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BettyO · (This post was last modified: 08-25-2012 09:34 AM by BettyO.)

I'm a red head so yes, I'm more than a bit quirky. Most red heads are for some reason - (Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, "Fergie, Duchess of York", etc.)

No - not Lew's ENTIRE remains - just the noggin'! I'm still trying to determine just what happened to the rest of him and I'll publish that shortly....

The head was the ONLY part of him that we found - sans most of his teeth, of course.

Oh, yes - I was a major tomboy as a kid! I remember my mom gave me dancing (ballet) lessons as a small kid because she had always wanted to be a dancer. I HATED it! I'm not graceful in any way....HA! I wanted riding lessons - and eventually got my own horse.

And no -- we just held Lew's skull - never laid around with it! NO way! HA!

RJNorton · (This post was last modified: 08-25-2012 02:04 PM by RJNorton.)

Vicki and I visited the quaint cemetery in Geneva, Florida, about 3 years after the graveside service attended by Betty and Mike Kauffman. Here's another photo of Lewis' skull; Mike Kauffman sent it to me several years ago. He called it Yorick. The cemetery is certainly worth a stop if any forum members are ever traveling in the Sunshine State.

Author Mike Kauffman with Lewis Powell's skull

LincolnMan · 08-25-2012, 02:05 PM

Wow! -Looking at the skull-imagine what those eyes saw.

MaddieM · 08-25-2012, 02:08 PM

(08-25-2012 02:05 PM)LincolnMan Wrote: Wow! -Looking at the skull-imagine what those eyes saw.

Surreal isn't it? To think that skull was once walking, and talking and thinking, laughing and crying.

BettyO · 08-25-2012, 02:19 PM

Yes, it's surreal all right, Maddie!

I thought the very same thing when I held it -- if only it could talk! The things Lewis could tell us (provided he chose to! HA!)

MaddieM · 08-25-2012, 02:32 PM

(08-25-2012 02:19 PM)BettyO Wrote: Yes, it's surreal all right, Maddie!

I thought the very same thing when I held it -- if only it could talk! The things Lewis could tell us (provided he chose to! HA!)

You're avi makes me smile, Betty. Lewis looks about 12 with those rosy cheeks! I've pm'd you by the way.

BettyO · 08-25-2012, 02:49 PM

Maddie, that's from a painting of Lewis that I made in Photoshop, believe it or not! HA! I think I colored him a bit too garishly!

Thanks -

BTW -

Here is a photo of Mike K. and I when we first "met" Mr. Powell -

When Laurie Verge called me that evening and asked me "Are you sitting down?" I said, "Yes, why?"
And she distinctly said, "We've found Lewis Powell's remains!" I almost fainted!!

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

MaddieM · 08-25-2012, 03:36 PM

(08-25-2012 02:49 PM)BettyO Wrote: Maddie, that's from a painting of Lewis that I made in Photoshop, believe it or not! HA! I think I colored him a bit too garishly!

Thanks -

BTW -

Here is a photo of Mike K. and I when we first "met" Mr. Powell -

When Laurie Verge called me that evening and asked me "Are you sitting down?" I said, "Yes, why?"
And she distinctly said, "We've found Lewis Powell's remains!" I almost fainted!!

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Aw.. it's like you guys were meant to. It takes people with that much dedication and love to finally this boy next to his mum. I envy you.

Natty · 08-25-2012, 03:56 PM

(08-25-2012 03:36 PM)MaddieM Wrote: Aw.. it's like you guys were meant to. It takes people with that much dedication and love to finally this boy next to his mum. I envy you.

It does seem a bit like that, doesn't it? Like the end of a long journey that finally ends back home. Amazing photos, Betty! Thank you for sharing what must have been one of the most incredible moments ever!

Gene C · (This post was last modified: 08-25-2012 05:28 PM by Gene C.)

Here's an interview with Betty about this on Barry Cauchon's AwesomeTalks - A Little Touch of History

http://awesometalks.wordpress.com/tag/betty-ownsbey/

(its amazing what you can find out there in ciber space) pretty cool!

BettyO · 08-25-2012, 05:32 PM

(08-25-2012 03:56 PM)Natty Wrote:
(08-25-2012 03:36 PM)MaddieM Wrote: Aw.. it's like you guys were meant to. It takes people with that much dedication and love to finally this boy next to his mum. I envy you.

It does seem a bit like that, doesn't it? Like the end of a long journey that finally ends back home. Amazing photos, Betty! Thank you for sharing what must have been one of the most incredible moments ever!

Yes, it was incredible, Natty! Thanks to some amazing people...

L Verge · 08-25-2012, 06:50 PM

If anyone had ever told me that I would hold anyone's skull - let alone a Lincoln conspirator's - I would have laughed my head off. Luckily, I did get to hold Mr. Powell also. In my photo, I am holding him "cheek to cheek." I had no qualms in doing it.

To me, it has always been so sad to think that, even though he was a convicted felon, all that remained was his skull and that it had been tucked away in drawers filled with Native American remains for so long. If it had not been for the fact that a former NPS ranger at Ford's Theatre was a trained anthropologist who had transferred to the Smithsonian and been charged with getting Indian remains back to their tribes, Lewis might still be in a drawer. Stewart Speaker knew the history, Mike Kauffman, and about the Surratt Booth Escape Route Tours. One amazing coincidence when one thinks about it.