURA FOSTER?
The short answer to this question is: we will never know for sure. After 149 years, with only the trial testimony (mostly circumstantial) to go on, many people are content to accept the fact that Tom Dooley did, in fact, kill Laura Foster himself, for his own motives. Others have suggested that Anne Melton killed Laura, perhaps out of jealousy, or for some other motive, and that Tom helped dispose of the body and took the blame for the murder. Others have suggested that both Anne Melton and Perline Foster together killed Laura out of jealousy. Tom was obviously sexually active with each of them, in addition to Laura. It is possible that both together were involved in the murder, and Tom again took the blame. Another possibility from the trial record introduces race into the story. Perline (Pauline) Foster testified that she had suggested to Wilson Foster that perhaps Laura had run away with a colored man; Wilson replied that he thought it might be so too. Further he said he didn't care what had happened to her, as long as he got his mare back.
It has recently been suggested in Tom Dooley - The Legend and The Facts that perhaps there are other possible suspects. One suspect put forward in this web article is Laura Foster's own father, Wilson Foster, in order to ensure her silence about an incestuous affair (supposition, I think). The other suspect is James Isbell, who lived in Caldwell County, not far from Elkville, where the murder took place. In 1857, James married Sara Dula Horton, Tom Dooley' second cousin. James was 28 at the time of murder, and his wife Sara was about 27 (about the same age as Laura, Anne, and Perline). It is suggested in this web article, that Tom may have had an affair with Sara Isbell before the war, since James joined the Confederacy before Tom did, Such an affair could have continued after the war as well. It is suggested that Tom could even be the father of Sara's daughter, Mary Virginia. As sexually active as Tom apparently was, he could have well been the father of many children in the vicinity. It is well known (trial testimony) that James Isbell was very active in search parties all summer, and that it was he and his-father-law that found the body. Today police detectives know that killers are often active in searches for their unfound victims. He drew the map showing the vicinity of the murder and where the grave was found, as well as the supposed paths Tom Dooley and Anne Melton used on the morning of the murder. He helped pay for the prosecution of Tom Dooley, and testified that he had no sympathy for Tom Dooley. Further, he was doing all this "solely by consideration for the public good." These facts lead to the suspicion of James Isbell as the killer, with the motive of getting back at Tom Dooley for the affair(s) with his wife, Tom appealed his conviction by saying that James Isbell had perjured himself during the trial.
With so many folk stories, ballads, books of fiction and non-fiction, and web articles, it soon becomes apparent that this "plumb pitiful" story will never reach a satisfactory conclusion.
RECORDED VERSIONS OF BALLAD OF "TOM DOOLEY"
The story of the murder of Laura Foster by Tom Dooley most likely quickly entered the folk tradition of the area. The first recorded version of "Tom Dooley" was that recorded in 1929 by Grayson and Whitter. The folk process had changed the song from actual details to something perhaps more appealing. Grayson had a connection with the song: he was the nephew of Col. Grayson, who had captured Tom Dooley in Tennessee. Here is the Grayson & Whitter version of "Tom Dooley." Notice how it has the old-time string band sound.
In 1940, another singer of old songs, Frank Proffitt, from Pick Britches Valley, NC, was recorded singing his version of the song, Proffitt remembered his dad playing the song on his banjo. Proffitt's grandmother had lived in Wilkes County, NC, and knew both Tom Dula and Laura Foster. Here is Frank Proffitt's version of "Tom Dooley."
Here is the 1958 version of the song made so very popular: Kingston Trio's version of "Tom Dooley."
Doc Watson recorded his version of "Tom Dooley" in 1964, His liner notes give his version of the Tom Dooley story based on family connections.
THE STORY CONTINUES
It seems that the story of Tom Dooley, Laura Foster, and Anne Melton will just go on and on. Many singers have covered the song "Tom Dooley" since The Kingston Trio, recorded their version, too many to mention here; a search of YouTube will bring up many of these.
A 1959 movie western, "The Legend of Tom Dooley" starred a young Michael Landon as Tom Dooley and is a very loose depiction of historical facts. The Kingston Trio's rendition of the ballad was the theme music for this movie.
Numerous b ooks of fiction and non-fiction have been written about Tom Dooley. Here are two. I have not read either of these.
by Sharyn McCrumb. This is a fictional account, but closely follows known history. The "Author's Note" on pages 297-305, discusses why she comes to the conclusions she does. "The Ballad of Tom Dooley: A Ballad Novel"
"The True Story of Tom Dooley: From Western North Carolina Mystery to Folk
Legend" by John Edward Fletcher. Non-fiction. John Edward Fletcher is a
descendant of Anne Melton's daughter, Martha Jane (Allen).
The Wilkes Playmakers, of Wilkesboro, NaC, perform "Tom Dooley: A Wilkes County Legend" every summer. It was written by Karen Wheeling-Reynolds. It is said to be a mixture of fact and fiction.
For a fictional portrayal of Anne Melton, you can't miss Marilyn Kinsella's story-telling in the voice of Anne (Foster) Melton. Her portrayal makes you think you are right there hearing her opinions about Tom, Laura, and her involvement. The folk process continues in this excellent exhibit of the story-telling part of history. After all, what is a murder ballad but a good story set to music?
AND WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO ANNE MELTON?
Anne P. (Foster) Melton was charged as an accomplice in the murder of Laura Foster, but was found not guilty because of a lack of evidence. She remained jailed for the duration of the trials. She remained married to James Melton until her death, and had a daughter and a son; the daughter Martha Jane, born in 1861, was said by many in the community to be Tom Dooley's child. Anne was remembered by older family members as being "promiscuous and hot-headed" and she was shunned in the community because of her connection with the murder of Laura Foster. She is said to have flaunted the fact that she lived rather well from Mr. Melton's income as a cobbler, wagon maker, and carpenter. Anne died in 1874, from injuries received in a horse-drawn cart accident. Mr. Melton remarried after her death, eventually moved to Watauga County. Most of the above information and photos are from "A Bit of Justice for Anne."
A FEW SOURCES
A little bit of time spent searching the internet for the story of Tom Dooley brings up a wealth of material, some of it more useful than others. Here are a few of the more interesting web sources I consulted.
1. For background on the Kingston Trio song "Tom Dooley" and its early recording history, The Kingston Trio Place is especially helpful.
2. "Tom Dooley: The Murder That Sold 10,000 Guitars" gives a good summary of the story, but also provides background to the Folk Music Revival that the song helped start.
3. For links to the arrest warrant, map, and trial testimony, visit "Dula Warrant" For further court testimony, visit the "Tom Dula Educational Resource Page" and then follow the link to "View Original Documents for Tom Dula."
4. "Tom Dooley - The Legend and The Facts" is a very informative site exploring family relationships, the facts and the legends, possible motives, and possible killer(s). It is well written, and I especially like the photographs, and driving directions to various sites of interest in the story.
A FEW SOURCES
A little bit of time spent searching the internet for the story of Tom Dooley brings up a wealth of material, some of it more useful than others. Here are a few of the more interesting web sources I consulted.
1. For background on the Kingston Trio song "Tom Dooley" and its early recording history, The Kingston Trio Place is especially helpful.
2. "Tom Dooley: The Murder That Sold 10,000 Guitars" gives a good summary of the story, but also provides background to the Folk Music Revival that the song helped start.
3. For links to the arrest warrant, map, and trial testimony, visit "Dula Warrant" For further court testimony, visit the "Tom Dula Educational Resource Page" and then follow the link to "View Original Documents for Tom Dula."
4. "Tom Dooley - The Legend and The Facts" is a very informative site exploring family relationships, the facts and the legends, possible motives, and possible killer(s). It is well written, and I especially like the photographs, and driving directions to various sites of interest in the story.