Surratt Commission and Anna Surratt

[L Verge]

Welcome to the forum, Warren. I am Laurie Verge, and I am the director of Surratt House Museum in Clinton (then Surrattsville), Maryland -- as well as a Lincoln assassination addict since about age 10.

The copper plate image is very difficult for me to make out individual figures (and I am away from my important books), but from the little I can see, the image appears to be of the 1865 military commission that oversaw the conspiracy trial -- not the civilian jurors that were impaneled for the trial of John Surratt, Jr. several years later. We have photos of both groups in the museum's photographic archives.

As for the young lady, I am afraid that it is not Elizabeth Susannah Surratt Tonry. We have at least three photos of Anna, ranging in age from late-teens to early-20s (about the time of the assassination) and finally one done in later life which is more of a profile shot. In all three photos, she is a delicate and thin looking individual with light brown to dark blonde coloring. The photo in later years actually appeared along with a story about her in the Baltimore newspaper. Her hair appears to be getting quite gray in that photo, and it is pulled back in a severe bun slightly higher than on the nape of her neck.

Just as an aside, in a letter to one of his cousins, John Surratt, Jr. described his older brother, Isaac Douglas, as being the only one of the children to look like their mother. The only confirmed photo of Isaac (I happen to think there is a second photo of him) is of a man about fifty-years of age with a very impressive mustache. But he is definitely larger boned and of darker countenance than either his younger brother or sister. From the coloring and the eyes, one can easily see that he is his mother's son. The other two are not of as sturdy stock.

Were you provided any provenance for your two photos? The young lady could be a Jenkins relative or even Nora Fitzpatrick, who roomed at the boardinghouse and was arrested at the time of the assassination. I have never seen a photo of Nora. I must say that I am suspecting a deluge of photos coming to life within the next year with claims connected to the assassination in all directions. I have dealt with a lot of spurious photos over the years, but I am truly hoping that some real, identifiable ones come out of the attics during the 150th anniversary year of the assassination.