Most valuable missing assassination relic

[BettyO]

I'm getting in a little late on this thread but I would LOVE to see Powell's hat, overcoat and clothing. According to reports about 1903, these items still existed and were being held in one of the government offices. I've always wondered if they were "buried" somewhere in the Union Station/Greenbelt collections.....and what ever happened to the rest of Powell's personal effects which were in his pockets when captured? His wallet, the pistol cartridges, handkerchiefs, etc.....what happened to those things, I wonder? His comb and toothbrush are at Fords.....

We know that his Bible, which was given him in prison went to Dr Gillette to forward to his parents. They never received it.

[DanielC]

I'm getting in a little late on this thread but I would LOVE to see Powell's hat, overcoat and clothing. According to reports about 1903, these items still existed and were being held in one of the government offices. I've always wondered if they were "buried" somewhere in the Union Station/Greenbelt collections.....and what ever happened to the rest of Powell's personal effects which were in his pockets when captured? His wallet, the pistol cartridges, handkerchiefs, etc.....what happened to those things, I wonder? His comb and toothbrush are at Fords.....

We know that his Bible, which was given him in prison went to Dr Gillette to forward to his parents. They never received it.

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I'm with you Betty. Powell's clothing would be neat. I would also like to see Old George's hat. Now that would be a find!

[Jim Garrett]

I believe I red somewhere that the government had burned some of the clothing that was from the war department as it had become moth infested. These could be the Powell clothing. I also wonder about Powell's (Booth's) boots. They were quite a nice pair and I wonder if they walked off somewhere.

[BettyO]

I believe I red somewhere that the government had burned some of the clothing that was from the war department as it had become moth infested.

I had read that as well, Jim. I hope it isn't so, but as Powell's suit was supposedly cashmere, there is a good chance that it was considered a delectable snack by moths.

However, his blood-stained linen shirt wouldn't have been moth eaten; nor his linen handkerchiefs or knit under drawers. Hopefully his beaver/felt slouch hat may have been spared. I'm thinking that his wallet must be somewhere along with the compass he had and the box of pistol cartridges.

I also wonder where those hair clippings must have gone when the boys had their hair cut in prison. Were these clippings swooped up as "souvenirs?" Or where they simply swept away? As avid as folk were to chip off pieces of the gallows or acquire pieces of the hanging rope, I could see these pieces of hair going the same route....

[Lincoln Wonk]

Betty and everyone
I know these aren't prime relics, but I'd love to know what happened to the screws larcenous Mose Sanford removed from the temporary coffin they used to transport President Lincoln from Petersen's to the Executive Mansion.
I also wonder what became of the strips of shirt Fred Petersen gave to his buddy William Ferguson on Saturday morning. In a later interview, Ferguson said he couldn't remember what he did with them.

Remember Ned Emerson's son found his trunk in the attic 60 years after the assassination, with a Ford's program, Ermerson's view of the assassination and some Booth pix inside. I wonder how many people carefully secreted away relics and their survivors didn't realize what they were and just tossed them.

[ReignetteC]

Are all of these pieces on view to the public in Chicago? I hope they are and are appreciated there because I frankly think they should be at the Petersen House.

Laurie,

I saw the display a couple of years ago and it was nicely done.

RC

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Laurie, unfortunately there is about as much chance of that happening as Ford's getting the rocker back or Egypt the Rosetta stone etc.
CHS also has:
• Bloody sheet from the Petersen house – On April 21st, 1865, Frank T. Sands, the President’s undertaker gave the sheet to General Superintendent of the Quartermaster Department, Thomas Thompson who was responsible for the funeral’s surplus goods. Samuel Bridge obtained the sheet from Thompson. Bridge’s wife Julia, who sold the sheet to collector Charles Gunther in 1893. It was accompanied by a letter from Julia:

“Sir, I send you by express today the sheet upon which our lamented Lincoln died on. The blood stains are the true blood of A. Lincoln.
• A feather bolster from Lincoln’s deathbed was obtained by the CHS from the heirs of Louise A. Petersen (Mrs. Charles Rector), daughter of William Petersen accompanied by a note: “I shall shortly deliver to you the picture that was in the room when President Lincoln died and a bolster that was on the bed which he lay…They will come as a gift from Mrs. Charles E. Rector, widow of the hotel man of this city…
• Straw mattress from the bed the President died in at the Petersen house. It was obtained by William H. Boyd from the heirs of William Petersen. It was then passed to Andrew Boyd before coming into the possession of Charles F. Gunther. It was purchased from the Gunther estate by the society.
• Blood stained towel – A piece used to cushion the President’s head at the Petersen house was given to W.S. Kaufman by William Fred Petersen, William Petersen’s son. B.F. Weishampel obtained the towel in 1865 and transferred it to the manager of the Libby Prison Museum in Chicago (Charles Gunther). Kaufman served with Fred Petersen on the Federal ironclad Roanoke. Fred cut up other towels for distribution to friends and visitors alike. An additional piece of toweling was obtained by Charles Gunther from B.F. Weishampel. This piece is also in the CHS collection. The Boston Transcript described the towel: “Mr. B.F. Weishample of this city has had in his possession since 1865 a memento of the Lincoln Assassination. It consisted of a portion of the towel that was placed under the Presidents head when dying, the blood stains still being visible. It was framed along with affidavits and a court certificate vouching its genuiness. Mr. Wieshampel has recently disposed of it to the manager of the Libby Prison Museum, Chicago, for exhibition in the relic department.” Along with the towel was a folded note with “Proof” written on one side and on the other the statement “Pieced of towel used to staunch blood of A. Lincoln. Given to W.S. Kaufman by young Petersen, son of the man into whose house Lincoln was taken from theatre in which he was shot.”
• 34-Star United States flag – worsted, backed with shear material used to cover Lincoln’s body as it was transferred from the Petersen house to the White House.
• Other items from the room in which Lincoln died at the Petersen house purchased by Charles F. Gunther and obtained through the Gunther estate by the society include:
 Chest of drawers with four drawers and wooden knob handles.
 Victorian, Boston style rocking chair, wide top rail with gilt stencil floral design, saddle seat, turned spindle arm supports and six spindle chairback.
 Brass, gas light wall bracket, engraved with a diamond pattern.
 Pewter candlestick with saucer base and adjustable slide in shaft.
 Pillow fragment from the bed on which Lincoln died at the Petersen house.


• Towel – Off white cloth fragment with light brown stains set into rectangular glass and wood frame with black tape around edges. Handwritten in ink on the beveled mat is “This is the Blood of Abraham Lincoln.”
• Piece of board from the room in which Abraham Lincoln died. Piece of stained wood attached to a 3” X 5” card on which is written “A small piece of board from the flooring of the room in which Abraham Lincoln died. Authenticated by Lewis G. Reynolds, Custodian, Lincoln Museum, Washington D.C.”
• Small, round, stippled, gold locket containing lock of President Lincoln’s hair.
Two silver, half-dollars, dated 1854 & 1861 placed on Lincoln’s eyes when he died in the Petersen House. Passing from General George V. Rutherford to Charles Gunther to Chicago Historical Society

Hi, Rich,
Did the president's undertaker, Frank Sands, keep a record of the embalming and preparation (dressing) of the president for burial?

Thanks,
RC

[Rsmyth]

Hi RC,
I do not believe I have ever seen anything from Sands on the embalming. Maybe someone else has run across something.

[RJNorton]

Several days ago, I was contacted by the Chief of the Division of Medicine and Science at the Museum of American History (Smithsonian Institution) wanting information on the pair of field glasses that we have on display at Surratt House. Dave Taylor mentioned the real missing glasses in a previous post on this thread, and of course we know that Mrs. Surratt got into a lot of trouble by bringing those glasses to John Lloyd in the late-afternoon of April 14.

Thank you to Kieran McAuliffe for sending the link to this article.

[BettyO]

Fascinating article AND artifact, Roger - Thanks!

From Lloyd's testimony at the 1867 Surratt Trial and the markings on the knob of this piece, it stands to good chance that these may be the glasses....very exciting!

[L Verge]

The author of that article is the same one who spoke with me several months ago and also came to visit Surratt House in order to see the "supposedly identical" pair of field glasses that we have on display in our Visitors' Center. Both Ms. Warner and I agree that it is unlikely that the REAL glasses will ever show up - with proper provenance.

[J. Beckert]

Didn't Lucinda Holloway state she scratched "JWB" into them?

[RJNorton]

Joe, yes. She wrote, "I took a pin and marked J.W.B. under the buckle on the strap."

[Ed Steers]

I believe one of the most interesting missing assassination relics would be the field glasses that Mrs. Surratt delivered to Lloyd on Booth's behalf. Lloyd's testimony regarding this interaction was one of the nails in Mrs. Surratt's coffin and Det. Baker made a return trip to the Garrett farm to retrieve these binoculars. It may not be as valuable in the monetary sense like Corbett's pistol would be, but it is still something I would very much like to see.

By the way, Heath I love the scientific description on your picture of the exact distance Herold needed to row from Maryland to Virginia.

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Whatever happened to the ornate clock from Ford's green room, the one the actors checked when they heard all the noise down in the theater?

I believe that the clock is in storage at the NPS' Museum Resource Center in Landover, MD. Rich and Jim might be able to confirm that though.

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I believe one of the most interesting missing assassination relics would be the field glasses that Mrs. Surratt delivered to Lloyd on Booth's behalf. Lloyd's testimony regarding this interaction was one of the nails in Mrs. Surratt's coffin and Det. Baker made a return trip to the Garrett farm to retrieve these binoculars. It may not be as valuable in the monetary sense like Corbett's pistol would be, but it is still something I would very much like to see.

By the way, Heath I love the scientific description on your picture of the exact distance Herold needed to row from Maryland to Virginia.

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Whatever happened to the ornate clock from Ford's green room, the one the actors checked when they heard all the noise down in the theater?

I believe that the clock is in storage at the NPS' Museum Resource Center in Landover, MD. Rich and Jim might be able to confirm that though.

I post a photograph of the clock taken on a visit to the Resource Center (Thanks to Gloria Swift for getting the clock out).

[BettyO]

Wow! Thanks, Ed.....

I've got to get back up to the Vault sometime and hopefully, dig around....

That needs to be on display at Ford's. Wonder why it isn't?

[Rsmyth]

That is one ornate clock. Thanks Ed!