Eckert and Powell

[Linda Anderson]

Gene C wrote:

"Regarding Blood Stains

"Considering how bloody the Seward attack was, and the fact that Seward stayed in that house for a while, I would imagine the hallway & Seward's bedroom floors had a good scrubbing down to remove the blood stains and any reminders of that dreadfull night. (even if they had to sand the floors down & re-paint) Or maybe the floor rugs caught most of the stains. I would think the Sewards would not want any unnecessary reminders of that night."


You're right, Gene. The Sewards must have replaced the carpets. The bloodstain that the lady supposedly removed from Seward's bedroom was said to be in the northwest corner of the room, exactly where Seward fell when he rolled off the bed during Powell's attack. The blood may have seeped through the carpet into the wood. Fanny recorded in her diary how the maids cleaned the bloody hand print off Seward's bedroom door that same night.

"All the white wood work of the entry was covered with great dashes of blood. I did not want it washed off—but Margaret & Eliza told me
some person had directed that it should be—so I did not interfere. It was a terrible sight—there was so much blood everywhere. The drugget
on the stairs was sprinkled with it, all the way down to the floor below. On the inner side of the door of Father’s room there was, in blood, the distinct impression of a hand, which seemed to have clenched it from without. While this was being wiped off I marked the door, to show where the place had been. When we found father there was such a pool of blood that our dresses were drabbled in it."