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Countdown to July 7
09-18-2012, 07:41 AM
Post: #91
RE: Countdown to July 7
Roger, that's interesting. What is he source of Rath's comments? I just finished reading Hartranft's letterbook. With the strict rules of the prison, hard to imagine he would let anything like that happen (if he knew about it) If word of that kind of joke and break in the rules got out, they could all be seriously disciplined.

So when is this "Old Enough To Know Better" supposed to kick in?
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09-18-2012, 07:50 AM (This post was last modified: 09-18-2012 07:51 AM by BettyO.)
Post: #92
RE: Countdown to July 7
This memoir - if true, indicates Powell's marvelous sense of humor -- however one must remember that there are different conflicts in Rath's memories of the events as an older man.

Rath, later in life, suffered from dementia (Alzheimer's.) In fact, he died with it. I have therefore wondered if a lot of these later recollections were somewhat discolored by his condition; i.e. he also remembered Lew Powell as being a blond, when the boy actually had dark brown hair. Although Powell was basically given a "crew cut" hair cut a few days before he went to the gallows, this could account for the hair follicles appearing lighter in the sunlight and making him appear with lighter hair. Also, the use of pomade in his hair would make his hair appear darker.

"The Past is a foreign country...they do things differently there" - L. P. Hartley
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09-18-2012, 08:01 AM
Post: #93
RE: Countdown to July 7
Gene, the entire article is online here.
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09-18-2012, 10:28 AM
Post: #94
RE: Countdown to July 7
Thanks Roger, How do you find this stuff?

So when is this "Old Enough To Know Better" supposed to kick in?
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09-18-2012, 10:55 AM (This post was last modified: 09-18-2012 10:57 AM by RJNorton.)
Post: #95
RE: Countdown to July 7
Hi Gene. Researching Lincoln has been my retirement hobby since 1996. Because of that I have come upon a lot of articles, etc. that are online. Nevertheless, I am still a rookie at some types of Internet research. However, I have used that article from McClure's in the past, and I knew how to find it from previous experience.
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09-18-2012, 11:05 AM
Post: #96
RE: Countdown to July 7
If I may, that's where Google Books has really come into play. With Tarbell, I've not only got 36 years of McClure's Magazine downloaded, but also the result of her time at American Magazine as well as the Chautauquan, where she wrote in the 1880s. I also have just about everything she's written with the exception of one edition of her Life of Abraham Lincoln. Google Books, and the Internet Archive. are the researcher's best friends.

Best
Rob

Abraham Lincoln is the only man, dead or alive, with whom I could have spent five years without one hour of boredom.
--Ida M. Tarbell

I want the respect of intelligent men, but I will choose for myself the intelligent.
--Carl Sandburg
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09-18-2012, 11:22 AM
Post: #97
RE: Countdown to July 7
(09-18-2012 07:50 AM)BettyO Wrote:  This memoir - if true, indicates Powell's marvelous sense of humor -- however one must remember that there are different conflicts in Rath's memories of the events as an older man.

Rath, later in life, suffered from dementia (Alzheimer's.) In fact, he died with it. I have therefore wondered if a lot of these later recollections were somewhat discolored by his condition; i.e. he also remembered Lew Powell as being a blond, when the boy actually had dark brown hair. Although Powell was basically given a "crew cut" hair cut a few days before he went to the gallows, this could account for the hair follicles appearing lighter in the sunlight and making him appear with lighter hair. Also, the use of pomade in his hair would make his hair appear darker.

Could Powell have had mousey hair?

‘I’ve danced at Abraham Lincoln’s birthday bash... I’ve peaked.’
Leigh Boswell - The Open Doorway.
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09-18-2012, 11:36 AM (This post was last modified: 09-18-2012 11:36 AM by BettyO.)
Post: #98
RE: Countdown to July 7
Nope -- according to the family - dark brown. The pomade of course, which he wore up until his arrest, would make it appear even darker (pitch black) -

Without the pomade in prison, it would appear it's natural color of dark, dark brown. With it cut extremely short, it would probably appear lighter - maybe a medium brown with lighter highlights in the sun.

"The Past is a foreign country...they do things differently there" - L. P. Hartley
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09-18-2012, 11:48 AM
Post: #99
RE: Countdown to July 7
(09-18-2012 11:36 AM)BettyO Wrote:  Nope -- according to the family - dark brown. The pomade of course, which he wore up until his arrest, would make it appear even darker (pitch black) -

Without the pomade in prison, it would appear it's natural color of dark, dark brown. With it cut extremely short, it would probably appear lighter - maybe a medium brown with lighter highlights in the sun.

His hair looks lighter in some of the photos. Mind you, I think photography in those days did make people look washed out.

‘I’ve danced at Abraham Lincoln’s birthday bash... I’ve peaked.’
Leigh Boswell - The Open Doorway.
http://earthkandi.blogspot.co.uk/
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09-18-2012, 11:51 AM
Post: #100
RE: Countdown to July 7
It could be the photography - and with the pomade washed out of his hair (after his bath right before the trial) it could appear lighter.... but the family says dark brown. His parents' hair was also dark brown as was his brother George's hair as well..... dark brown hair and pale blue eyes - all of them!

"The Past is a foreign country...they do things differently there" - L. P. Hartley
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09-18-2012, 08:20 PM
Post: #101
RE: Countdown to July 7
Thanks so much Betty for the pictures. They really are so revealing! I have never seen the straw hat before. I think the contenence on the face of Mrs. Surratt's priest behind her pretty much tells it all.
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09-18-2012, 08:42 PM
Post: #102
RE: Countdown to July 7
No problem, Jim. These photos (except for the close up of Powell which I own) were described in detail by John Elliott and Barry Chauchon. The priest standing behind Mrs. Surratt with that dour look on his face is actually one of Powell's clergymen friends, Reverend Augustus P. Stryker.

"The Past is a foreign country...they do things differently there" - L. P. Hartley
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09-19-2012, 08:03 AM
Post: #103
RE: Countdown to July 7
Roger, you mentioned Christian Rath. He was born in Germany but died and is buried in Jackson, Michigan! Although maybe most remembered now for his role in the execution of the Lincoln conspirators, he served honorably in the war itself. Among other things, he was wounded at Antietam in 1862 and became a POW in 1864.

Bill Nash
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09-19-2012, 08:36 AM
Post: #104
RE: Countdown to July 7
I did not know that. Vicki and I were in Jackson a couple of times during our "Michigan years," but I never knew that just like I never knew Carl Sandburg once lived in Harbert.

Bill, just out of curiosity, what percentage of Kalamazoo residents do you think know Abraham Lincoln spoke there? (Herndon apparently considered it one of Lincoln's best speeches)
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09-19-2012, 08:38 AM
Post: #105
RE: Countdown to July 7
Here's a photo of Rath on General Wilcox's staff at Cold Harbor -- right down the road from where I live....

[Image: sstaffs.jpg]

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[Image: rathonstaffdetail.jpg]

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"The Past is a foreign country...they do things differently there" - L. P. Hartley
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