Boyington Oak- Grave Injustice topic of Feb. 12 Foley lecture

Boyington Oak- Grave Injustice topic of Feb. 12 Foley lecture

Speaker Mary S. Palmer will present “Boyington Oak – A Grave Injustice” during the Feb. 12 Baldwin Genealogy Society meeting at 10 a.m. at the Foley Public Library (319 E. Laurel Ave.) The public is invited, but reservations are required by emailing BaldwinGenealogy@ gmail.com by Feb. 9.
The legendary true story surrounding the brutal murder of Nathaniel Frost in 1834 near the Church Street Graveyard in Mobile remains an intriguing Southern mystery nearly 200 years later.
Nineteen-year-old Charles R. S. Boyington, hanged for the crime of killing his friend and roommate, was buried in the same graveyard where the murder was committed. Boyington’s conviction was based solely on circumstantial evidence.
Two jurors did not qualify to be on the jury, but neither was stricken from the jury. Also, Boyington claimed an oak tree would grow from his gravesite to prove his innocence. Years later, interest in the case was revitalized when information revealed led to speculation that an innocent man may have been hanged.
Palmer teaches English at Faulkner University and is a member of the adjunct faculty at Huntingdon College. She is an author of 14 books.
She also will tell you about the second Annual “Boyington Oak Festival” scheduled for May at the Oakleigh House Museum in Mobile.
Info: baldwingenealogy.org.