The True Crime genre seems to have exploded in popularity in recent years, but, truthfully, people have always had a fascination with sensational crime stories. Long before podcasts, musicians transformed these true crime tales into popular songs that have been sung and passed along for hundreds of years. In this special Halloween episode, reference archivist Katie Crickmore breaks down five popular North Carolina murder ballads and the true stories that inspired them. John, Josh, and Katie also examine archival records found in the State Archives that back up or refute the narrative of these songs. Tune in and make up your own mind about what happened in these cases.
Sources Mentioned:
General
Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem in the Old North State – Office of Archives and History Blog: https://medium.com/murder-mystery-and-mayhem-in-the-old-north-state
Omie Wise
Randolph County, Superior Court Minutes, 1807, C.081.30008
Randolph County, Criminal Action Papers, 1807-1813, CR.081.326.10
Randolph County, Superior Court Minutes, 1811, CRX 86
Randolph County, Miscellaneous Records, CR.081.928.1
Randolph County, Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, 1815, C.081.317
Frankie Silver
Burke County, Criminal Action Papers, 1832, CR.014.326.3
Burke County, Superior Court Minutes, 1832, CR.014.321.1
Several Petitions for Pardon to Gov. Swain, Mar-Jun 1833, GP.66-67
Tom Dula
Tom Dula Papers, PC.1272
NC Supreme Court, State v. Thomas Dula, Jan 1867, Case No. 8922
NC Supreme Court, State v. Thomas Dula, Jan 1868, Case No. 8923
Wilkes County, Criminal Action File, 1866, CR.104.326
Wilkes County, Superior Court Minute Docket, 1868, CR.104.311.4
Ellen Smith
Forsyth County, Superior Court Minutes, 1886, CR.038.311.6
Forsyth County, Superior Court Minutes, 1893, CR.038.311.8
Lawson Family
NC Death Certificates, Stokes County, 25 Dec 1929, Lawson Family
Stokes County, Deeds, Charlie and Fannie Lawson, Bk. 75 Pg.360
Stokes County, Record of Administration, Lawson Family, 1929, Vol. 2
Stokes County, Record of Accounts, Lawson Family, 1929-19
Uncovered Stories, Episode 3: The Revolutionary Ruthey Jackson Letter
Uncovered Stories, Episode 2: Marginalized Communities in Early Statehood General Assembly Records
Uncovered Stories, Episode 1: Finding Enslaved Labor in the Treasurer’s and Comptroller’s Papers
Ask an Archivist: Fan Letters
Year of the Trail: Interview with Special Guest Secretary D. Reid Wilson
We Beg Your Pardon: The Saga of Slow Poke
Year of the Trail: Indian Trading Paths
Year of the Trail: Mountains to Sea Trail
Resiliency in Records Management: Disaster Preparedness and Protecting Essential Records
Resiliency in the Face of Natural Disasters: Other Storms and Natural Disasters
Resiliency in the Face of Natural Disasters: North Carolina Hurricanes
Ballads and Banjos and Fiddles, Oh My: Appalachian Music Spotlight
Call the Granny Woman: Appalachian Dialect Spotlight
Searching for a Spy: A Conversation with Dr. David Cecelski on Discovering the Legend of Abraham Galloway
Exploring Island Life in the John Wilson IV Papers: A Summer Internship at the Outer Banks History Center
True Stories Behind Where the Crawdads Sing: Oyster Wars
True Stories Behind Where the Crawdads Sing: Education and Truancy in Eastern North Carolina
True Stories Behind Where the Crawdads Sing: Historic Black Communities of Eastern North Carolina
The Journey of an Archival Record. Part III: Digitization and Access
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