Gath, Stuart, and E.G.D.G.

[John Fazio]

(12-28-2017 02:04 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I believe that both Swanson, Steers, and others drew their conclusions from the evidence regarding Stuart's encounter with the fugitives contained in the prior research by James O. Hall, John C. Brennan and others. Mr. Hall was the original narrator for the Surratt Society's popular bus tours over the escape route of JWB, with the first one being held in May of 1977. Hall was telling of the situation at Cleydael long before others were publishing books. He is also the one who "discovered" where the Stuarts came up with the Cleydael name for their 1859 summer home. He was also very explicit in stating that it was Mrs. Dr. Stuart who retrieved the later Booth note from the fireplace after her husband had crumpled it up and thrown it away.

Laurie:

It is no surprise that Hall, Brennan, et al., paved the way on this one. A couple of other items that favor the conventional wisdom are worth mentioning, namely that 1) The use of initials, rather than his or her name, by the author of the August, 1884, article, suggests that he or she feared to reveal his or her true identity, which in turn suggests that it would reflect poorly on the veracity of the article, and 2) The fact that Booth addressed his letter to Dr. Stuart, and not to his wife, suggests strongly that he had had direct contact with the doctor, and that Herold did too. Further, the contents of the letter ("I hate to blame you for your want of hospitality...you were kind enough to give me something to eat...Be kind enough to accept the enclosed two dollars and a half...") are strongly probative of direct contact with the doctor and not with his wife.

John