Does anyone know...?

[John Fazio]

Everyone:

A little clarification re Miss Porterfield. Please Google "Weik a new story of the Lincoln Assassination". Then hit "The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine". This will take you to the 1913 issue. There, beginning on p. 559, you will find the article. Miss Porterfield was from Greencastle, Indiana. She happened to be in Washington at the time because her mother brought her there. On p. 561 there is the business about Booth asking her how to spell "tyrannis". Reck ("Last 24 Hours") mentions the incident (p. 105) and lists Weik's article as his source. I haven't checked, but it's a good bet that everyone who mentions this exchange between Miss Porterfield and Booth is using the same source--Weik's article. Her account squares well with everything else we know about April 14. It's an interesting read and I am inclined to credit it fairly well. I believe everyone knows that I do not reject tradition too easily. Everything has a root. I found no reference in her account to John Porterfield, the Secret Service agent in Canada.

John