The New York Crowd

[L Verge]

Maybe the word "Tales" in the title of the book explains the falsehood of the claim that Booth was engaged to Beall's sister. Many long years ago, one of the early speakers at a Surratt Society meeting was Dr. Richard D. Mudd, and I remember being somewhat amazed that he was giving credence to the stories of Booth's and Beall's friendship. I remember James O. Hall saying later that his research had never turned up any connection. If Hall and Kauffman missed something, I would be very surprised.

I have also been keeping quiet since the name Dr. Merritt was mentioned because I was under the impression that Merritt was one of those who perjured himself in order to substantiate the government's claim that the conspiracy involved Confederate leaders. Conover, Montgomery, and Merritt botched things up so badly that no one knew what to believe. That makes anything emanating from them spurious throughout history. Has anyone checked Hanchett or Turner to see what they think about "the merits of Merritt?"