</s>1 SL 44-775 HRD/1eh RE: SUSPECT ERNEST SUMPER GAULT AT ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI AT ST ., ST. louis, MISSISSOURI A. FRENCH, on April 11, 1968. The following investigation was conducted by SA JACK The following Investigation was conductedby SA JACK Mr. LOUS F. CLOVIS, Official of the Seafarers Inter- national and inland Boatmen's Union, 505 Delmar, St. Louis, Missouri, advised that a thorough search of the records of his union failed to disclose any record for an individual named E.S. GAULT, who was not recognized for the acquisition with any person that clovis stated he was not acquainted with any person that that was not stated. By Mr. BARRY WILSON, OFFICIAL OF THE National Maritime Union, 2033 North 7th Street, St ., Louis, Missouri, advised That an ERNST S. GAULT, born August 13, 1920, in Arkansas, had been employed during the early 1950s with inland FederalBarge Lines, the W.S ., Missouri area. His records disclose that in the West St.Louis, Missouri. His record was disclosed that ERNEST GAULT has Z9959231-01. His residence as of 1953 was indicated as 1911 West 18th Street. North Little Rock, Arkansas. No social security number for him appeared in the file. Mr. WILSOON stated his was not acquired with GAULT and had no additional information concerning him. 62 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

Summary:  
The documents contain personnel records and investigative files related to Ernest Sumper Gault, Jerome Wallis Vernon, and James Earl Ray. Ernest Gault’s employment history includes roles with Federal Barge Lines, the Veterans Administration, and the National Maritime Union, alongside military service in the U.S. Army (1942–1946) and Enlisted Reserve Corps. His criminal record includes arrests for burglary, petit larceny, and assault between 1938 and 1941, with disciplinary actions noted during his military tenure. A 1948 Civil Service Commission review highlighted discrepancies in his application due to unexplained criminal history. Jerome Vernon’s records include Special Court-Martial convictions for absence without leave and disorderly conduct, a schizophrenia diagnosis, and a suicide attempt in 1963. Both individuals’ files reference social security numbers (redacted or absent) and familial connections. James Earl Ray’s records detail his U.S. Army enlistment (February 1946), assignments in Germany until December 1948, and convictions for drunkenness and disorderly conduct. Post-military employment includes work with the International Shoe Company from 1944 to 1974, with arrests for postal money order fraud in 1955 leading to a three-year prison sentence. Ray’s probation supervision following his release from Leavenworth in April 1958 included monitoring employment status, with records indicating brief work as a cook’s helper at Glen Echo Country Club in 1958 and later claims of planning bakery work on a South American ship. A 1968 St. Louis Police Department investigation found no evidence of such employment. Ray was arrested in October 1959 for an armed robbery at a Kroger store, where he admitted ownership of seized firearms used in the crime.  

Key People:  
- Ernest Sumper Gault  
- Jerome Wallis Vernon  
- William O. Gault (father)  
- Lula Gault (mother)  
- Florence H. Gault (wife)  
- Evart Hoffman (father-in-law)  
- Lorraine Carter (sister-in-law)  
- James Earl Ray (JER)  
- George Ray (father)  
- Lucille Ray (mother)  
- Lucille Ryan (aunt)  
- Walter Terry Riff (associate arrested with Ray for money order fraud)  
- Catherine Doris Buskirk (associate arrested with Ray)  
- James Owens (co-conspirator in 1959 robbery)  
- J.Lee Sminks (United States Probation Officer, St. Louis)  
- John J. Brennan (Chief United States Probation Officer, St. Louis)  
- SA Spurgeon J. Peterson, SA Harry C. Jung (Special Agents)  
- Detectives Harry Patroner, Emmert Rimmer, Ralph King, Edward McGrath (St. Louis Police Department officers)  

Key Locations:  
- St. Louis, Missouri  
- North Little Rock, Arkansas  
- Saginaw, Michigan  
- Little Rock, Arkansas  
- Fort Ord, California  
- Fort Campbell, Kentucky  
- Camp Carson, Colorado  
- Travis Air Force Base, California  
- East St. Louis, Illinois (enlistment location)  
- Germany (military assignments)  
- Wood River, Illinois (employment)  
- Quincy, Illinois (residence and family connections)  
- Alton, Illinois (birthplace and residence)  
- Hannibal, Missouri (arrest in 1955)  
- Leavenworth, Kansas (Ray’s release from prison)  
- Kansas City, Missouri (initial probation assignment)  
- Glen Echo Country Club (employment reference)  
- 2023 Park Avenue, St. Louis (Ray’s residence during 1959 arrest)  

Key Events:  
- Arrests for burglary (1938), petit larceny (1939–1941), and assault (1941)  
- Military service with the U.S. Army (1942–1946) and Air Force (1961–1964)  
- Disciplinary actions including Special Court-Martial convictions for absence without leave and disorderly conduct  
- Diagnosis of schizophrenia and suicide attempt in 1963  
- Civil Service Commission review of Gault’s application discrepancies (1948)  
- Enlistment in U.S. Army (February 1946) with assignments in Germany until December 1948  
- Conviction for drunkenness and disorderly conduct (Special Court-Martial, 1948)  
- Arrest for postal money order fraud (March 1955), three-year prison sentence  
- Conditional release from Leavenworth, Kansas, on April 5, 1958, with probation supervision in Missouri  
- Employment attempts including work as a cook’s helper at Glen Echo Country Club (1958) and claims of bakery work on a South American ship  
- 1968 investigation into Ray’s alleged bakery employment yielding no records  
- October 1959 armed robbery at a Kroger store in St. Louis involving Ray and James Owens, resulting in arrest after weapons were seized from Ray’s residence  

Key Organizations:  
- Veterans Administration  
- National Maritime Union  
- Federal Barge Lines  
- U.S. Army and Air Force Personnel Records Centers  
- Civil Service Commission  
- Metropolitan Life Insurance Company  
- U.S. Army (military service records)  
- International Shoe Company (employment)  
- United States Postal Inspection Service (arrest and conviction for money order fraud)  
- Veterans Administration (education claim file review)  
- United States Probation Office (supervised Ray’s probation)  
- St. Louis Police Department (investigated Ray’s employment and conducted the 1959 robbery arrest)  
- Bakers Union #4, AFL-CIO (contacted during employment verification)  
- Commercial bakeries in St. Louis (subject of investigation for Ray’s employment history)  

Note: Social security numbers are noted as absent or redacted in relevant records.

MLK Declassified Files

44-si-561_sec_009_ser_529_only-part_3_of_9.pdf

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