Tom Dula, pronounced "Dooley," known far and wide for the ballad, Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley
was a real person. He was born in 1845 in Elkville, NC, now Ferguson, Wilkes County. He was the son of Thomas
and Mary Keaton Dula and was known to be handsome, gifted with the fiddle, and a delight to the ladies.
Tom enjoyed the company of the ladies, especially Ann Foster, who later married James Melton. He played
for the local square dances and was a very popular young man around the community. When the War Between
The States, known as the civil War, broke out, Tom enlisted at Elkville when he was only 17 years old. As a
private, he served as regiment musician for four years. Toward the end of the war, he was captured and taken to
Point Lookout, Maryland as a prisoner of war. When he was released he came home and resumed his life here in
the valley.
He not only resumed his life, but he resumed his relationship with Ann Melton. He was also involved with other
ladies, including Ann's cousin, Laura Foster.
He and Laura planned to be married and on the morning they eloped, Laura disappeared, only to be found
weeks later murdered and buried in a shallow grave. She had been stabbed in the heart. Tom, knowing that he
was the last known person to see her alive, left the village and went to Watauga County and worked on Col.
James Grayson's farm. He stayed long enough to earn money for a pair of boots and continued on to Trade,
Tenn. Here the posse from Wilkes County found him with the help of Col. Grayson. He was taken back and
placed in the Wilkes County jail.
Col. James Horton, a cousin of Tom's, asked Col. Zebulon Vance, former Governor of North Carolina to defend
Tom. The trial was moved to Statesville because of the strong feeling against Tom in Wilkes County. The case
was lost and Tom was sentenced to be hanged. On the gallows, Tom stated, "Gentlemen, do you see this hand?
I didn't harm a hair on the girl's head." Tom was hanged and his body brought back to his home overlooking the
Yadkin River. Here he was buried under the apple tree. Ann and her cousin, Pauline Foster, were arrested and
were successfully defended by Col. Vance and were released. Ann had stated that "there would never be a rope
put around this pretty neck!"
The ballad was written by a local poet, Thomas C. Land around the time of the hanging. It was very popular among
the mountain people. In 1958, it was revived and made popular worldwide by the Kingston Trio. The graves of Laura
and Ann are visited each year by a large number of tourists. Tom Dula's grave is on private property and is not open
to the public. The "Tom Dooley" museum is located in Ferguson, North Carolina at the
Whippoorwill Academy and Village and is open to the public. Visit the
Old Wilkes Jail, where Tom was held until his trial.
There is an annual presentation of the play "Tom Dooley" by the Wilkes Playmakers.
Visit their website at www.wilkesplaymakers.com
