Who's good at tracking obscure details?

[L Verge]

In the past week, I've heard two interesting "factoids" that need proving: Betty O emailed us that a book she is reading said that F. Scott Fitzgerald's father (Edward) was about 10 years old during the Civil War and that he used to help Thomas Jones.

Edward was born in 1853 in Montgomery County, Maryland, and is on the family tree of both the prestigious Key (think Francis Scott Key) family and the notable Scott family. John Surratt, Jr's wife, Mary Victorine Hunter, is on the same family tree, but many of the online sites try to put Mary Surratt on the tree - actually they are correct, but they never distinguish that the "Mary" is actually the daughter-in-law of "our" Mary.

But I digress. I cannot get Edward Fitzgerald out of Montgomery County and into Charles County to be near Thomas Jones during the war. There are Key families that go way back in Southern Maryland, but most of them were in nearby St. Mary's County. Was little Eddie living with relatives? How did he know and help Jones? Help! I've asked Betty for the citation in that book she's reading, and hopefully she'll send it soon.

Second quandry: My aide, Joan Chaconas, walked into my office today and said that she had just read that a blind beggar was one of those who testified against Mary Surratt at the trial. How do we find his name? It's the first time that either of us had ever heard that.