Booth's visit to the Surratt Boarding House after the assassination

[Jim Garrett]

(10-26-2012 05:16 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  Sounds good. Also, I think the family atmosphere at the Garretts would have encouraged him to linger. There are comments about his interaction with the younger children, and we know from things that Asia wrote that he was very good with children. Maybe he knew that the end was near and decided to heck with it. There is just so much that the average soul can endure - especially one as high-spirited as JWB when faced with failure and pain.

And before anyone jumps on me as a Booth sympathizer, that's not what I'm attempting to say!

What this discussion group has done exceedingly well is take on the task of developing the principal players in this countries greatest and most tragic drama, and turn them into real flesh and bone people with emotions, feelings, character and.....life. History has painted JWB as nothing more than a villian. Like it or not he was one of the greatest actors, a loving son and brother. He had a great impact with Richard Bayham Garrett (11 years old in 1865) to the degree, that he continued a very caring correspondence with Edwin Booth for decades. Richard Garrett's sister-in-law, Lucinda appears to have had feeling for him for the rest of her life. It can be argued that every woman was in love with JWB, but I think by the time Lucinda met him, he was probab;y pretty worse for wear.....but he still had that spark.