Louis Weichmann

[Pamela]

(07-09-2015 08:22 AM)L Verge Wrote:  One of the people who "blasphemed" Weichmann the worst was Mary Surratt's (and the Church's) avid supporter John Brophy. Weichmann had to defend himself very strongly against allegations that Brophy would make to anyone and everyone. Just as I would not consider John Surratt a suspect in any attempt on Mr. Weichmann's life, I would not consider Brophy one either. However, there were any number of people who developed a strong dislike for the man - Yankees as well - because they considered him to be despicable for turning against Mary Surratt.

I don't remember ever seeing the comments about the "person in drag" who visited the Weichmann home (I assume in Philadelphia?). I would love to read that because I cannot believe that any Victorian newspaper would dare to mention such a delicate subject as that.

It's in an article, and I don't know the date or the publication, included in the link on the first post on this thread. The writer was Alva O. Reser. Mrs Crowley (Lou's sister): "' He was hounded to death, by the secessionists because he was in that trial. The prejudice at the time of the assassination was awful....He was shot at in Philadelphia many times....My father had a tailor store with a private dwelling attached. One evening we were all in the store and the doorbell to our private residence rang. My father went outside. There was a 'lady' standing on the sidewalk. 'She' asked if Lou was home. Father said 'Yes' but that he had retired. 'She' asked if he couldn't come down and see 'her'. Father asked her to step inside the door and said to 'her' that he would call Lou. 'She' refused to step inside. Father said,'Unless you come into the store, I will not call him.' 'She' started away. Father followed 'her' to the next corner, at Sixteenth street. There was a cab standing there with four men in it. She got in the cab and it was driven away. We knew it was a man in disguise, and if Lou had come down he would have been shot. These incidents were shortly after the war had closed, not later than the early seventies....'"

I used modern terminology for the same thing. I've posted before that I think Brophy was the "trusted friend" John Surratt referred to in his lecture who he sent a messenger to connect with during the trial. His friend sent back the message to the effect of, he should sit tight and his mother wasn't in danger. I think Brophy had a meltdown when the death sentence was announced, in part because of his message to John, and wrote his affidavit.