Episode 28: The Lone Shooter
The Lone Shooter
Lee Harvey Oswald
The sixth floor window of the Texas School Book Repository where Lee Harvey Oswald was at when he shot President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.
Source: The Lyda Hill Texas Collection of Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America Project, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
At 12:30 p.m. on November 22, 1963, as people lined the streets of Elm Street in Dallas, Texas to watch the presidential motorcade drive by, shots rang out. Shots that would kill the 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Walter Cronkite held back tears as he relayed the news. Shock permeated the country. Who could possibly do this to a beloved president and a new Camelot? Before the day was up, the world would know the answer, the lone shooter was Lee Harvey Oswald. 48 hours after the death of Kennedy, Oswald would be shot and killed by Jack Ruby.
Since those events, people have tried to understand who Oswald was and why he did what he did. Conspiracies would develop and never go away. The death of Kennedy is considered a mystery to this day. But who was Oswald? Many authors have tried to answer this question. In this episode, we explore what is known about the events leading up to the assassination of Kennedy and Oswald himself. Then, we go one step further. We discuss his fascinating family tree, including his French, German, and Dutch roots, a family history of slavery, and much more.
Listen to The Lone Shooter to learn more about Lee Harvey Oswald and his genealogy. Then, we’d appreciate it if you leave us a rating, review, and subscribe to the podcast.
President John F. Kennedy, his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Texas Governor John Connally, his wife Nellie Connally, along with two agents, moments before Kennedy was shot.
The moment Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald. Lee would die less than two hours later.
Source: Fort Worth Star Telegram, 25 December 1999
The death certificate of Lee Harvey Oswald
Oswald’s mugshot
Photo of Lee taken in March 1963.
A photo of Oswald when he was in Minsk, Russia.
From the Warren Commission records, Lee and Marina Oswald ca 1962.
When Oswald defected to Russia, it made the news stateside, even surprising his own family.
Source: Fort Worth Star Telegram, 1 November 1959
A photo of a very young Oswald, likely 17, after he joined the United States Marine Corps.
Interview with June Lee Oswald Porter, oldest daughter of Lee.
Source: The News and Observer, 14 May 1995
Source: Lubbock Avalanche Journal, 19 September 1977
Portrait of Mrs. Marguerite Claverie Oswald, mother of Lee Harvey Oswald. Photo taken by renowned photographer, Diane Arbus.
Photo credit: Yale University Art Gallery
Robert Edward Lee Oswald, Sr., father of Lee. Photo taken in 1937.
Marguerite at age 30, ca 1937.
One of several ads put in local papers by Oswald’s paternal great-grandfather, Colonel Thomas Hepworth Oswald.
Source: Courrier de la Louisiane, 10 November 1835
Oswald’s maternal grandmother, Dorothea Eva “Dora” Stücke (1876-1912)
Source: Find a Grave
Lee’s maternal grandfather, John Martial Claverie (1869-1930)
Source: Find a Grave
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
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The History of Liberia
Recommended Reading
11.22.63 by Stephen King
Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery by Norman Mailer
Double Cross: The Explosive Inside Story of the Mobster Who Controlled America by Sam Giancana
Lee Harvey’s Legacy, March 1995 Edition of Texas Monthly, an interview with Rachel Oswald Porter
SOURCES
Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?: Frontline
Daniel Stewart (1761-1829)
Mississippi Colonization Society
The Randolph Mill Fire: Disaster, Indignation and Recognition
Wikipedia
We use a multitude of resources when researching a family tree up to an including census records from 1800-1940, marriage records in various states, draft registration cards, newspaper articles, and more. If you would like more specific details on where information was obtained, please email us and we’ll respond in a timely manner.