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Where in the World is Mary Louise?
Mary Louise, born January 23, 1936, was a pretty young girl with long black hair and blue eyes. She did not resemble her brother or sister at all, except for the Moulon family’s signature clear blue eyes.
Very little is known about Mary Louise. One cousin of the Moulon children, who wishes to remain anonymous, remembers Mary Louise visiting her family at home. "All she wanted was someone to love her and take care of her," the cousin sensed from Mary’s visits. The cousin added, "She was very nice, and she acted OK."
It is true that, as a young teenager, Mary Louise was a troublesome girl. Some believe Mary Louise was involved in prostitution. But it is a fact that she spent time at the Convent of the Good Shepherd, located on Bienville and Broad St. The Convent of the Good Shepherd was a home and school for girls who were runaways or had come from disrupted homes.
Mary Louise also spent time at the State Colony and Training School in Pineville, La. It is known that she didn’t get along well with her family. Carol Cunningham speculates about the split in the family, "Henry bought a convertible with money that he had made at Morning Call. And I
understand there was a big fight between he and Mary Louise over the car." Carol believes Mary Louise wanted use of the car, and Henry refused to let her drive it. "I’m just not too sure the sequence of events, but Henry told me they had a falling out over the car."
As a child and young adult Cousin Thelma Nickens, from Brusly, Louisiana, saw Henry and Ruthie regularly. Of Mary Louise, Thelma says, "I knew her, but I only met her a couple of times as an adult. She was living on her own, and I believe she had told me she was living in Natchitoches."
A 1958 receipt that belonged to Mary Louise Moulon was recently discovered. The receipt is from Guillet Studio, a photography studio, in Natchitoches. The address for Mary Louise on the receipt is 524 Jefferson. Mary Louise did get married to a man named Cecil Whitehead. We believe she was married around 1959. One letter shows that Mary and Cecil lived at Kelerec St. in New Orleans.
Carol remembers the Moulon’s referring to Cecil as Capt. Whitehead. She thinks he probably worked on a ship. Cecil and Mary Louise had a daughter who may have been named Leslie. They moved out of the state and never contacted her family again. Mary Louise and Cecil settled in Clarksville, Tennessee for a while, where Mary Louise worked as a bar maid. Later, they got divorced. Cecil, a raging alcoholic, moved to Chicago, and Mary Louise told relatives of Cecil that she was going home, to what they thought was the Baton Rouge area.
Ruthie has not seen her sister for at least 30 years. When asked about Mary Louise, Ruthie can provide only two clues. She says Mary Louise used to work at Hotel Dieu Hospital, and that she lives in Kenner. If you have any information on Mary Louise, or would like to help locate her, please contact Eccentric New Orleans.
