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Thanks, Roger. I tracked the end note back to page 362 in the text, where Ritter is not mentioned - just the "Clara" letter. Mike cites some of the damaging statements in the letter that could have harmed Weichmann on the stand. One specific reference was to the gentleman's bisexuality. If Sarah Slater wrote the letter, John Surratt, Mrs. Surratt, or Gus Howell must have spilled the beans to her. A good friend would be more inclined to lend a sympathetic ear when learning such a thing, I would think.

While I have never agreed with Bettie Trindal's very sympathetic treatment of Mary Surratt, I remained a good friend of hers until shortly before her death several years ago. In her defense, I think other authors have short-changed her on the amount of research that she did - and especially the inroads that she made in getting Surratt descendants to open up to her. The family is very quiet about their matriarch's role in history. Years ago, I was told by great-grandchildren that we (the museum) knew more history than they.

Betty Ownsbey opened the doors to the Powell history by being sympathetic to Lewis, while still recognizing his complicity in the assassination story. Other authors have since benefitted from her work (and quite a few have neglected to list Betty in the credits). In some cases, I think the same can be said of the lines that opened because of Bettie Trindal. I've been in the history field long enough to finally see some cracks in the glass ceiling, but when I first began at Surratt House, history was definitely a MEN ONLY field of study, imo.