Genealogical Research and Artificial Intelligence (A.I.)
How can A.I. help with genealogical research. I will be exploring how A.I. can assist and derail family history research as I learn more about this technology. I will attempt to use some of this blog to reveal my discoveries. In the meantime I am going to provide an update to the Lawson Murder Trial that took place in Rolla, Missouri (Phelps County) between 1896-1897. This time, I was assisted by A.I. and added a little "flair" to the story.
I will be posting more about this trial and more about how this story came about in another post (hopefully soon.) Please refer to an earlier post I made on this on January 31, 2019 (Lawson Murder Trial: 1896-1897) for a reference to some of the facts in this version of the story.
"The
following story is a fun yet informative account of the Lawson Murder Trial of
1896-1897, which took place in Rolla, Missouri (Phelps County). I enlisted the
help of AI technology to transcribe old newspaper articles and create a
chronological timeline based on historical accounts and court records I
uncovered. I also gave the AI writing assistant permission to add a touch of
fiction to the story for historical flavor and imagination. These fictional
elements are marked in italics so they can be distinguished from
historical facts. As I continue to uncover more details from other sources,
this story may evolve. For now, it stands as a fascinating glimpse
into an intriguing chapter of my family’s history, which I’m excited to share
with you."
"The
Razor’s Edge: Death in Phelps County"
It was a sweltering July morning in 1896
when Frank Wade, a bright-eyed eleven-year-old, disappeared from the bucolic
countryside of Spring Creek Township in Phelps County, Missouri. The hills,
usually peaceful with the sounds of cicadas and the occasional neigh of a
horse, seemed to hold their breath that day. The rolling farmland, dotted with
patches of dense woodland, stood witness to a crime that would send shockwaves
through the quiet community and pit neighbor against neighbor.
The day began innocuously enough. William Wade, Frank’s father, sent his two
youngest boys, Frank and Millard, aged fourteen, to visit the home of Hamilton
Lawson. The Lawson family—a large, tight-knit group with a reputation for
trouble—lived about two miles from the Wade farm. Hamilton, a patriarch in his
sixties, presided over a clan that included his son Andy, Andy’s
eleven-year-old boy Rackliff ("Rack"), and several other family
members. The boys, eager to escape the chores of midsummer
farm life, carried their lunches in small tin pails and skipped along the dusty
road that meandered through the valley.
Frank
and Millard arrived at the Lawson property between 8 and 9 a.m. They were
greeted by Hamilton’s grandson, John Lawson, aged fifteen.
The
boys, restless with energy, quickly fell into rough-housing and exploring the
nearby stable yard, where chickens scattered and the scent of fresh hay mixed
with the damp earth. It wasn’t long before John suggested they head
over to Andy Lawson’s house to fetch Rack. Reluctantly, Frank agreed to make
the short trip alone. Moments later, Frank returned with Rack in tow, followed
briefly by Andy himself, who soon left without explanation.
The morning unfolded lazily as the four boys roamed through the woods
surrounding the Lawson property. They climbed trees, hunted frogs near a
small creek, and threw stones at an old log balanced precariously across the
water. But as the sun reached its zenith, casting shadows long and
foreboding, a subtle shift occurred. Little Rack and Frank slipped away from
the group and headed into a nearby vacant field.
Lunch was called an hour later by Martha Lawson, the matriarch of the
family, who ruled her household with a stern hand. A meal of cornbread,
fried chicken, and boiled potatoes awaited the boys, but when the group
assembled, Frank was missing. Rack returned to the table last,
looking suspiciously flushed. When pressed about Frank’s whereabouts, he
shrugged, claiming that Frank had wandered off over the hill, singing and
laughing. Johnny Lawson, unusually pale and restless, excused himself from the
meal, muttering about feeling ill.
It was Andy Lawson who raised the most eyebrows that afternoon. Emerging
from the house with a razor in hand, he paused on the front porch to
"strap" the blade against a leather strop. The
metallic whisper of steel on leather carried eerily across the yard, leaving
those present with an inexplicable unease. Without a word, Andy
pocketed the razor and disappeared up the hill with his mother, Martha, and his
brother, Jacob, following close behind.
By the time Millard Wade returned home
later that day, dusk had settled over the valley, and the oppressive heat had
given way to a humid stillness. Frank was nowhere to be found. Alarmed, Mr. and
Mrs. Wade, along with Millard and his older brother Devers, retraced the boy’s
steps back to the Lawson property. Their search extended into the night, joined
by neighbors armed with lanterns and a sense of foreboding. Andy Lawson,
however, did not participate. Instead, he was seen the next morning riding a borrowed
horse toward Pulaski County, where he claimed to have "business."
Two days later, the grim discovery was
made. The clear water pond behind the Lawson house had been searched before,
but it wasn’t until Tuesday afternoon that the lifeless body of Frank Wade was
found floating face-up. He was naked, his throat cut from ear to ear, and a
deep gash marred his forehead. The left side of his face was swollen and
bruised. The small community was stunned. The brutality of the crime—so cold
and calculated—seemed inconceivable in their quiet corner of Missouri.
The Coroner’s inquest quickly turned its focus to the Lawson family. Witness
testimony painted a damning picture: Rack’s evasive answers, Johnny’s sudden
illness, and Andy’s suspicious departure all pointed toward foul play. A lynch
mob began to form, but cooler heads prevailed, and Andy and Rack were taken
under guard to the jail in Rolla. There, they awaited their fate as rumors
swirled and theories multiplied.
By the time the September Grand Jury convened, three indictments for
first-degree murder had been returned: one against Andy Lawson, one against
Rackliff Lawson, and one against Jacob Lawson. At the March 1897 term of the
Circuit Court, the charges against Rack were dropped, but Andy stood trial. The
evidence was largely circumstantial—the razor, the timing, the behavior of the
suspects—but it was enough to hold the community in thrall.
In the courtroom, the
prosecutor’s voice rang out as he painted a vivid picture of the crime,
accusing Andy Lawson of orchestrating a "horrible and inhuman
butchery." Witnesses spoke of the bitter animosity between the Wades and
the Lawsons, tracing its roots to an old feud involving a shooting years
before.
Despite the drama, the jury remained unconvinced. After hours of
deliberation, they failed to reach a verdict. The trial ended in a hung jury,
and Andy was remanded back to jail. But the case was far from over.
In the months that followed, the body of Frank Wade was exhumed for further
examination, and the focus shifted to Martha Lawson. The prosecution alleged
that she had taken the razor from her son Andy and delivered the fatal cut
herself. When her trial commenced in July 1897, the courtroom buzzed with
anticipation. But the evidence—already tenuous—failed to convict. Martha Lawson
was acquitted, and with her exoneration, the case against the Lawson family
began to unravel.
By the end of that summer, the Lawsons returned to their farm, their
reputation irreparably tarnished but their lives spared. The murder of Frank
Wade faded into local legend, an unsolved mystery that left scars on the
tight-knit community. To this day, the shadow of that bright Sabbath morning in
1896 lingers over the hills of Phelps and Pulaski counties, a chilling reminder
of the darkness that can hide even in the most peaceful of places.
The End?
"This story was developed with the
assistance of AI technology, specifically ChatGPT, which contributed factual
research, writing support, and creative storytelling elements based on
historical records. The AI played a key role in organizing and crafting the
narrative under my guidance, while striving to maintain historical accuracy
wherever possible." "The
illustrations accompanying this story were created using Craiyon, an AI-based
tool that generates images from textual descriptions. These images are not
historical but are intended to evoke the time period and setting of the
events."
