A Mystery Admirer??

[L Verge]

There has been gossip in Southern Maryland for well over 150 years that Mrs. Surratt and a young Italian priest that came to serve a new parish that Mary had helped to establish had "eyes for each other." Even after he was transferred to Boston, they maintained correspondence with each other, and most of their letters are in the Maryland Historical Society (others in Pennsylvania and maybe the New York Public Library - someone refresh my memory). It is from these letters that we learned about what appears to be an unhappy marriage.

Today, I received a phone call from a gentleman who purchased an antique valentine about fifteen years ago under the belief that it was sent to Mary Surratt. The valentine is hand-dated "1858" to "M.S." By 1858, Mrs. Surratt had been married for 18 years, so I innocently said, "I assume it was sent by her husband?" -- knowing full well that (1) it might not be to Mary Surratt, and (2) that I doubted John Surratt had a truly romantic bone in his body.

The valentine was actually sent by an Isaac Strohm of Washington, D.C. My D.C. detective, Joan Chaconas, did a quick search of the city directory and found that Mr. Strohm was living at 500 E Street, N.E. in 1858. That would not be that far from the Surratts' rental property at 541 H Street, which the family acquired in 1852.

The owner has promised to scan the materials and forward them to me. I doubt that we will ever confirm that the lady from the country (in 1858) was the recipient of this valentine from a man living in D.C., but it's fun to speculate on another scandal.

[Jim Garrett]

(03-04-2014 05:02 PM)L Verge Wrote:  There has been gossip in Southern Maryland for well over 150 years that Mrs. Surratt and a young Italian priest that came to serve a new parish that Mary had helped to establish had "eyes for each other." Even after he was transferred to Boston, they maintained correspondence with each other, and most of their letters are in the Maryland Historical Society (others in Pennsylvania and maybe the New York Public Library - someone refresh my memory). It is from these letters that we learned about what appears to be an unhappy marriage.

Today, I received a phone call from a gentleman who purchased an antique valentine about fifteen years ago under the belief that it was sent to Mary Surratt. The valentine is hand-dated "1858" to "M.S." By 1858, Mrs. Surratt had been married for 18 years, so I innocently said, "I assume it was sent by her husband?" -- knowing full well that (1) it might not be to Mary Surratt, and (2) that I doubted John Surratt had a truly romantic bone in his body.

The valentine was actually sent by an Isaac Strohm of Washington, D.C. My D.C. detective, Joan Chaconas, did a quick search of the city directory and found that Mr. Strohm was living at 500 E Street, N.E. in 1858. That would not be that far from the Surratts' rental property at 541 H Street, which the family acquired in 1852.

The owner has promised to scan the materials and forward them to me. I doubt that we will ever confirm that the lady from the country (in 1858) was the recipient of this valentine from a man living in D.C., but it's fun to speculate on another scandal.

Some great finds in history start out with less.

[L Verge]

We were able to find that Isaac Strohm (see above) was a clerk with the House of Representatives in 1858.

[GARY POPOLO]

I recall when reading that Mary was very romantically involved with this Italian priest. I believe I read that in (The Last Confederate Heroes). If I recall it was a time in Mary's life when her husband John started to really drink heavily and the tavern was not doing very well. John was ignoring Mary. About that time along comes the priest and being the religious person Mary was she spent time with him and I guess the rest is history. Best Always Gary

[L Verge]

That's basically how the RUMORS went. Of course, we have no proof of such an involvement. There are a series of letters that Mary wrote to Fr. Finotti after he was reassigned to Boston. In those letters, she does complain about her husband (and they are pretty whining letters, IMO). I do not remember ever seeing any letters back to her from the priest.

In assessing those letters and the personal relationship, I think one has to take into account the bonds that many parishioners form with their priests - especially in earlier years when one's social life in rural areas was somewhat lacking in close friends to whom one could confide. What we read as "personal" today may not have been meant in that way then.

Elizabeth Trindal did extensive research on Fr. Finotti and his family when writing An American Tragedy. They were a very upstanding family. His older brother, Gustavus, migrated with his family to this area also. When Fr. Joseph was sent to Massachusetts, a delegation from St. Ignatius Church here traveled to the Provincial of Jesuits to beg for his transfer to be cancelled. When that didn't work, they went to Baltimore to ask for the intervention of Archbishop Kenrick.

Fr. Finotti also wrote an unpublished manuscript in which he shows his displeasure in the way he was treated by the Church. He had hoped to be sent back to Italy, stating in his memoirs that he had had "enough of America at that point."