(09-14-2013 06:58 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Anita,

Thanks for the correction. Proof again that the mind is failing. (Hope Troy doesn't see that admission!)

(09-14-2013 06:46 PM)Jim Garrett Wrote:  Stanton would have allowed was Booth's body preserved in any way.

(09-14-2013 06:02 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Again, I am not certain as to whether the commission members had the option to deny their assignment. My guess would be no, unless there was found to be some kind of legal issue that would cause them to compromise the case. However, I also think that many of them felt duty bound to be the final avengers for Lincoln.

(09-14-2013 02:21 PM)Anita Wrote:  Did any evidence turn up that Booth's accomplices were at the Petersen house at some point? Did the Petersens know Mary Surratt?

(09-15-2013 05:52 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(09-14-2013 02:21 PM)Anita Wrote:  Did any evidence turn up that Booth's accomplices were at the Petersen house at some point? Did the Petersens know Mary Surratt?

I do not believe the Petersen family knew Mary Surratt, and I don't think any of Booth's accomplices ever stayed at the Petersen House. However, two actors, John Mathews and Charles Warwick, said they had earlier rented the same room Lincoln died in (during the 1864-1865 play season). They both claimed that Booth had visited them and had rested on the bed (in which Lincoln died) during these visits.

(09-15-2013 03:34 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Anita, the only time I have come across Warwick's name was in connection with that story he told; I have never seen his name mentioned in connection to the assassination, so I don't think he was arrested. I am not sure about John Mathews - maybe someone else will know. I know Mathews feared arrest and being charged with complicity, so he burned the letter Booth gave him. He was in the cast for Our American Cousin. I once read the entire cast was arrested; but I've also read the cast was arrested with the exceptions of Laura Keene and William J. Ferguson. However, I don't recall specifically reading that Mathews was ever arrested, so I am not sure on this. Good question, Anita.

(09-22-2013 06:16 PM)Anita Wrote:  Since your post I have been searching for info related to Matthews and have come up with little except his testimony for the trial. Where was he born, who were his friends, where was he prior to "Our American Cousin", for example.

(09-22-2013 06:38 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I was just going to post that, Joe. I believe it was in either June, July, or August, and it was written by a Surratt Society member by the name of Scott Schroeder, whom I met for the first time at our conference last March. Scott is descended through the Matthews family.

Also, I know that the movie The Conspirator showed Anna going behind a chest at the boardinghouse to find a ledger to give to Aiken. However, while it is likely that one existed, I have never seen reference to it specifically. The tavern account records are in the National Archives, and our museum has bits and pieces out of those; but I do not remember anyone (even James O. Hall) mentioning the boardinghouse ledger.

If Mrs. Surratt were in on the plots, like I think she was, I doubt that she would keep any written records on Confederate "friends" who stopped over for the night, etc. Her paying customers were Weichmann, the Holohans, Nora Fitzpatrick, and the ten-year-old girl whose name I absolutely cannot remember right now... Got it! Apollonia Dean!

(09-23-2013 05:46 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I think I failed to hit POST, Anita. I had replied that I would send you the Matthews article, and thanks to Joe, I now know which month to look for. For anyone interested, we do sell back issues for $1 each. However, bear in mind that, with few exceptions, we have published a newsletter every month since 1977. Not every issue pertained just to the assassination because our members are also interested in Victorian culture and society, events of the 19th-century, etc.

That said, we began compiling the best of the assassination articles into books. To date, we have three volumes that cover from 1977 to 2000, and one of my staff, Lindsey Horn of this forum, is currently working on what will likely be two volumes covering 2001-2012. We sell the first three volumes for $25 each or all three for $65. Life members receive a 15% discount on top of that.

As for the momentary disconnects in my brain, remembering Apollonia Dean that quickly was a fluke. Usually, it takes me hours to get back in gear. Being a school teacher, I used to be great at remembering students' names for years (especially the trouble-makers). That talent was the first to go, however, and it is very frustrating -- and embarrassing when you go to introduce someone and you can't remember their name!