Major Rathbone's accomodation in Hannover

[chrishunter]

I've been researching the Rathbones for about ten years now and I think I can help shed some light on the issue of Henry Rathbone's involvement with the State Department.

As has been stated on this forum before Henry Rathbone never had a position within the State Department. http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...10269.html

So how did this mistake get into the record?

Initially, the press accounts in the 1880's stated he held the position and that's where it initially gets confusing. Likely the press confused Henry with his brother. Henry's brother Jared L. Rathbone was a consular officer. http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...10269.html

For the press of that era this seems like a really easy error to make when you have to be on deadline and you do not have access to a State Department spokesperson as the press does today.

However I've found that Jared's position with the State Department is not the only point of confusion clouding up Henry's possible position with the State Department. There is an intriguing alternative for why the press of 1883 thought Henry was with the State Department.

Following the assassination the Rathbones remained fixtures of Washington society. Indeed they owned two homes on Lafayette Park across from the White House. The one we mainly know of today is 712 Jackson Pl, which is now owned by the federal government. They also owned 25 Madison Pl, which the family sold to the Cosmos Club in 1903. http://books.google.com/books?id=JdtJAAA...03&f=false

The Rathbones had very powerful friends and it appears there is a connection between Henry Rathbone and Secretary of State James G. Blaine.

In 1872, about a decade before Blaine became Secretary of State, the Blaines were visitors to the Rathbone home as documented in the letters of Mrs. James. G. Baine: http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&...ne&f=false

Perhaps it is possible that with this connection to James G. Blaine was fleeting. I haven't found any other connections between the Blaines and the Rathbones in the decade that followed.

However it is known that Henry had been trying to gain a federal appointment with with the Hayes administration to no avail. Though he didn't need to work for the money. http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2009-...l-asylum/4

Perhaps once Blaine became Secretary of State Henry began to rekindle his hopes for an appointment in a potential Blaine administration. Blaine was nominated for president in 1884 and lost to Cleveland.

Still the Pendelton Act would've been a barrier to service for Henry. The patronage system as seen in the film "Lincoln" was ended under the Pendelton Act of 1883 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendleton_Act. This would've been a significant shift for someone like Henry who previously could've relied on wealth and connections as a quick conduit to government service.

Inability to easily obtain a government appointment and the end of the spoils system could've potentially strained Henry's nervous system. Anyone looking for work can state how stressful it is when you can't find any work. Living across the street from the White House in 1881 after another presidential assassination could not have helped. There are many intriguing possibilities for why Henry snapped when he did so many years following the assassination.

While I have not found more information of the Rathbone connection to that the Blaine family it's possible that if there is more to this angle that the Blaine family worked to distance themselves from the Rathbones rapidly following the news of Clara's murder in 1883. If they were closely connected then the connection could've been a threat to Blaine's presidential aspirations.

Likely the main reason that journalists of the 1880's incorrectly printed that Henry was a State Department consular officer was Henry's brother obtained a consular appointment and that caused confusion. It follows that an 1880's journalist could've made this mistake quite easily and not had time for a correction if it came up later at all.

However it is intriguing to think that Washington society may have thought of Henry as a Blaine man and that society chatter that he could've held a position in a potential Blaine administration was known by the press which would've made the mistake easier to make.

Hopefully more on this angle will come to light.

(06-01-2013 01:07 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I remember not too long ago being chastised by a member of the Surratt Society for referring to Rathbone's position in the American Consulate in Germany. I was told that Henry never held such a post - period. However, this article and others that I have read since then certainly keep reiterating the fact that he was on diplomatic service in Germany. I'm so confused!