Who, When, Why What

[Jim Garrett]

We are quickly coming to the 148th anniversary of the Assassination. We have such an incredible brain trust on this forum. I would like members to share a little bit of themselves.

Who inspired you to become interested in the Lincoln Assassination?

When did you become interested?

Why are you interested?

What does it mean to your everyday life? (Betty & Laurie, I think we already know your answers :rolleyes?

[RJNorton]

Jim, for me it was a combination of Twenty Days and The Day Lincoln Was Shot. That was in the 1960's. The photos in Twenty Days made an indelible impression on me. Beginning in the 1970's I did a simulation of the 1865 conspiracy trial with my classes each year. It was my favorite unit, and a favorite among the students as well. I also like the fact that the story of the assassination does not need any embellishing; it is fascinating as is. To this day we are still far away from knowing the whole story.

[BettyO]

Quote:Who inspired you to become interested in the Lincoln Assassination?

When did you become interested?

Why are you interested?

What does it mean to your everyday life?

Who inspired me to become interested in the Lincoln Assassination?
Ok, Jim - you know PART of the answer.... but I must say my mother and grandmother! My great grandmother was in Richmond the night of the evacuation fire and I had heard the stories handed down since I was about 3 years old and understood what the Civil War was....(I do remember I was devastated when I learned from my mother, "We lost...!") I've had a love of Civil War history all my life since I was a little tyke. My rocking horse was named "Traveler!"

Second part of the question - I was a huge fan of the old "Grey Ghost" TV series when I was 5-6 years old (you can now download episodes from YouTube - they are a hoot! Bad sets; bad costuming - never knew Northern Virginia so closely and blatantly resembled California...)
I was always crazy about Mosby. When I read Weichmann's True History.... in 1975 and discovered that Lew Powell rode with Mosby - I wanted to know more about him and the more I read, the more intrigued I became desiring to know just who this fascinating young gentleman REALLY was!

When did I become interested? 1975 - and I haven't stopped since....

Why am I interested? It's an eternal mystery - interesting subject, interesting participants - simply facinating all the way around! And I also love the Victorian social history aspect of it!

What does it mean to my everyday life? Participating in this Forum; as well as continually conducting research - such fun!! I can't wait to get home to "dig"....one never knows what one will find! I also love going to the various archives/museums/libraries....and I love corresponding and interacting with other Assassination "Boothies" as well as all of the PRICELESS memories and friendships I've had the fortune to make over the past almost 40 years!

Thank you to all!! Best part of my life....

[Lincoln Wonk]

Jim,
It was a relic, not a person, that inspired me. I saw the deathbed pillow when I was a child. That single relic was much more moving than a multimedia museum display.
That's why Ford's and Surratt House and Mudd House are heritage tourism treasures. You can still see Atzerodt's tie or Booth's key ring or the settee where Dr. Mudd examined Booth. You can look out the tavern window and imagine Booth waiting on his horse.
I'm committed to seeing my research through. I feel fortune to be able to spend 3-4 days searching down a single fact.
In the meantime, I'm making zero money and will be a bag lady in my retirement, but it's a life's-too-short thing. We're all uncovering history.
In my everyday life, the best byproduct of the research has been meeting so many kind people who care very deeply about the same things I care about.
I haven't had so much fun since the 80s when I was a dinosaur docent at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. It's always a kick to be in a place where people get excited about the same things you do. It creates great synergism.
Kathy

[Jim Page]

This is a great idea for a thread! Thanks, Jim!!!

Who inspired you to become interested in the Lincoln Assassination?
I was astonished when John Kennedy was assassinated, and, being a chronic reader, I read Jim Bishop's The Day Lincoln was Shot. A couple of years later, I read a short book describing Booth's escape attempt. To this day, I can't identify what book it was. Long story short, I became intrigued by the mystery of it all.

When did you become interested?
Mid-1960s.

Why are you interested?
I find that, as with JFK's assassination, the many folks who research Lincoln's death have a perhaps unintended effect; they throw a bright light onto the lives folks lived in that brief instant of time. That fascinates me. The Lincoln assassination is much more intriguing to me than the JFK one; there are a number of reasons for that.

What does it mean to your everyday life?
I enjoy reading about the associated events and visiting the sites where things happened. I also have greatly enjoyed, in the last few years, meeting others interested in the assassination. They are interesting people even without that association.

--Jim

[J. Beckert]

Who inspired you to become interested in the Lincoln Assassination?

Jim Bishop with his book The Day Lincoln Was Shot. At the time, before the internet, I took it as entirely factual and was riveted by it. It made me want to find out even more details.

When did you become interested?

Late 1960's

Why are you interested?

It is still a fascinating story. New discoveries, the never ending trail of the relics, etc., make it a story and a part of our history that is very much alive.

What does it mean to your everyday life?

With the advent of the internet, it really has opened up much more information to those of us who have an interest. Corresponding with the top researchers and historians who are constantly keeping the story alive by broadening the base of knowledge of what transpired makes this a story that looks to have no end. And the fact that so many of them are lovable, giving and a pure pleasure to be involved with makes it even more enjoyable. I've met some truly wonderful people being a student of this story.

[Jim Garrett]

OK, great responses. Here's my maudlin answers:

WHO: My grandmother. In the mid 1960s she drove me by the closed Ford's Theatre and told me the story. Shortly after that she gave me the Reader's Digest condensed books that included "The Day Lincoln Was Shot" and I still have it today.

When: Mid 1960's.

Why: It is the single most pivotal event in our country's history. I also happened, for all practical purposes in my back yard. The tangibility factor is through the roof.

What Does It Mean To My Everyday Life: While the importance of the Lincoln Assassination has always been with me, it heightened in 1988. In the fall of 1987, my mother passed from a brain tumor. In the Spring of 1988, my daughter was also diagnosed with a brain cancer. My wife, young son and I pretty much lived at Childrens National Medical Center for about six weeks. For a respite, I took my son to Ford's and while there, my daughter had a sudden downturn and passed.....on April 26th, the anniversary of John Wilkes Booth's death. Whether it was coincidence or fate, it brought a greater meaning to my life and a greater understanding of the impact that event had on the lives of so many Americans.

[L Verge]

I was fortunate to be raised with a mother and grandmother who both loved all types of history - and a father who tolerated it enough to go for Sunday drives or weekends that encompassed some form of history. In the D.C./Southern Maryland area that was easy. I think the Civil War era intrigued me the most from the very beginning when I really learned what a CIVIL WAR entailed. That was also aided by the fact that my grandmother was born less than a decade after the war and grew up with people who had fought in the war or had loved ones die in the war.

Many of you know the story of how I became obsessed with the Lincoln assassination when I was about ten years old and watched my mother clean the attic (that was chocked full of family stuff dating to my great-grandparents' arrival in the house in T.B. in 1862). The John Surratt nightshirt was pulled out of an old wicker laundry basket, and I first heard the story of it, Davy Herold, and riders in the night. That would have been about 1952, I think, because it happened while my dad was overseas fighting in Korea.

I became obsessed with the assassination story and the Civil War in general thanks to good television shows and sentimental movies like GWTW, Shenandoah, and even Elvis's Love Me Tender. I read everything I could get my hands on. I even attribute my love of murder mysteries to my first love of the assassination mystery.

As I have said before, I am one of those fortunate people who has turned my avocation into my vocation. It just makes it a little nicer to get a paycheck. Little did I know that evening in October of 1975, when Joan Chaconas and I joined the Surratt Society and panicked at the thought of sewing a period costume, that the assassination would become my everyday life. I wouldn't trade it for anything. The wealth of information and friendships that I have garnered through my love of this history is immense and truly keeps this old gal chugging along.

---

Jim G - I just read your last paragraph, and it did me in! I knew you had lost a child, but I didn't know the circumstances; and the way you have merged your daughter's death with the realities of the assassination is very comforting. Thanks for sharing such personal feelings.

[ReignetteC]

Who inspired you to become interested in the Lincoln Assassination?

1. A relic: the Brooks Brothers overcoat President Lincoln wore to Ford’s Theatre on the fateful night of April 14, 1865.
2. A website: Roger Norton’s “Abraham Lincoln Research Site.”
3. Three Books: David Herbert Donald’s “Lincoln”; Edward Steer’s “Blood on the Moon”; and James Swanson’s “Manhunt,” inspired me to read more ... and more ... and more ... and now: Jim and Richard’s “The Lincoln Assassination,” and Betty’s “Alias Paine” . . . .

When did you become interested?

Early 2000s

Why are you interested?

The assassination is still an enigma to me. I love a good mystery and I especially love the opportunity to meet engaging and fascinating folks.

What does it mean to your everyday life?

When I think about the Brooks Brothers overcoat President Lincoln wore to Ford’s Theatre (and I do so everyday since I am writing a “little book” about it), I am reminded that, although it is linked to the assassination, the coat was made for the president’s second inauguration. Thus, to me, the "assassination" coat is a stirring symbol of "kindness and charity, of caring for others, and of a lasting peace among ourselves."

[Lincoln Wonk]

Jim
I'm so sorry about your little girl.

[John Stanton]

I want to start with WHEN. In the late 70's I was working in the Pentagon and I bought a farm on the Potomac, to raise horses. As we built the house, we dug up buckles, bullets, shrapnel, eating utensils, etc. and a cast iron cooking pot with a large flat rock cover. Wot's dat? Now for WHO. Two guys came by to chat and see what I found, one was called Jim Hall and the other was Bill Tidwell. It started with "I heard you found ...,. They I. D'd the farm as "Cawood's Camp". (More often refered to as The Tennant Farm.) That's who owned it. (Mercer Tennant)
I am a yankee by birth, but am a Virginian by choice. I needed to know who came here? What became of them? Why did they come here? So, my interest is not solely The Assassination, but more like Who MADE it happen. Now, when I give talks to local gatherings, I emphasize the fact, that "if you people where here at that time, living in the house you are in, we would be talking about you tonight". That gets them "involved" with the story being told. They become part of history. I tell them stories that they never knew. I told a McDaniel descendant about his G G G something , fed Booth a meal. He told me honestly "I never heard that before. That made my day. I also have to be careful, some don't want it known that they supported the other guys. I almost forgot. The POT with the rock lid. It was a mail drop. (So said Tidwell, Hall and Gaddy.) Some of the relics that we dig up today, are LIVE. Complete with fuse . I call the Navy and they come and get it. Like the 14" mortar shell uncovered by my grand son, last year. That one was difficult and went "high order, as they monkeyed with it. I want to tell the story of this farm, this area, these people, and the ones who passed this way as they went about fighting a war. I have more "details" now, than I have time to talk about them. Example: The Confederate spy who worked in the front office of the U. S. Secret Service and ruined the Wistar Raid and the Dahlgren raid. - but it's coming. Stay tuned.

[Jim Garrett]

(04-05-2013 09:32 PM)John Stanton Wrote:  I want to start with WHEN. In the late 70's I was working in the Pentagon and I bought a farm on the Potomac, to raise horses. As we built the house, we dug up buckles, bullets, shrapnel, eating utensils, etc. and a cast iron cooking pot with a large flat rock cover. Wot's dat? Now for WHO. Two guys came by to chat and see what I found, one was called Jim Hall and the other was Bill Tidwell. It started with "I heard you found ...,. They I. D'd the farm as "Cawood's Camp". (More often refered to as The Tennant Farm.) That's who owned it. (Mercer Tennant)
I am a yankee by birth, but am a Virginian by choice. I needed to know who came here? What became of them? Why did they come here? So, my interest is not solely The Assassination, but more like Who MADE it happen. Now, when I give talks to local gatherings, I emphasize the fact, that "if you people where here at that time, living in the house you are in, we would be talking about you tonight". That gets them "involved" with the story being told. They become part of history. I tell them stories that they never knew. I told a McDaniel descendant about his G G G something , fed Booth a meal. He told me honestly "I never heard that before. That made my day. I also have to be careful, some don't want it known that they supported the other guys. I almost forgot. The POT with the rock lid. It was a mail drop. (So said Tidwell, Hall and Gaddy.) Some of the relics that we dig up today, are LIVE. Complete with fuse . I call the Navy and they come and get it. Like the 14" mortar shell uncovered by my grand son, last year. That one was difficult and went "high order, as they monkeyed with it. I want to tell the story of this farm, this area, these people, and the ones who passed this way as they went about fighting a war. I have more "details" now, than I have time to talk about them. Example: The Confederate spy who worked in the front office of the U. S. Secret Service and ruined the Wistar Raid and the Dahlgren raid. - but it's coming. Stay tuned.

WOW John, that is a great one. A big common thread on the symposium is wanting to share information and make history come alive. As you already know, there is a great unwritten (largely) history and the McDaniel house is part of it. Thank you for sharing!

[LincolnMan]

Jim: I didn't start off being interested in Lincoln's assassination. In fact, I didn't want to read about it because it was emotionally painful for me. Let me explain: I started my love of Abraham Lincoln very young-age 5. At age 12, I read the monumental work of Carl Sandburg on Lincoln. Lincoln had become sort of a father-figure for me-as I was raised in a broken home. I didn't gain an interest in the assassination aspect until well into adulthood. My love for Lincoln also has cost me something-my family is from Tennessee. I have too many Confederate ancestors in my bloodline to count (and Union ancestors also). Many of my kin found it very distasteful that I admire him. Most of them have passed away now. I've mentioned before that my grandma talked about Sherman's March as if she had been there. Anyway, once I did become interested in Lincoln's assassination, I found out that it is a fascinating part of Lincoln's story. And so much of his legacy is invested, I suppose, in the fact that he "gave his life" for the "cause." Besides, I think everyone loves a good murder mystery. The assassination has so many angles-so many twists and turns-that is captures ones imagination-and allows all who partake in it's complexities much enjoyment and wonder.

[MaddieM]

I read about the assassination last mid summers day and it hasn't let go of me since. That's all I can say on the matter and my little reason seems very insignificant compared to you guys. (slinks off to a corner to cry with shame!)

[Jim Garrett]

(04-06-2013 06:37 AM)LincolnMan Wrote:  Jim: I didn't start off being interested in Lincoln's assassination. In fact, I didn't want to read about it because it was emotionally painful for me. Let me explain: I started my love of Abraham Lincoln very young-age 5. At age 12, I read the monumental work of Carl Sandburg on Lincoln. Lincoln had become sort of a father-figure for me-as I was raised in a broken home. I didn't gain an interest in the assassination aspect until well into adulthood. My love for Lincoln also has cost me something-my family is from Tennessee. I have too many Confederate ancestors in my bloodline to count (and Union ancestors also). Many of my kin found it very distasteful that I admire him. Most of them have passed away now. I've mentioned before that my grandma talked about Sherman's March as if she had been there. Anyway, once I did become interested in Lincoln's assassination, I found out that it is a fascinating part of Lincoln's story. And so much of his legacy is invested, I suppose, in the fact that he "gave his life" for the "cause." Besides, I think everyone loves a good murder mystery. The assassination has so many angles-so many twists and turns-that is captures ones imagination-and allows all who partake in it's complexities much enjoyment and wonder.

You are dead on (no pun intended) The Lincoln Assassination is America's Greek Tragedy. For many, the War and Lincoln still divide us.