A Mystery Admirer??

[L Verge]

There has been gossip in Southern Maryland for well over 150 years that Mrs. Surratt and a young Italian priest that came to serve a new parish that Mary had helped to establish had "eyes for each other." Even after he was transferred to Boston, they maintained correspondence with each other, and most of their letters are in the Maryland Historical Society (others in Pennsylvania and maybe the New York Public Library - someone refresh my memory). It is from these letters that we learned about what appears to be an unhappy marriage.

Today, I received a phone call from a gentleman who purchased an antique valentine about fifteen years ago under the belief that it was sent to Mary Surratt. The valentine is hand-dated "1858" to "M.S." By 1858, Mrs. Surratt had been married for 18 years, so I innocently said, "I assume it was sent by her husband?" -- knowing full well that (1) it might not be to Mary Surratt, and (2) that I doubted John Surratt had a truly romantic bone in his body.

The valentine was actually sent by an Isaac Strohm of Washington, D.C. My D.C. detective, Joan Chaconas, did a quick search of the city directory and found that Mr. Strohm was living at 500 E Street, N.E. in 1858. That would not be that far from the Surratts' rental property at 541 H Street, which the family acquired in 1852.

The owner has promised to scan the materials and forward them to me. I doubt that we will ever confirm that the lady from the country (in 1858) was the recipient of this valentine from a man living in D.C., but it's fun to speculate on another scandal.