Dora Connelly Harvill, Idaho Penitentiary Convict #2563. I couldn’t help but stare, wide eyed/head tilted at the sight of her 1917 mugshot. A large woman: 5’5”1/8 tall, 225 lbs., square jaw and intimidating stare. At first glance, her mug shot portrays a tough woman. Dora was charged with rape and sentenced to 7 – 20 years imprisonment. The prison release record states Dora had 6 children ages 14-31. The more I studied her mug shot, I began to see a hard working woman in a lace trimmed housecoat. Intrigued by the story of housewife -to- rapist, I chose to investigate Dora Connelly Harvill’s ancestry. Were there events leading up to madness or was she wrongly convicted of a crime she didn’t commit?
Immediately I began to search for information regarding the
crime. Newspapers.com search provided
notice of the verdict. On November 8th,
1917 Dora was found guilty of the crime of rape and sentenced to serve seven to
twenty years in prison. No additional
details were given about the victim or the crime. Ancestry.com provided the only additional
clue. After serving only 4 years of
incarseration, on January 6, 1921, Dora was granted pardon by the Boise, Idaho
Secretary of State. It’s hard to imagine a woman being granted a pardon during
this period of time in history. Dora was incarcerated before the 19th Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution granted American women the right to vote. At the time
the U.S. was founded, female citizens did not share all of the same rights as
men, including the right to vote. Women were considered domestics and Dora was
not likely represented by counsel for appeal.
It was
difficult to follow Dora’s ancestry back to reveal the roots of birthplace and
names of her parents. The spelling and initials of names differ on early census
handwritten data. The earliest reference document, the 1900 Federal Census,
indicates Dora’s father and mother were from Tennessee and Missouri,
respectively. At this time, Dora is 31
years old, living in Union County, Oregon and married to William M Harvill.
Together they have 5 children. The 1910
Federal Census lists Dora’s husband as William H Harvill and the birthplace of
her father as Iowa. Dispite the discrepencies, Dora’s marriage
to William Harvill in 1886 correlates to the year Dora was 16 years old; the same age noted as “runaway” on the 1917 Boisse Idaho
Prison Record.
The 1910 Federal Census lists the
names of 5 children born to William H Harvill and Dora Harvill. Futher investigation of the Birth Index
records, 1861-1917 for Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Kansas confirm the couple had a
total of 8 children together between the years 1885 and 1907. The 1904 Idaho
Birth Index records the birth announcement of Edith Edna Harvill, their 7th
child, listing: father- Robert William Harvill and mother – Rachel Madora
Conley.
Having the proper maiden name for
Dora led me to the 1875 The Kansas State Census Collection for Rachel M. Conley.
Rachel “Dora” Madora Conley was the daughter of James H. Conley from
Indiana and Nancy J. Conley from Missouri. Dora was born in April 1869 in
Jackson County Missouri, the birthplace of her mother. At the time of the
census, Dora was 6 years old, with three brothers (George C. and John W. and
Robert).