41 Years Ago

[GustD45]

(12-12-2018 01:12 AM)Steve Wrote:  Just a little footnote to add to all of the Booth survived stupidity.

In his book, Finis Bates claimed that David E. George, the painter of Oklahoma who committed suicide in 1903, hardly ever worked as a painter and it was all an act/front to hide that he was Booth. (Even if he supposedly told multiple people he was Booth):

https://archive.org/details/escapesuicid...e/page/228

This article from page 8 of the 04 July 1901 El Reno Democrat would seem to disagree, though. David E. George received a contract for $600 to paint a school in the nearby town of Minco, Oklahoma. That's about $18,000 in 2018 money :



Also on that same page of Bates' book, Bates claims that before coming to El Reno (and adopting the George alias), Oklahoma Booth lived in Hennessey, Oklahoma as "George D. Ryan, gentleman of leisure." But this item in the local news section from page 5 of the 09 March 1900 Hennessey Press-Democrat might beg to differ. It mentions that David E. George has just finished painting the Rhodes Hotel:



For good measure, George placed an advertisement for his house painting and decorating services on the same page. (Perhaps the ad led to the glowing review?) :



If we take for granted Bates absurd positions that

A. Booth survived
B. That Booth was living under the alias "George D. Ryan" in Hennessey

How can St. Helen/Ryan/fake Booth be the same person as the David E. George the painter, if they're both living in Hennessey around the same time? How would using multiple aliases in the same town help "Booth" not draw attention to himself?

Bates makes far too many outrageous claims. This David E George probably got himself in trouble somewhere and concocted this elaborate story. Finis Bates was a young lawyer just getting started and fell for George's story hook, line, and sinker.