Some of you might not be aware of a connection in the Gilmore family in the state of Louisiana. Well, there was and still is.
One of the stories out of the Louisiana Gilmores involved the death of Matthew Gilmore. This Matthew was a son of great-great-grandfather Matthew Gilmore and brother of Darius Gilmore, our great-grandfather.
In 1915 in Franklin, La., in the parish of St Mary, Matthew Gilmore's body was found in a swamp. (I'm adding news articles from the St. Mary Banner from that time.) Police accused two people of murder -- a woman and Matthew's son Lawrence A. Gilmore. Apparently, the father (a widower) and son were in conflict over the woman.
Lawrence and the woman were found guilty of murder in June 1916. Lawrence received a life sentence, though not the death penalty, and was sent to Angola State Penitentiary in Angola, La., sometimes called the "Alcatraz of the South."
But in June 1919, Lawrence received a full pardon from the state of Louisiana and was released from prison. According to family lore, the woman in question who apparently came between the two Gilmore men was an ex-girlfriend of the St Mary Parish sheriff. So it appears that Lawrence was framed for the crime.
This latest information was provided to me by Molly Broussard Fitch, a granddaughter of Lawrence Gilmore who I recently became friends with on Facebook. Molly's mother was Martha Gilmore, who was a daughter of Lawrence Gilmore.
One of the stories out of the Louisiana Gilmores involved the death of Matthew Gilmore. This Matthew was a son of great-great-grandfather Matthew Gilmore and brother of Darius Gilmore, our great-grandfather.
In 1915 in Franklin, La., in the parish of St Mary, Matthew Gilmore's body was found in a swamp. (I'm adding news articles from the St. Mary Banner from that time.) Police accused two people of murder -- a woman and Matthew's son Lawrence A. Gilmore. Apparently, the father (a widower) and son were in conflict over the woman.
Lawrence and the woman were found guilty of murder in June 1916. Lawrence received a life sentence, though not the death penalty, and was sent to Angola State Penitentiary in Angola, La., sometimes called the "Alcatraz of the South."
But in June 1919, Lawrence received a full pardon from the state of Louisiana and was released from prison. According to family lore, the woman in question who apparently came between the two Gilmore men was an ex-girlfriend of the St Mary Parish sheriff. So it appears that Lawrence was framed for the crime.
This latest information was provided to me by Molly Broussard Fitch, a granddaughter of Lawrence Gilmore who I recently became friends with on Facebook. Molly's mother was Martha Gilmore, who was a daughter of Lawrence Gilmore.