Major Announcement Coming tomorrow regarding the Booth Autopsy Photo

[John E.]

Hi folks, the news is out. We've started a new thread with our announcement and discovery. We look forward to your comments.

[barryssentials]

Hi all: Barry here. OKAY, here it is. John just finished writing it up. As you will see, it certainly will open up a whole new area for research now that some roadblocks may be removed. ENJOY!!!!
Barry

MYSTERY OF THE MISSING BOOTH AUTOPSY PHOTO RESOLVED?
by John Elliott
Every now and then a discovery gets made that can't be suppressed or selfishly withheld from the public in order to help sell a book.

I've been across the country from Andersonville, GA to Harrisburg, PA and all the way to the middle of the Gulf of Mexico in search of new discoveries that will help forward Lincoln assassination studies. Most of the time, I've come up short but at least I know I checked and can cross things off my list of unknowns.

Recently, the research Gods threw me a bone and practically rewarded me for my past efforts and time. While searching for eyewitness accounts of John Wilkes Booth's burial, I discovered a newspaper article that has been hidden and/or overlooked by researchers for nearly 125 years.

The article definitively answers the question "Where is the John Wilkes Booth autopsy photo?"

In the following days, a press release will be issued detailing this latest discovery but we'd like to share it with you here first. We will also be selling a supplement, similar to our two others, that will provide more details, interesting tidbits and supporting evidence of our new find.

EXCITING DISCOVERY:

In 1891, a story was printed in a major newspaper stating that a Rev. Armstrong of Atlanta was believed by many to be John Wilkes Booth. Not only did he look like the actor, Booth's brother Edwin often visited and spent time with him.

In response to this article, an eyewitness to Booth's autopsy stepped forward and denounced the silly claim by stating undeniably that John Wilkes Booth was dead. The eyewitness was none other than Lawrence Gardner, the son of Alexander Gardner.

As an aside, Lawrence Gardner stated the following:

"The object of my father’s visit to the Monitor was photography, and the body in question was to be the subject. Did we take a picture? No. After everything had been prepared Gen. Eckert concluded that inasmuch as there was so little likeness in the remains to the photograph in existence of Booth, perhaps it would be best not to make the picture, and the plan was abandoned for that reason."

Other than a statement made by Alexander Gardner himself, there can be no better source than his son, to definitively say what happened to the Booth autopsy photo.

Lawrence Gardner was only 17 when he assisted his father on the Montauk. He would later go on to have a very successful career in politics and was a well respected, prominent citizen of Washington D.C. At the time he made his statement regarding the Booth autopsy, he was 42 years old and of sound mind.

Among the other revelations in the article, Gardner claims that Booth's tattoo was surrounded by a wreath of stars. Lawrence's involvement also challenges Osbon Oldroyd's claim that Timothy O'Sullivan was Alex Gardner's assistant at the Navy Yard.

I've been asked by a couple of people if I am disappointed there is no photo to be found. Truthfully, I was beginning to doubt that it ever existed and this article supported my beliefs.

For the past few months Barry and I had been looking further in to this area and we both started doubting and challenging quite a few things that supposedly occurred on the Montauk.

We will continue to look for amazing new discoveries to share with you all in the future. For the time being, thanks again for all your support. We sincerely appreciate it.

John

[BettyO]

You guys NEVER cease to amaze! You are SUPER SLEUTHS !!

Congratulations on a major find!!

[Laurie Verge]

And they will be two of our featured speakers at the 2014 Surratt Conference in March -- and the next supplement will be out for people to purchase, right guys??

[John E.]

Thank you everyone for your kind comments. I'm fired up to give my presentation next year and I'm sure Barry is as well.

[Thomas Thorne]

Congratulations to Barry and John for yr wonderful industriousness and discovery. As Branch Rickey said "luck is the residue of design." You guys are amateurs in the best sense of the word. Amateur is rooted in the word amor meaning love and you gentlemen have certainly displayed love and respect for a difficult historical subject.
Tom

[scldrgnfly]

What a fantastic discovery! Great job, you guys!