I'd wager (oops) it was a way for her to give Mary something that was close to her heart. Now that she will be the First Lady, a subtle reminder to keep her focus on the things that are truly important

As you can probably see from my blog, I've been on a bit of a Booth family kick lately. In that vein, I've got an extremely difficult trivia question that I'll probably have to give the answer to in the end as I doubt it's in any book. Still, I thought I'd challenge some of the other Booth people here, like Joe Beckert or Carolyn Mitchell.

My trivia question:

In the Booth family, who was Flora?

The only mention of a Flora I could find is a letter to Edwin from a Flora M. Lawson, but I have no clue who she is.

(06-20-2014, 12:35 PM)J. Beckert Wrote: The only mention of a Flora I could find is a letter to Edwin from a Flora M. Lawson, but I have no clue who she is.

Good researching, Joe, but that is not the Flora I am thinking of. The Flora I'm talking about is a member of the Booth family.

Hint: Flora had a close relationship with one of the Booth sons.

(06-20-2014, 12:39 PM)Dave Taylor Wrote:

(06-20-2014, 12:35 PM)J. Beckert Wrote: The only mention of a Flora I could find is a letter to Edwin from a Flora M. Lawson, but I have no clue who she is.

t
Good researching, Joe, but that is not the Flora I am thinking of. The Flora I'm talking about is a member of the Booth family.

Hint: Flora had a close relationship with one of the Booth sons.

Okay I'm totally stumped. I wanna say it's Rosalie Ann Booth but not so sure. I'm still researching this...fascinating!

According to a theatre collection at Tulane University, there was a Flora Parker who worked in productions with June Booth in New Orleans in 1880???

Still no correct answer.

Hint: The Booth son Flora was close to was Joseph.

Was Flora Joseph's first wife? She died during childbirth and so did the child. Cora was his second wife. Flora & Cora?? That would be wild...

(06-20-2014, 07:27 PM)L Verge Wrote: Was Flora Joseph's first wife? She died during childbirth and so did the child. Cora was his second wife. Flora & Cora?? That would be wild...

Good guess but no. Joseph's first wife was named Margaret Cecilia Hatfield.

What famous actor was named after a Confederate officer- and is actually related to the officer? Who was the actor? Who was the Confederate officer?

Okay, it's time for wild stabs...

First guess: One of the Mitchell cousins that he might have been close with?

Second guess: One of his pets. Flora sounds like one of those naturalist terms that his father would have approved of.

(06-20-2014, 08:57 PM)L Verge Wrote: Second guess: One of his pets. Flora sounds like one of those naturalist terms that his father would have approved of.

DING DING DING! Very nicely done, Laurie. And I was this close to giving the final clue of "Gene C. would get along great with Flora". Flora was Joseph Booth's pet dog.

In an 1875 letter, Mary Ann Booth writes to Edwina about her uncle's pet:



Wonderful guessing, Laurie.

Maybe I should stop reading and researching and just spend my time guessing! Is that another sign of old age?

Congrats Laurie! Boy was I way off ...

Dave, do you have copy of that letter or where would I find it?

That was fun.

You can download a PDF of the whole letter here, Carolyn:

http://alplm-cdi.com/chroniclingillinois.../show/8210

As I emailed to you a few days ago, The Taper Collection has MANY Booth family letters, including several from your favorite, Mary Devlin Booth. It's a treasure trove of Booth materials. Enjoy:

http://alplm-cdi.com/chroniclingillinois...llection=3