Your personal choice of "most tragic" character in the assassination story

[Linda Anderson]

I agree with Fanny and Frances Seward but in a way I think Tad Lincoln had it harder than Fanny because Tad lost his beloved father, his home and became the caretaker of his already emotionally disturbed mother, Mary, when he was only twelve years old. "In December 1869 Mary wrote to her friend, Sally B. Orne, 'Taddie is like some old woman with regard to his care of me...' On Saturday morning, July 15, 1871, Tad passed away at the age of 18. The cause of death was most likely tuberculosis." The quotes are from Roger Norton's Abraham Lincoln Research Site. Fanny did lose her mother but the Seward family was very close-knit and they tried to help her as much as they could.

Betty posted - "I also recently found out that shortly after the execution some cruel person anomalously sent Mr and Mrs Powell a package of CDV photographs showing Lewis in every possible position while hanging - certainly a hateful thing to do to grieving parents."

I didn't know someone did that to Powell's parents, Betty. What a cruel thing to do. Vaughn Shelton in Mask for Treason writes about Powell's father:

"It is hard to determine how great a factor the notoriety was in the collapse of the Rev. Powell's career. His burden of sorrow, without outside help, was enough to crush him. In 1868 he made the first of a number of changes of residence, which showed him trying to outrun the stigma, and moved down to Lake Jessup in Orange County. The 1870 census-taker found him in Orlando with his wife-who was now using her middle name, Patience, rather than Caroline-and his youngest and only unmarried daughter, Anna. He gave his occupation as 'blacksmith.'"

By 1871 Mr. Powell moved to Oviedo, a few miles from Orlando, to reorganize the the Bethel Baptist Church. "The outcome of this undertaking was described with as much compassion as Mr. W. H. Brack, the clerk, could manage and still tell the truth.

'Brother Powell was a good preacher and a very earnest Christian but addicted to whiskey. He was strict in his discipline and had some of the members turned out for non-attendance. The church became tired of his strict discipline and in October 1872 they called Rev. A. C. Tinnall as pastor.' History of Orlando Baptists, E. H. Gore."