Thomas Harbin

[Jim Garrett]

(07-12-2013 08:22 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I can only surmise that it was really Gath inserting a little Victorian "gossip." Personally, I have always felt that Mrs. Surratt welcomed Booth into her home as a friend of her son - a friend who could offer a bit more sophisticated influence on the family - and as a potential suitor for Anna Surratt, who had just turned 22 on New Year's Day and was certainly of marriageable age.

The notion of a love interest between Booth and Mary Surratt was expounded on years ago by Pamela Redford in a trashy pseudo-history entitled The Woman Who Loved John Wilkes Booth. Be prepared to be nauseated as you read it...

Much has also been made about Mary supposedly nicknaming Booth "Pet." I have always viewed that two ways - a motherly habit and/or a Southern woman's way of making young people feel welcome in their home.

I concur with the sage of Clinton. While Mrs. Surratt may have been smitten with the attention of such a popular, handsome and charming man. However anything deeper is very wild speculation.

After Dr. Blaine's presentation at the conference regarding Mrs. Surratt's health....Don't think she would have been thinking much about romance.