Louis Weichmann

[Susan Higginbotham]

(09-20-2015 05:45 PM)Pamela Wrote:  Laurie, you made an assumption as to what I meant by the word 'concoction' which was wrong. In his book, written more than two decades after the assassination, Weichmann admitted that he, over the years, pondered the details of the day of the trip to Surrattsville on the 14th "almost incessantly". That's OCD for you! I think he suffered from a combination of OCD and PTSD (post traumatic stress syndrome). The letter from Calvert which Mrs. Surratt told Louis came on the 14th, was dated the 12th, and he believed that Mary lied to him when she said the letter arrived on the 14th because it should have arrived no later than the 13th. Mary used this urgency of timing to explain to him the necessity and the purpose of the trip, and she had him say the same in a letter he wrote to Nothey at her behest at the tavern. Nowhere in the letter did she mention an appointment with him at the tavern, or to meet her at the tavern or anywhere else, and Gynne was given the letter just after it was written and testified that he gave it to Nothey that day.

P 170, Weichmann: Whenever I think of it, and it is almost incessantly, it is always with feelings of mortification and shame, that a woman, having children other than myself, could have so basely and willingly betrayed my confidence, and stooped to actions which have almost ruined my life. It was a vile insult and outrage upon my young manhood. That drive to Surrattsville, and the developments growing out of it, cost Mrs. Surratt her life. She dug a pit for others, but fell into it herself. Certain it is, if she had remained at home and attended to the duties of her boarding house, she would, I verily believe, not have been punished as she was."

You said,
"People have also asked me why she just didn't go to Nothey's house to demand the money. A Victorian lady would not do that. It just was not proper, and it was not safe when dealing with a somewhat spurious character. I may be wrong in assuming this, but Louis Weichmann could have knocked on Nothey's door as her representative. Perhaps Mrs. Surratt didn't think he could be forceful enough?"

Mary paid a visit to Powell (talk about spurious characters, having just brutally beat a woman and on the eve of the almost-slaughter at Seward's house) in his hotel room at the Herndon House, was that proper? Are you saying that Louis might not have had the force or strength to lift his hand up to knock on the door, or not been forceful enough to say, 'Mrs. Surratt would like to speak to you."? Louis had attributes enough to drive her in the country and serve as her protector during the trip. Are you saying she needed a Mafia loan shark to deal with Nothey, despite the fact that she, a Victorian lady, had managed to hold a business conversation with him just a few days prior?

You said, "People always assume that she waited around for Lloyd to come home so that she could deliver the field glasses and message. Emma Offutt could have done that. " Emma would have told Lloyd to have the shooting irons and whiskey ready for parties coming that night?

Regardless of when Mary got the letter (and a letter is not necessarily mailed on the same day it is dated--stuff does happen), she didn't know until Weichmann came home early from work with the news that Stanton had given employees the day off (see his letter on p. 164, which was dated and read to the clerks the morning of the 14th) that he would be available to drive her to the country. Weichmann went out to hire the buggy and returned to find Booth at the house. That strongly suggests one of two things: (1) Mary had already made plans to go to the tavern to attend to her personal business, with Weichmann as her driver, before Booth turned up and gave her the message and the items to deliver or (2) Booth had been by earlier that day and given Mary the message and the items, but Mary hadn't arranged for transportation to the tavern until Weichmann unexpectedly came home from work early. Given the importance of the message and the items for Booth, I think (1) is far the most likely scenario, as it would make no sense for him to entrust Mary with the items and message if he wasn't certain that she would be able to get to the tavern that day.