Where was John Surratt on April 14, 1865 ?

[L Verge]

(03-27-2017 03:10 PM)loetar44 Wrote:  

(03-20-2017 02:53 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  I finally found what I had vaguely remembered from years ago regarding Susan Jackson's testimony. It was in Father Jacob Ambrose Walter's May 25, 1891, statement.

Father Walter wrote:

"He (John Surratt) came to Washington on the 4th of April, took supper at home, changed his clothes and left for Elmira the next morning. The testimony of Susan Jackson, Mrs. Surratt's servant, was correct as to facts, but she mistook the date, saying it was April 14th. It was ten days previous to the 14th of April."

We have discussed the testimony of Susan Jackson before, that she saw Surratt in the evening of April 14th, Mary saying: "That's my son".

Conventional wisdom is that John Wilkes Booth visited Surratt's boardinghouse on April 14th THREE TIMES, the last time ca. 9 pm. According to Weichmann Mary was "very nervous, agitated and restless" after this last visit.

I just read that some believe that it was NOT Booth who was there at that time, but her SON (!?) What is your opinion about this? Just curious to know. Thanks.

Frankly, I don't believe that "conventional" wisdom is unanimous in believing that Booth visited the boardinghouse ca. 9 pm. Even Weichmann guessed at who that was, and there is evidence that it was someone else bringing things to Olivia Jenkins. Susan H filled us in on that one months ago.

Likewise, my personal opinion is that we are overstretching in trying to say that her son visited that night -- or that he was even in DC that night. I'll stand firm on his being in Elmira.

If Mrs. Surratt was agitated, it was likely because she knew that something was going down that night (with or without her son being in DC).