I doubt that he left it at Mrs. Surratt's because he supposedly left Surratt's to go to NY with Booth following the collapse of the kidnapping plot on March 18. He'd have had his carpetbag with him when he went to NY and then subsequently back to DC and the Herndon House. That has always been a mystery to me. It's my opinion that he perhaps, not wanting to be encumbered with luggage (or "traps" in Victorian parlance), could very well have had the bag shipped up to Baltimore and the Branson House under another alias previous to the assassination. Unfortunately, I have never been able to find the contents of the Branson House when the residents and Branson family were searched and placed under arrest after the assassination.
Yowza. Three hours of sleep and I wake up to see I'm still winning. Sometimes it's over by now. Time to throw the Rebs a hint.
Hint # 1 - The person who carelessly left his nightshirt out and revealed his ties to a conspirator used the alias "Mr. Woods".
I'm going to take a nap now. Somebody call me when this is over.
Lew Powell ?!?!?
Or Wood of the Old Capitol Prison.... OR.... Fernando Wood?
No, Betty. This person had no ties to the assassination, just a conspirator. You know the name, I'm sure.
Now I know where the term "Damn Yankee" came from! To make matters worse, I'm at home - my personal books are packed away - the books I need are at work. Now I'll be the one getting no sleep tonight trying to figure this out. Thanks Mr. Beckert.
I don't want you to lose any sleep, Laurie. I want you to be bright eyed for the Yankee victory lap. So, here's...
Hint # 2 - The person who owned the nightshirt had aspirations for a theatrical career that never materialized.
John Sleeper Clark?
Best
Rob
I am really taking a stab in the dark here (with apologies to Henry Rathbone), but since I know you recently acquired a copy of the book about Booth's oil venture, I am going to venture a guess that Booth left a nightshirt with either John Ellsler or Thomas Mears.
I don't know much about Clarke, Rob, but I thought he was at least a moderately successful actor. Either way, it's not him.
Laurie - Booth left almost nothing of his possessions in Pa. He gave a photograph of himself and his walking stick to a friend there, so Ellsler and Mears are incorrect.
I ain't dead yet -- what about his manager, Matthew Canning? I thought he was a lawyer, but did he originally want to be an actor?
The alias is throwing me because I can't think of any friends who used an alias that was not involved in the assassination.
It's not Canning, but you're making the Correct Answer Review Board very nervous. You Rebel. They do give you an A+ for your perseverance, however.
We Southern ladies were trained by Scarlett O'Hara to never give up. However, I am going to take a 12-hour breather and retire for the night. I'm babysitting the grand-dog for four days, and he's laying on the floor beside me snoring like Abraham Lincoln (when you read an article in the July Surratt Courier, you'll understand that line). Back at you in the morrow. Don't you call time yet...
Looks like it's time for the final hint before the Rebs have to endure me gloating after a long overdue win. It's not easy fighting a war by yourself.
Hint # 3 - The person who found this item was the daughter of a person who boarded this conspirator for a while. Her child went to great lenghts to document this conspirator's activities.
It absolutely kills me to say this, but Joseph, you may begin gloating as far as I am concerned. My next guess was going to be the man (whose name I can't remember) who was awakened by an agitated Booth complaining about a dream he had. That doesn't fit your last hint -- so I quit!
I'm going to let you win this one -- but no more Moon Pies for you!
An unconditional surrender? From you, Laurie? I'm shocked, but the Correct Answer Review Board is greatly relieved. You usually make Sarah Slater look like Shirley Temple.