John Surratt, Jr.

[L Verge]

In my never-ending quest to get my desk to look like the paperless society that we are supposed to be living in, I ran across a copy of a letter that John Surratt, Jr.'s granddaughter had written to James O. Hall in 1973. Mr. Hall had contacted her inquiring about whether or not her grandmother had kept any family papers. Here is the reply:

I truly wish that I could help you. John's wife, my grandmother, lived with us from the time of her husband's death until her death. I am quite sure she had no papers.
Anna's children - all dead now -- may have had them. Anna married a "Yankee" officer & lived quietly away from the family. Her daughter Clara & my aunt were close so I do have the rosary beads that went to the gallows & a couple of pieces of jewelry. But -- no facts.
You see we were made to feel that this was a skeleton in the closet - due probably to the emotional strain under which my grandfather labored all his life -- and the attitude of the public.
I've often wished I could somehow portray John, the eager young man, who was fighting for a cause - just as young people of any generation do. He made the mistake of letting Booth (reckless, drank too much, jealous - but not all bad) get him into bad company. The consequences were not considered. The consequences shadowed the rest of his life. His amends were in the form of the loving father & husband. Many people tried to help him and his brood with contributions of money, food, etc.
I shall look forward to the publication of your book. If there be errors, I know of no one who could dispute them. You have apparently given much thought and dedication to the subject. May it be a success for you.
EUGENIA ROUSH

Mrs. Roush was the daughter of John Surratt's fifth child (out of seven), Susannah Scott Surratt Hardy. Her brother was one of three Surratt grandsons who cut the ribbon to open Surratt House as a public museum on May 1, 1976.

Her comments about "no one could dispute them" is so similar to the responses that I have gotten from other Surratt descendants. I have been told that we know more history than they do because the subject was taboo in the family.

It also surprised me the first time I read this that she definitely hints of a separation between Anna's family and John's. I got the same feeling when I organized a Surratt family reunion back in 1979. It wasn't blatant, but there was definitely some hesitation when speaking about the two families.

We know that Anna and Dr. Tonry traveled for a few years after their marriage, trying to determine where to establish his practice and their family. They ultimately returned to Baltimore as did John and brother Isaac, so I assumed they all maintained a normal family unit. Something else that we will likely never know the details on.

[PaigeBooth]

This is so interesting, Laurie! I did not know any of this great information. I was so glad to read it!

[JMadonna]

FWIW - I heard that John Surratt DID write his version of the story but could find no publisher so he burned it.

[LincolnMan]

Wow Laurie- what an amazing document!

[L Verge]

Jerry,

According to what I was told by one of John Surratt's grandchildren, it had nothing to do with him not finding a publisher. Supposedly, John said that there were other families who would be hurt by his revealing in print what had gone on. His few lectures were already in print and told the crux of what history needed to know.

[JMadonna]

Thanks Laurie,
Too bad he didn't throw it in a time capsule to be opened after all were dead.

[L Verge]

Agreed. He's one of those that I hope to meet in the hereafter so that I can choke the truth out of them.

[LincolnToddFan]

Fascinating. This is the first time that I have heard or read of a family split between John and his sister Anna and their descendants.

Was the rift caused by Anna's (very understandable) resentment that John did not lift a finger to try and save their mother? I think I would have held a grudge too, quite frankly. Wasn't John Jr. the one who brought Wilkes Booth into the Surratt family circle in the first place?

Or was it something else?

[L Verge]

I never heard flat out that there was a rift, but there was just a sense that the generation I was working with organizing the family reunion here was sort of hush-hush about the two sides and what relics some had and others didn't, etc.

I could understand Anna having some resentment that she was left with the whole burden after Dr. Mudd introduced her brother to Booth and became involved in the plotting. He also was in South America in 1869 when Mrs. Surratt's body was exhumed and re-interred at Mt. Olivet Cemetery (and I suspect that was for the better because the press would have had a field day!). However, he was at Anna's wedding.

The phrase in that grandchild's letter about Anna marrying a "Yankee" officer and living apart from the family shows some bitterness on that side also. I doubt we will ever know because the more generations that pass, the less history will be shared.

[Wesley Harris]

Has anyone researched the 'other' Surratt son, Isaac? I was browsing fold3.com tonight and saw the 1860 census for the family. It was the first I'd heard of Isaac. He was three years older than John.

With some quick research I found he served in the 33rd Texas Cavalry. After the war, he went with most of his unit into Mexico. When that didn't work out, he went to Europe where he was residing when the assassination occurred. He apparently wasn't aware his mother was executed until he returned to the USA.

[L Verge]

We do have as much information (not much) as possible on Isaac Douglas Surratt, and there has been at least one article in the Surratt Courier on him. He was the oldest of the three children, born June 2, 1841. We know very little about any of the children's early years, but in 1855, Mary Surratt wrote a pleading letter to Jesuit Father Nota seeking to have her two sons educated at St. Thomas Academy, part of St. Ignatius Catholic Church near Port Tobacco. The school was run by Fr. Bernadin Wiget, who would later be confessor to Mary.

According to John, Jr.'s biographer, Fr. Alfred Isacsson, at some point, Isaac was trained as a civil engineer and was engaged in railroad work near Alexandria, Virginia, before the Civil War. However, I suspect that Fr. Isacsson has Isaac confused with his father. John Surratt, Sr. did work on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad construction in earlier years. Isaac left home on Inauguration Day in 1861. He first worked for an express company (perhaps recruited by the interesting Benjamin F. Ficklin), but soon joined the 33rd Texas Cavalry (Duff's Rebel Rangers) and served throughout the war.

The information on him going to Europe after the war is incorrect (probably confused with John's escape to Europe). He joined members of his company and went to Mexico to fight for the Emperor Maximillian. When the latter insisted on selecting officers for the unit, they disbanded. He was back in Texas at the time of his parole from the CSA on September 18, 1865, at San Antonio. He was then a sergeant. It appears that that is when he learned of his mother's trial and execution.

On October 18, 1865, Major-General Philip Sheridan sent a telegram to Secretary of War Stanton in which he gave a good description of Isaac "...olive complexion, five feet nine or ten inches...full beard, dark eyes, black curly hair, and good looking..." His brother, John, had once described Isaac to a cousin as being the "best-looking one and the only one who looked like Ma." The picture that appeared in the papers at the time of his death verifies that.

On October 19, 1865, Lafayette Baker wired Major Eckert of the War Department: "Isaac Surratt arrested in Baltimore on Sunday morning. Is still here." The story made the rounds that Isaac's war buddies had put together a purse and sent him to D.C. to kill Andrew Johnson. With no evidence, the government released Isaac.

He returned to help his sister settle the complicated family estate, pleaded with the Calvert family to allow more time for them to pay off their debts, etc. In 1869, he was the son who attended his mother's re-interment at Mt. Olivet, not John. Isaac also escorted Anna when she married Dr. Tonry. He never married, and like John, took a job on the Old Bay Steam Packet Company that ran out of Baltimore, down the Chesapeake Bay. In his later years, he lived with Anna's family until his death in 1907. He is in an unmarked grave in the Surratt plot at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, along with his mother, Anna, Dr. Tonry, and several of Anna's babies who died in infancy.

[Wild Bill]

Wes,

William L Richter and J. E. “Rick” Smith III, “Isaac in Texas--A Theoretical Look at the Other Surratt,” SURRATT COURIER , 33 (November 2008), 3-7.

Bill

[L Verge]

Wes et al.,

While the title indicates "Theoretical Look" and Bill and Rick use the word "surmise" in introducing that Courier article, it is really quite worthwhile -- not only for the information on Isaac, but more importantly (for me) for the information on the Civil War in Texas that Isaac likely viewed. I still have the article on my computer and can send it via email to anyone who would like to read it. Contact me at laurie.verge@pgparks.com.

P.S. See, Bill and I don't always fight... LOL.

[JMadonna]

(04-22-2014 02:55 PM)L Verge Wrote:  P.S. See, Bill and I don't always fight... LOL.

LOL

[Wesley Harris]

(04-22-2014 02:55 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Wes et al.,

While the title indicates "Theoretical Look" and Bill and Rick use the word "surmise" in introducing that Courier article, it is really quite worthwhile -- not only for the information on Isaac, but more importantly (for me) for the information on the Civil War in Texas that Isaac likely viewed. I still have the article on my computer and can send it via email to anyone who would like to read it. Contact me at laurie.verge@pgparks.com.

P.S. See, Bill and I don't always fight... LOL.

Thanks for the info. Laurie, I'd like to see the article.