This post was originally going to be about Allyn King, the early silver screen actress.

I began the post but as I researched, I got derailed—as I so often do!—when I read about an incident that occurred early in Allyn’s life. She wasn’t even physically present when it occurred, but it changed her trajectory and it’s a fascinating story. So come with me on this winding journey!

Allyn was born in Winston, North Carolina in February 1899, the second child of Dr. Allen King and his wife, Phoebe Whitaker King.  She had an older sister named Phoebe. There are some duplicate names in this story, so to keep it simple, I’ll use the parents’ formal names (Dr. and Mrs. King) to distinguish them from their daughters Phoebe and Allyn.

A few years after Allyn’s birth the Kings moved to Louisiana.

Why did the Kings go to Louisiana? They were probably drawn there because Dr. King was born and raised in New Orleans; however, the family opted to move to Morgan City, a small town about 90 minutes away from the Big Easy.

Morgan City may have been a more manageable place for Dr. King to build a practice. He set up shop in a small office he rented in the bank building.

Among Dr. King’s patients was the Olivier family. The Oliviers had a tragic story. Mrs. Olivier died many years earlier, after bearing her fifth child. Mr. Olivier soon married Miss Souby, the sister of a local priest. By the time Mr. Olivier died eight years later, his three oldest children were adults. The other two were technically orphans, but their stepmother stayed and continued to raise them after the death of their father.

Hazel Olivier was 19 years old, and she still lived in the family home. She was a schoolteacher in Morgan City but in late January or early February of 1909, Miss Olivier took a mysterious leave of absence and traveled to New Orleans. Not much was thought of it by her friends and acquaintances at the time.

The Kings were also traveling. Mrs. King took Phoebe and Allyn to North Carolina to visit their maternal grandparents. In those days, a trip from southern Louisiana to North Carolina was no easy task, so their visit promised to be a long one.

Dr. King remained in Louisiana to work. At least, that was why he said he was staying behind. The doctor did take an extended trip to New Orleans but no connection was made to Hazel’s visit. Indeed, there may have been none.

Hazel returned to Morgan City in April. Soon after her arrival, she insisted on visiting the Sacred Heart church to speak to Father Souby. Her stepmother and a friend accompanied her. Once inside, Hazel told the priest her conscience was bothering her and confessed she had gone to New Orleans “to have an operation.” Abortion was illegal, but the real criminal in her listeners’ minds was the man who had gotten her into this terrible situation. When she was pressed, Hazel said it was Dr. King.

If you’ve spent much time in a small Southern town, you might be familiar with the astonishing speed with which a story can spread. The gist of Hazel’s story was immediately shared far and wide, and by the time families sat down for supper that evening, the story was public property.

Dr. King, blissfully unaware of all of this, was gone several weeks longer. He returned home late on the evening of May 11 and immediately went to bed.

Go to The Kings of Louisiana, Part 2!