Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?

[Sally]

(11-14-2013 07:59 AM)Gene C Wrote:  

(11-13-2013 09:04 PM)Sally Wrote:  I recently had the opportunity to read through the papers of Lucy and her sister, Lizzie, at the New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord. Although there was nothing in them about her relationship with Booth, they helped give a personality to a woman who is known primarily as the Dumpy Dimwit Duped by JWB and Deserving of Disdain.

Sounds like an interesting article for the Courier. I'd like to hear more about her.

Ah! If only I had the writing skills and credentials to write an article for the Courier!

Reading the Hale family letters was great fun. I’m not a trained historian, so it was very cool for me to hold in my hands letters written, not only by the Hales, but also by their correspondents like Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. and John Hay. I only wish I’d had a couple more days to pour over them more thoroughly. Lucy’s handwriting was atrocious, (especially when she did that cross-writing thing that Victorians employed to save paper), so it was very slow going at first. It took me about 4 hours to kind of “break the code” of her cursive. Thankfully, Lizzie’s writing was clearer. Probably the most affecting letter I found was one she wrote to Lucy around 1889. At that time, Lucy’s husband, William Chandler, had gone to New York on business. While in NYC, he visited Lizzie (who lived there) and took her to the theater, along with one of his sons from his first marriage. In the letter, Lizzie tells Lucy what a nice time they all had, and she mentions that while they were in the theater a “very handsome boy” approached and introduced himself as Jack Lincoln, Robert’s son. Jack knew Wm. Chandler from the days when Chandler and Robert were both serving in Chester Arthur’s cabinet. Lizzie mentions that Jack was quite poised and polite, and how pleased he was when Chandler’s son (who was a naval officer) offered to take him aboard a ship and show him around. But the part of the letter I found poignant was when Lizzie described how much Jack was looking forward to his family’s impending voyage to England where his father was about to take on the role of minister to the Court of St. James. As many on this forum know, Jack died of blood poisoning less than a year after they arrived in Europe. He was only 16.

I also found this letter interesting because it indicated that relations between the Lincolns and the Chandlers must have been fairly friendly, despite the rather . . . uh . . . awkward circumstances.

Also, in response to Laurie's comment "I would also dispute that Lucy is known primarily as the "Dumpy Dimwit Duped by JWB and Deserving of Disdain" . . . Most books that I have read on the assassination credit Lucy Lambert Hale with being a very intelligent, witty, well-read conversationalist with a personality that attracted more than just Booth."

I agree that's true of many well-researched, non-fiction books. But I was referring more to the fictionalized accounts, beginning with the dreadful "Katy of Catoctin", through "Gore Vidal's Lincoln", and up to recent novels like "The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln" and even the "The Lincoln Deception" which has recently been discussed on this forum. They all portray Lucy in a bad light. In fact, my first exposure to Lucy Hale was 30+ years ago when I read Vidal's book. It colored my idea of her for years, until I started looking up the facts.

Anyway, thanks to all for the recommendation of “The Web of Conspiracy”. I will find a copy and read it.