Louis Mitchell Derosier (1906-1951)

I added Louis to my tree quite awhile ago.  At first I didn’t know why he had died at such a young age, but in short order his tragic story unveiled itself.  Before I tell you what happened to him, let me first give you some background.

Louis is my first cousin twice removed on the Peltier side of the family.  His grandparents Rose Delima (Peltier) and Jean Baptiste Derosier are my second great-grandparents.  Louis was born to Sarah (Gobin) and Joseph Olivier Deroiser on July 14, 1906 at Floodwood, St. Louis County, Minnesota.¹  Floodwood is about 152 miles due north of St. Paul; it was formed as a logging community.  Louis was the sixth of ten children, 6 boys and 4 girls.

By the 1930 U.S. census, 24 year old Louis is living north of Big Falls in Koochiching County, Minnesota working as a cook for a lumber company.²

Louis’ future wife, Dolly Mary Cadotte, was born on December 31, 1913 at Danbury, Burnett County, Wisconsin.³  I don’t know how the couple met, but they got married on March 13, 1931 in Long Prairie, Todd County, Minnesota.⁴  Todd County is the geographical center of Minnesota.  At the time of their marriage, Louis was 24 years old and Dolly was 17 years old.  It appears to have been a “shotgun wedding,” since Dolly was about 6 months pregnant when they wed.  She gave birth to their first child, Dolores on June 22, 1931 at Big Falls, Koochiching County, Minnesota.⁵ 

The 1940 U.S. census shows all five children: Dolores, Charles Joseph, Rheta, Helen LaVonne and Barbara Ann; all were born in Koochiching County.  The family is renting their home and Louis is farming.⁶

Sometime after 1940 the family moved to Montana.  Louis’ demeanor is revealed in a Flathead County, Montana prison record dated August 18, 1948, where it states that he had served 10 days and paid a fine of $25 for assaults and threats.  The record also gives his age as 42, height 6 foot 1 inch, weight 175 pounds, black hair and brown eyes with a dark complexion.⁷  In contrast, in 1952, Dolly is listed in the Flathead County prison register for unlawful rescue of a prisoner (the prisoner she helped was not her husband) for which she served 24 days and paid a fine of $300. The record gives her height as 5 foot 2 inches and her weight as 96 pounds.⁸  As you can see, physically she was no match for her husband.

The 1950 U.S. census enumerates the family as living in Whitefish, Flathead County, Montana.  Louis is working part time as a mill-hand at a lumber mill, and the family is living in the Sunshine Rooming House.⁹

On August 30, 1951, shortly after their 20^th wedding anniversary, Louis and Dolly were divorced on grounds of extreme cruelty.¹⁰

Based on what played out next, it seems that Louis was unable to move on from his divorce.

The shooting climaxed a dispute over Derosier’s ex-wife, Dolly.

A Coroner’s jury was held on October 31 where testimony was given by Dolly Derosier, the divorced wife of the victim.  The testimony she gave appeared in the November 1 edition of the newspaper:
She said the night previous to the shooting her irate ex-husband demanded entrance to her apartment.  Mrs. Derosier testified she had refused him entrance many times. 
She said Morgan was sitting beside the hallway door when Derosier again demanded entrance.  When refused admittance, Derosier apparently kicked the door open and stood under the archway opening.  Mrs. Derosier continued her testimony by saying her former husband came after her then he turned and saw Morgan.  She said Derosier went after Morgan and they struggled briefly.
She continued by saying Morgan broke away, ran to his sleeping room while she pleaded briefly with Derosier to leave.
Mrs. Derosier said Derosier turned and went out into the hallway.  There he saw Morgan standing in his doorway with a revolver in his hand.
She said Derosier walked toward Morgan who said “Don’t come any closer Louie, I warn you.”
Mrs. Derosier said her ex-husband said, “Go ahead and fire, you ain’t got the guts…”
She said Derosier kept walking toward Morgan.  Morgan fired a shot at his feet and then a second one, which apparently struck Derosier in the chest.
Mrs. Derosier concluded her testimony by saying she and Morgan had both been threatened a number of times by her ex-husband.
Helen Derosier, daughter of the dead man, added to her mother’s statement that Morgan had said to her, “Helen, go get the law, I’ll hold him as long as I can.”  At the bottom of the stairs she heard the first shot.  Rushing back up the stairs, she was in time to see her father fall.¹³

Based on the testimony of Mrs. Derosier, the county attorney changed the charges from manslaughter to murder.¹⁴  James Morgan pled innocent and since he could not meet bail, he was held at the county jail.¹⁵   The trial was set to start December 10, 1951.

One of the people called to the witness stand was Dr. Stampher.  He said that one bullet struck Derosier in the lower breast bone, went on to nick the heart and lodged in the spinal column.  The doctor testified the other bullet entered the upper right leg and made its exit out of the victim’s back.¹⁶

On December 12, James Morgan took the stand in his own defense.  The newspaper wrote:
Morgan told the jury this morning that Dolly M. Derosier had given him a pistol nearly two months before the shooting.
Morgan said he loaded the gun a short time after receiving it for his own protection from Derosier.  He swore that previous to the shooting Deroiser had told him: “I’m going to kill you, Dolly, the kids and myself.”
Morgan said he was in the apartment when Derosier broke into the apartment and that he fled to his own room where he got the gun and re-entered the hallway.  There, he said, he met Derosier and attempted to hold him at bay with the gun and sent Helen Derosier, one of the children, to get the police.¹⁷

On December 13, Charles Derosier, Louis Derosier’s only son, testified that he had been with his father the night before the fatal shooting and that his father had been drinking.  In other testimony, Deputy Sheriff Bill Good, said that he had seen an altercation previous to the shooting, between Morgan and Derosier, and at the time warned Derosier about further fights between the two.¹⁸

With no other testimony, the fate of James Morgan was in the hands of the jury.  It took only 1 hour of deliberation for the jury to reach their verdict, “innocent.”¹⁹

Services for Louis were held on Friday, November 2, 1951 from the Catron Lutheran Chapel in Whitefish.  Louis was 45 years, 3 months and 16 days old when his life came to its tragic end.  He was buried the same day in the Whitefish Cemetery, Flathead County, Montana.

Thanks for visiting, come back soon,
Cynthia

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Footnotes for Louis Mitchell Deroiser (1906-1951) post