Who, When, Why What

[Jenny]

Who inspired you to become interested in the Lincoln Assassination?

No one else in my family is interested, sadly, so my "who" is more of a "what." It was actually a book called Unsolved Texas Mysteries that I received for Christmas when I was 13 years old. I remember seeing the image of Booth on the cover right away, oddly enough, and was drawn to him for some reason even thought I didn't remember his name (I just knew it was the actor who had shot Lincoln from when I was in the 5th grade). One of the "unsolved mysteries" involved the John St. Helens/David E. George story, and it quickly became my favorite in the book. I wanted to learn more about John Wilkes Booth to see if he really could have escaped, and the more I learned about Booth (and a lot of the wild stories about his "escape"), the more I learned about the other people involved in the Lincoln assassination.

(... and no, I don't believe Booth escaped. I'm almost ashamed to admit that my interest came initially from a book with a "Booth escaped" theory. I guess we all have to start somewhere!)

When did you become interested?

I was 13 years old so it would have been Christmas of 1997. Ever since that Christmas, I've been hooked. I did take "a break" from the Lincoln assassination itself for about 10 years to read and learn about the Civil War in general and the battles. Then in the summer of 2011 I regained my interest in the assassination and John Wilkes Booth again.

Why are you interested?

John Wilkes Booth, his associates, and the interesting twists and turns and unknowns in the actual assassination fascinate me. Different ideas and theories by historians and authors on small details regarding the assassination keep me thinking for hours on end! There is another reason too that some of you know but I'd rather not go into it here simply because it is spiritual, not historical.

What does it mean to your everyday life?

It's very much part of my daily life, especially for the reason mentioned above, and I love being able to speak with historians and knowledgeable folks about the assassination over the Internet. I recently joined the Surratt Society, and Laurie and her sweet librarian at the Surratt House Museum have been extremely helpful in helping me with some information I wouldn't have access to otherwise. I am hoping to make a trip up to Maryland to visit one of these days!

(Jim, I'm so sorry to learn about your daughter... but your story is very fascinating in regards to ties into the assassination.)