Document of the Month Page
Begun in April of 2012, Document of the Month highlights interesting documents, photographs, and other images from the holdings of the Louisiana State Archives. This page features documents for the current year. To see documents for prior years, click on the links below.
Ada Bonner LeBoeuf Death Certificate, 1929
(2/1/19) Ninety years ago, Ada Bonner LeBoeuf and her purported lover, Dr. Thomas Dreher, were executed in Franklin, Louisiana, for the contract killing of Ada's abusive husband, James LeBoeuf, in July of 1927. The pair, along with shooter, James Beadle, were arrested and tried in St. Mary Parish. The trial was a sensation and made national headlines. "Ada and the Doc" were sentenced to death by hanging and Beadle received life in prison, though was released years later. The case has been the subject of two books and several articles. Controversy still lingers today. The author of the second book reportedly had difficulty finding local venues to give presentations and was told prominent people whose lineage related to the case would be angered. This month's document is Ada's death certificate. It states she was born 14 September 1889 in Jeanerette, the daughter of Charles E. Bonner of Ohio and Virginia Bossuet of Louisiana. It can be found on file at the Louisiana State Archives (Statewide Deaths, 1929, vol. 8, #3216).
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Grace King Death Certificate, 1932
(1/1/19) Grace King was a New Orleans novelist and historian. Her writings included short fiction, novels, memoirs, biographies, and history. Louisiana genealogists will recognize her 1921 work, Creole Families of New Orleans, as a chronicle of the histories of numerous prominent New Orleans families. She was born in the city in 1852 to an aristocratic family and received an impressive education. She died in New Orleans on the 14th of January 1932 at the age of 78. Her death certificate, featured here, indicates she was single, a writer, and the daughter of William W. King and Sarah A. Miller. It can be found at the Louisiana State Archives (Orleans Deaths, 1932, vol. 203, p. 320).
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