The Bloody Pillow Case

[L Verge]

(09-16-2014 08:02 PM)Warren Wrote:  Working backwards, these are the titles of the newspaper clippings (my notes in parenthesis):
1. "John Wilkes Booth's Body" (story or interview about Louis Dietrich, and how he went on board at the time of the post mortem signed Washington Cor., Kansas City Times, no dateline).
2. Another Tale of Booth" - "A Texas Traveler Who Says Lincoln's Slayer is Still Alive" - "Formerly Lived in This State" (dateline of Pontotoc, Texas, April 2, no year, and signed John C. S. Baird).
3. "Is John Wilkes Booth The Slayer of Lincoln Alive?" - "The Remarkable Story of Christopher Ritter, Boon Companion of the Assassin, Related and Corroborated by Prof. Weichman." (dateline of Anderson, Indiana, January 30, no year).
4. "Another Booth Skeleton"- "A Fruitful Search Among Ancient Baltimore Archives" (about Junius Brutus Booth and how he lost a wife, separation and marriage. Quotes lots of county records about Junius Booth, some good geneology, dateline of Baltimore, May 3, no year.)
5. "John Wilkes Booth" - Pleasing Reminiscence of the Great Actor by One of the Finest Talks in Georgia" (about Hon. Albert R. Lamar's remembrances of a gentle Booth. Dateline of Atlanta, September 5, no year - from the New Orleans Democrat. Signed "S.C." at end of article).
6. A short pasted clipping of Boston Corbett's whereabouts and occupation (no dateline or attribution).
7. "John Wilkes Booth" - "The Forty-Eight Hours Preceding His Capture- His Arrival at the Garrett Farm, and His Bearing" (Very lengthy article with a lot of meat and quotes such as from Conger (dateline of Philadelphia, December 12, no year, from the Chicago Tribune).
8. "(missing heading, continuing-) "The Assassination." (short article, no dateline).
9. "The Death of Booth" - "An Interesting Story Told By Perhaps the Only Living Witness" (story about and quotes by Rev. Dr. R. B. Garrett of Austin, Texas, the teen who was with his father, Richard Garrett at Booth's death. Dateline of 1898 (cut and pasted on article) Baltimore Special to the Pittsburgh Dispatch).
10. "Wilkes Booth's A Natural Death" - "Woman Tells the Details of His Escape on the Mary Porter" - "Sailed for the Bahamas" (story about Booth's escape, giving ring to captain's wife, died in England, etc. Story about Mrs. J. W. Christ. Dateline Beloit, Wis., April 21, no year).
11. "Stories of Lincoln" (reminiscences of General Badeau. No date, but must be 1904 because it states, "Lincoln was born 84 years ago on February 12, 1820").
12. "Souvenirs of Uncle Abe" - "They Were Gathered Together By Osborn H. Oldroyd" (good description of his collection in the Peterson House. Do dateline, but signed by Gabrielle Marie Jacobs).
13. "Lincoln's Remains" - "They Are Taken From Their Temporary Grave And Laid Finally to Rest (dateline Springfield, Ill., April 15, no year, but must be 1887. Good description of the coffins.)
14. "Where Lincoln Died" - "Relics of the Place Where the Assassinated President Died" ( I posted pictures of this article. No dateline, but came from Chicago Herald).
15. "The Last of Earth" "Death Bed Scene as the Noble Soul Went Out From Life" and "Where Lincoln Died" (mainly copies of either woodcuts or engravings of the deathbed scene and the Peterson House. No dateline).

There are more articles, but these above are about the assassination, death and Booth. As I've said, I'm sure these are not new to you, but maybe there's a gem or two to be mined from them.

Seeing mention of the names Christopher Ritter and Mrs. J.W. Christ in the list above brought back memories of when the Surratt Society, under the leadership of James O. Hall and Steven G. Miller, put together a booklet entitled The Body in the Barn in an attempt to separate good fact from murky lore regarding the possibility of Booth's escape. We still sell that booklet many years later.

Christopher Ritter and Mrs. Christ were two of the people whose stories were traced. If you want to see a full detail of Mrs. Christ's story, go here: http://www.beloithistoricalsociety.com/conspiracy.php

At that time, we had a Life Member of the Society who resided in Beloit and was active in the local historical society. Just for Eva - her name was Herta Krueger, and she had been one of the first German war brides to come to America after WWII. God bless her, she loved the history of her adopted country.