Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?

[Anita]

(09-14-2013 06:58 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Anita,

Thanks for the correction. Proof again that the mind is failing. (Hope Troy doesn't see that admission!)

I don't have all the good info you have stored in your brain files! I got lucky. I was trying to figure out the broken leg/boots posts on another thread and came across Roger's website. I didn't dare go near the broken leg issues for fear I'd lose it!

[Eva Elisabeth]

(09-14-2013 06:46 PM)Jim Garrett Wrote:  Stanton would have allowed was Booth's body preserved in any way.

Thanks for your comment, Jim. One of my simple brain's thoughts why it could have been done was my impression that (correct me if I'm wrong) it was the intention from the beginning to return the body to the family one day. I just can't imagine the "graves" in the prison were intended to be the final resting place for eternity. I would think they "deposited" the body there to have the "corpus delicti" available for some time and to shield it from public revenge. And a less deceased body would have made a further identification more agreable and easier, wouldn't it? But since, as Laurie said, the body did decease, embalming is indeed unlikely.

(09-14-2013 06:02 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Again, I am not certain as to whether the commission members had the option to deny their assignment. My guess would be no, unless there was found to be some kind of legal issue that would cause them to compromise the case. However, I also think that many of them felt duty bound to be the final avengers for Lincoln.

For me that would make it even more difficult. I wouldn't have wanted to vote them free, but I also believe it's not my right to send anyone to death. I'm not God. "You devil murdered
My dear wife! And you’re alive … Revenge be mine, says God." said the nobleman at the end of Conrad Ferdinand Meyer's "The feet in the fire" after hosting his wife's cruel murderer (who tortured the wife to find out the nobleman's whereabout) during a thunderstorm. A great ballad, worth reading:

http://www.moonfairye.com/library/feuer/fire.htm

But the commission members, of course, were military men.

[RJNorton]

(09-14-2013 02:21 PM)Anita Wrote:  Did any evidence turn up that Booth's accomplices were at the Petersen house at some point? Did the Petersens know Mary Surratt?

I do not believe the Petersen family knew Mary Surratt, and I don't think any of Booth's accomplices ever stayed at the Petersen House. However, two actors, John Mathews and Charles Warwick, said they had earlier rented the same room Lincoln died in (during the 1864-1865 play season). They both claimed that Booth had visited them and had rested on the bed (in which Lincoln died) during these visits.

[Anita]

(09-15-2013 05:52 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(09-14-2013 02:21 PM)Anita Wrote:  Did any evidence turn up that Booth's accomplices were at the Petersen house at some point? Did the Petersens know Mary Surratt?

I do not believe the Petersen family knew Mary Surratt, and I don't think any of Booth's accomplices ever stayed at the Petersen House. However, two actors, John Mathews and Charles Warwick, said they had earlier rented the same room Lincoln died in (during the 1864-1865 play season). They both claimed that Booth had visited them and had rested on the bed (in which Lincoln died) during these visits.

Were they also arrested?

[RJNorton]

Anita, the only time I have come across Warwick's name was in connection with that story he told; I have never seen his name mentioned in connection to the assassination, so I don't think he was arrested. I am not sure about John Mathews - maybe someone else will know. I know Mathews feared arrest and being charged with complicity, so he burned the letter Booth gave him. He was in the cast for Our American Cousin. I once read the entire cast was arrested; but I've also read the cast was arrested with the exceptions of Laura Keene and William J. Ferguson. However, I don't recall specifically reading that Mathews was ever arrested, so I am not sure on this. Good question, Anita.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Whatever Mary Surratt knew, I can't believe she was totally unaware. She must at least have sensed something seriously criminal was going on. What was/were her motive(s) to serve as "the keeper of the nest hatched the egg"? Did she do it for her son? Or because she admired Booth as a famous actor or because of his "womanizer qualities" (she had his photo hidden in her room - yes, not only his photo, but...)? Or for the "cause"? Was she just too "weak" to say "No"? Did she expect she would not be sentenced too severe for her part in it? Thanks for any comment!

[L Verge]

I think most of us agree by now that Mary Surratt had to know that something was going on, but please remember that something had been going on under both of her roofs (Surrattsville and H Street) throughout the war with Confederate couriers, sympathizers, and who knows who else coming and going on Confederate business. That was standard operating business from even before the war with secession fever drawing folks into Surratt Tavern to argue the issues.

I think her son's involvement was a vital part of her involvement. I think she was sucked in via the idea of supporting him and protecting him -- and perhaps doing something that would help in getting her other Confederate son home alive.

As for the star-struck widow taken in by the womanizing actor, I think that's a bunch of bologna/baloney. It was Anna and the younger ladies who were star-struck, and Anna was the one who had the hidden photo of Booth. However, I do believe that Booth's polished ways could impress Mary Surratt with the idea that her children were "moving up in the world" with such friends. Mary had been well-educated in a Catholic girls' school and so had her daughter. I have always felt that she wanted more out of life than to be married to a drunk and stuck in a country tavern. Anna was of a marriageable age, and I believe that her beau from before had been killed in the war. Booth was just the right age for Anna.

And then, I think it reached the point of no return for Mary Surratt. She and her son were in too deep and no way was Booth going to back out of his plans. She could have slammed the door in his face, but the attempts against Lincoln were going to proceed and somehow the finger of guilt would end up pointing back to H Street and Surrattsville.

[Anita]

(09-15-2013 03:34 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Anita, the only time I have come across Warwick's name was in connection with that story he told; I have never seen his name mentioned in connection to the assassination, so I don't think he was arrested. I am not sure about John Mathews - maybe someone else will know. I know Mathews feared arrest and being charged with complicity, so he burned the letter Booth gave him. He was in the cast for Our American Cousin. I once read the entire cast was arrested; but I've also read the cast was arrested with the exceptions of Laura Keene and William J. Ferguson. However, I don't recall specifically reading that Mathews was ever arrested, so I am not sure on this. Good question, Anita.

Since your post I have been searching for info related to Matthews and have come up with little except his testimony for the trial. Where was he born, who were his friends, where was he prior to "Our American Cousin", for example. I also can't find a ledger for the tenants who lived at the Petersen House during the war years. I believe there was a register for the Serratt House but was it a true account of who stayed there? I'm also curious about the hotel register for the National. Were all of these cross-checked by the cast of suspects?

[J. Beckert]

(09-22-2013 06:16 PM)Anita Wrote:  Since your post I have been searching for info related to Matthews and have come up with little except his testimony for the trial. Where was he born, who were his friends, where was he prior to "Our American Cousin", for example.

There was a good article a few months back in the Surratt Courier regarding Matthews.

[L Verge]

I was just going to post that, Joe. I believe it was in either June, July, or August, and it was written by a Surratt Society member by the name of Scott Schroeder, whom I met for the first time at our conference last March. Scott is descended through the Matthews family.

Also, I know that the movie The Conspirator showed Anna going behind a chest at the boardinghouse to find a ledger to give to Aiken. However, while it is likely that one existed, I have never seen reference to it specifically. The tavern account records are in the National Archives, and our museum has bits and pieces out of those; but I do not remember anyone (even James O. Hall) mentioning the boardinghouse ledger.

If Mrs. Surratt were in on the plots, like I think she was, I doubt that she would keep any written records on Confederate "friends" who stopped over for the night, etc. Her paying customers were Weichmann, the Holohans, Nora Fitzpatrick, and the ten-year-old girl whose name I absolutely cannot remember right now... Got it! Apollonia Dean!

[Anita]

(09-22-2013 06:38 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I was just going to post that, Joe. I believe it was in either June, July, or August, and it was written by a Surratt Society member by the name of Scott Schroeder, whom I met for the first time at our conference last March. Scott is descended through the Matthews family.

Also, I know that the movie The Conspirator showed Anna going behind a chest at the boardinghouse to find a ledger to give to Aiken. However, while it is likely that one existed, I have never seen reference to it specifically. The tavern account records are in the National Archives, and our museum has bits and pieces out of those; but I do not remember anyone (even James O. Hall) mentioning the boardinghouse ledger.

If Mrs. Surratt were in on the plots, like I think she was, I doubt that she would keep any written records on Confederate "friends" who stopped over for the night, etc. Her paying customers were Weichmann, the Holohans, Nora Fitzpatrick, and the ten-year-old girl whose name I absolutely cannot remember right now... Got it! Apollonia Dean!

1. I became a lifetime member of the Serratt Society effective with the Sept. 2013 issue. Do they sell back issues? I'd like to read about Matthews.

2. The movie is where I saw the ledger! You pulled up Apollonia's name pretty quickly!

[J. Beckert]

It's in the July 2013 issue.

[L Verge]

I think I failed to hit POST, Anita. I had replied that I would send you the Matthews article, and thanks to Joe, I now know which month to look for. For anyone interested, we do sell back issues for $1 each. However, bear in mind that, with few exceptions, we have published a newsletter every month since 1977. Not every issue pertained just to the assassination because our members are also interested in Victorian culture and society, events of the 19th-century, etc.

That said, we began compiling the best of the assassination articles into books. To date, we have three volumes that cover from 1977 to 2000, and one of my staff, Lindsey Horn of this forum, is currently working on what will likely be two volumes covering 2001-2012. We sell the first three volumes for $25 each or all three for $65. Life members receive a 15% discount on top of that.

As for the momentary disconnects in my brain, remembering Apollonia Dean that quickly was a fluke. Usually, it takes me hours to get back in gear. Being a school teacher, I used to be great at remembering students' names for years (especially the trouble-makers). That talent was the first to go, however, and it is very frustrating -- and embarrassing when you go to introduce someone and you can't remember their name!

[Anita]

(09-23-2013 05:46 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I think I failed to hit POST, Anita. I had replied that I would send you the Matthews article, and thanks to Joe, I now know which month to look for. For anyone interested, we do sell back issues for $1 each. However, bear in mind that, with few exceptions, we have published a newsletter every month since 1977. Not every issue pertained just to the assassination because our members are also interested in Victorian culture and society, events of the 19th-century, etc.

That said, we began compiling the best of the assassination articles into books. To date, we have three volumes that cover from 1977 to 2000, and one of my staff, Lindsey Horn of this forum, is currently working on what will likely be two volumes covering 2001-2012. We sell the first three volumes for $25 each or all three for $65. Life members receive a 15% discount on top of that.

As for the momentary disconnects in my brain, remembering Apollonia Dean that quickly was a fluke. Usually, it takes me hours to get back in gear. Being a school teacher, I used to be great at remembering students' names for years (especially the trouble-makers). That talent was the first to go, however, and it is very frustrating -- and embarrassing when you go to introduce someone and you can't remember their name!

Thanks Laurie. I want to pick up those books and I'm looking forward to reading all the articles in future editions.

And I know the frustration that sets in when trying to recall the name of a person you are speaking with. UGH! But your recall on this forum is amazing. Is it the snails?

[Eva Elisabeth]

Hope it's ok if I put these questions here (and they are not too basic to be asked at all).
Was Lucy Hale arrested, too? Was she questioned in the trial? Wasn't she as JWB's fiancée suspected of probably knowing something? Or did she benefit from her father's position?