$$ Trail for the Surratt Boarding House

[Gene C]

Maybe we have discussed this before, but where did Mary get the money to buy the boarding house (and how sure are we about that), is there any kind of deed records or legal papers which may show if there was a lien on the property and who she purchased it from, and for how much?

I have the understanding that housing was in short supply due to the war, and a decent boarding house could command top dollar.

We have discussed somewhere why Mary wanted to move away from the country to the city, but the circumstances and timing always seemed a bit coincidental to me.

I remember reading after the trial, most of the tenants had moved out, the property was vandalized some, and Anna was unable to make a go of things. With her mother and two brothers gone, she was truly on her own (except for an uncle?) do we know what, if any, Mary or John Sr.'s family reached out to Anna to help her? Friends of the family helped her out some, but the property was later sold, or foreclosed on?