A little-known person

[RJNorton]

By chance does any one know the name of the little known person who played a key role in the Abraham Lincoln assassination?

"The Genesee Valley Civil War Roundtable will meet on Wednesday. The meeting will take place 7 p.m. at Pavilion United Methodist Church at routes 19 and 63.

The speaker will be Joyce Thompson-Hovey. Thompson-Hovey will discuss a little-known person who played a key role in the Abraham Lincoln assassination. The public is welcome to attend."

Pavilion is about 10 miles from Batavia, New York, and about 50 miles east of Buffalo.

https://www.thelcn.com/lifestyles/civil-...076fc.html

[Steve Whitlock]

(07-20-2021 04:00 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  By chance does any one know the name of the little known person who played a key role in the Abraham Lincoln assassination?

"The Genesee Valley Civil War Roundtable will meet on Wednesday. The meeting will take place 7 p.m. at Pavilion United Methodist Church at routes 19 and 63.

The speaker will be Joyce Thompson-Hovey. Thompson-Hovey will discuss a little-known person who played a key role in the Abraham Lincoln assassination. The public is welcome to attend."

Pavilion is about 10 miles from Batavia, New York, and about 50 miles east of Buffalo.

https://www.thelcn.com/lifestyles/civil-...076fc.html

Roger,

I don't know who they plan to discuss, but it might be the little known detective James A. McDevitt. Not much is known about him, and he was a key player in determining who was involved in the assassination conspiracy. My 2nd choice is John Surratt, a very key player, but I would disagree that he is not well known if it is him. A tip to detective McDevitt about John Surratt's involvement led him to Mary Surratt's boarding house, and onward from there.

[RJNorton]

Could be, Steve. In my mind I was maybe thinking "Peanut" John Burroughs. (I am guessing the words "key role" can be open to interpretation.)

[Steve]

This seems like a local group, do you think we'll ever find out who the talk was about after tomorrow?

[RJNorton]

Steve, I shall make an effort to find out.

[RJNorton]

(07-20-2021 10:17 AM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  A tip to detective McDevitt about John Surratt's involvement led him to Mary Surratt's boarding house, and onward from there.

Steve, as far as I know, the identity of the tipster remains a mystery to this day.

[Steve Whitlock]

(07-20-2021 04:55 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(07-20-2021 10:17 AM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  A tip to detective McDevitt about John Surratt's involvement led him to Mary Surratt's boarding house, and onward from there.

Steve, as far as I know, the identity of the tipster remains a mystery to this day.

Roger,

I never heard of James A. McDevitt before today. The only reason I know him at all now is because of this link https://www.fords.org/blog/post/who-was-...ssination/

There is mention of McDevitt giving testimony, which I've never seen. Did he reveal his informant there?

[RJNorton]

(07-20-2021 05:50 PM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  There is mention of McDevitt giving testimony, which I've never seen. Did he reveal his informant there?

No, he did not.

We discussed the various possibilities of whom the tipster might be 7 years ago on this forum. It's a very interesting discussion. The discussion is within the thread here:

https://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussi...-1918.html

[Steve Whitlock]

(07-20-2021 05:58 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(07-20-2021 05:50 PM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  There is mention of McDevitt giving testimony, which I've never seen. Did he reveal his informant there?

No, he did not.

We discussed the various possibilities of whom the tipster might be 7 years ago on this forum. It's a very interesting discussion. The discussion is within the thread here:

https://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussi...-1918.html

Roger,

Thanks for the tip! Yes, a busy and informative thread indeed.

[Susan Higginbotham]

According to the group's Facebook page, the person is James Tanner.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/600692523385496

[RJNorton]

Thanks, Susan!

IMO, a wonderful source of information about James Tanner's work and life is While Lincoln Lay Dying...A Facsimile Reproduction of the First Testimony Taken in Connection with the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln as Recorded By Corporal James Tanner by Maxwell Whiteman.

[Steve Whitlock]

(07-21-2021 11:09 AM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote:  According to the group's Facebook page, the person is James Tanner.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/600692523385496

Thank you, Susan. James Tanner, for any who might not know was a Civil War veteran who lost both legs just below the knee. He later learned stenography and was present at the Peterson House when Lincoln died. He made comprehensive notes pertaining to the assassination that was later a manuscript in a book, which is available at this link:

https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/892

Corporal Tanner had a significant role in other positions he held in life as well. There are many write-ups available for him.

[RJNorton]

Many thanks to Steve Williams for sending this article. Regarding the article Steve writes, "It's from p. 17 of the April 14, 1894 edition of the Washington Evening Star. It contains an interview with Albert Daggett about the night of the assassination. Comparing this later newspaper account with his contemporaneous letter to his mother:

http://contentdm.acpl.lib.in.us/digital/...4307/rec/1

adds a few interesting details. In his letter to his mother, Daggett didn't mention to his mother that he had been drinking at the Star Saloon during the intermission (where Booth was also drinking). The 1894 account fills in the gap of how he got to the President's box to help carry the President across the street. Interestingly, his memory nearly thirty years later differs slightly from what he wrote in April 1865. In the 1894 account he seems to be nearing his seat in the Parquet section but in his (likely more accurate) 1865 letter he had just entered the door.

The article also has some information on the tipster who pointed authorities to the Surratt House.

Credit out to Steve Whitlock for making me aware of this 1894 Daggett interview."

[RJNorton]

Regarding the tipster...Tom Bogar has researched actor John McCullough and determined he was not in Washington at the time of the assassination. Although it says that the tipster looked like McCullough, he also admits that he "never ascertained whether McCullough was in Washington at that time."

With respect to the identity of the tipster, Mike Kauffman writes, "It remains one of the great mysteries of the Lincoln assassination story." When a Lincoln assassination expert such as Mike Kauffman writes those words it shows the extreme difficulty of the task of naming such tipster.

[Steve Whitlock]

(07-22-2021 04:38 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  Regarding the tipster...Tom Bogar has researched actor John McCullough and determined he was not in Washington at the time of the assassination. Although it says that the tipster looked like McCullough, he also admits that he "never ascertained whether McCullough was in Washington at that time."

With respect to the identity of the tipster, Mike Kauffman writes, "It remains one of the great mysteries of the Lincoln assassination story." When a Lincoln assassination expert such as Mike Kauffman writes those words it shows the extreme difficulty of the task of naming such tipster.

Roger,

Thank you for posting the article! After I found the article I looked for Daggett mention at the Symposium. Susan previously posted the same article for "Recollections of James A. McDevitt and Albert Daggett" at https://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussi...t+daggett. However, I can't read it, and when I click on the photo it takes me to some photoshop.