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Susan Higginbotham · 12-13-2020, 10:39 AM

(12-13-2020 09:32 AM)McCastle Wrote:
(12-12-2020 08:52 PM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote:
(12-12-2020 06:15 PM)McCastle Wrote: Susan,

While I agree that the extensive work on Sarah Slater done by author and historian John Stanton is impressive, I have to ask the same question I posed to John many years ago... what if the name Sarah Slater was an alias?

Years ago, long before his passing, he took me on the "Cawood No Escape Tour" near his home at Mathias Point Va.

A good man, and I always enjoyed his company.

I suppose it's possible that "Slater" was an alias, but Weichman's trial testimony that Mrs. Slater was from North Carolina, spoke French, and could apply to the French consul for aid if needed coincides nicely with the background of the actual Sarah Slater.

I'm beginning to think that Weichmann's information may have come from George Atzerodt, who said Sarah was from "South" Carolina. Mary Surratt was already upset with Atzerodt for telling Weichmann too much. Again, this is just a guess.

I do agree that John Stanton's piece coincides nicely, but the dates being ten years off, leaves it somewhat questionable. Not wrong, just questionable.

I have seen only two eyewitness descriptions of Sarah Slater. I'm adding a third description of a female blockade runner, given by a fellow blockade runner on the Potomac River. I believe she had a solid French connection in Canada.

This should be an easy one to guess..

George Atzerodt
Slender / Medium Size
Black Hair
Black eyes
Age 20-21
Good Looking

David Barry
Slim / Delicate in Size
Dark Hair
Black eyes
age Under 30

????
Medium Height
Black Hair
Dark Eyes
Age 23-24
Remarkably Pretty
She loved the Confederacy with an "ardor" so intense...

I would have my doubts about the birth year on Sarah Slater's tombstone too (assuming that's what you're referring to) were she not buried next to her mother and sister. It was quite common for 19th-century ladies to shave off a few years, and since Sarah's closest surviving relatives were nephews, they probably simply took her at her word for her year of birth when they commissioned her tombstone.