Lafayette Baker

[J Hewitt]

What made Lafe Baker and Col Conger believe that the so called 18 "missing pages" of Booth's Diary were there when they turned it over to Stanton. Looking at the photo of the diary the pages appear to be torn rather than cut. I think the consensus view is that Booth tore the the pages out and used them to write notes which he left at various places seeking shelter, while on the run.

If Stanton had the 18 missing pages, what would he gain by destroying the evidence?

[L Verge]

That old canard gets mileage from the Eisenschiml camp that wants to make Stanton the mastermind behind Booth - and the "evidence" was obviously in those pages that disappeared! BTW: There are more than 18 pages missing, and the "diary" is actually an outdated (1864) appointment book that Booth could have torn pages out of at any time.

[J Hewitt]

Laurie, I agree. And I think there could have been as many as 42 missing pages. I read that somewhere.

[Dave Taylor]

Regarding the number of missing pages in the diary, read this: http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...l#pid25237

[L Verge]

In the August, 1996, issue of the Surratt Courier, the late James O. Hall gave a brief synopsis of his working with the National Park Service, then-Vice President Mondale, and the FBI to examine Booth's so-called diary. Here's what he had to say: "The FBI photographed everything in the book under various kinds of special light. And, they confirmed that the "diary" entries and the samples were in the same hand - that of John Wilkes Booth. More importantly, since all existing pages were photographed, it was possible to lay them out to determine exactly which sheets/leafs had been cut or torn out by Mr. Booth (or others if you believe in the grand conspiracy). Everything from 1 January 1864 through 10 June is gone - cut or torn out. After that, only 4 and 1/3 sheets are missing. Booth began his so-called diary entries on the page for 11 June. It seems reasonable to assume that sheets previous to this were missing before he began writing. There is nothing on the page beginning 17 June and the page beginning 20 June. He picked up writing again again on the page dated 23 June (which he redated Friday 21) and continued to write on down to the bottom of the page beginning 29 June. There it ends. The next page missing covers July 17-22, then part of the page for August 10-15 is missing, two consecutive pages covering August 22-September 2, and finally a page for November 8-13, 1864."

[nomann]

In the February 1957 issue of American Heritage Magazine Phillip Van Doren Stern Article "The Unknown Conspirator" of John Celestino there is a picture on p.56 of Colonel Lafayette Baker=other two persons not id
a drawing made from that photograph ids Baker, His relative Baker and COnger at
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundati...apture.htm

Baker Version of this drawing appears between pages 494 and 495 of his version of "History of the United States Secret Service"
http://books.google.com/books?id=ATkOAAA...ce&f=false

Ironically a picture of John CElestino appears in the Kunhardt Book "Twenty Days" p.p203 only it is misided as Thomas Jones!
refernece only see http://www.flickr.com/photos/george_east...6360459847
http://boothiebarn.com/picture-galleries...spirators/

[Rob Wick]

(03-05-2014 09:42 AM)J Hewitt Wrote:  What made Lafe Baker and Col Conger believe that the so called 18 "missing pages" of Booth's Diary were there when they turned it over to Stanton. Looking at the photo of the diary the pages appear to be torn rather than cut. I think the consensus view is that Booth tore the the pages out and used them to write notes which he left at various places seeking shelter, while on the run.

If Stanton had the 18 missing pages, what would he gain by destroying the evidence?

Actually, Conger testified that he believed there were pages missing when he first took the diary from Booth. In the Impeachment Investigation Conger testified on May 13, 1867 and on at least two separate occasions said that when he saw the diary first and then later, there were pages missing. He never (to my knowledge) said that the diary was intact when he took it from Booth's body.

Best
Rob