I did some help answering this question. When was Booths diary found and tuned over to Stanton? I just finished reading a book written by H. Donald Winkler. Mr. Winkler states that a dairy written by congressman George says that both Stanton and Lafayette Baker lied as to when Stanton received Booths dairy. Backer says he gave Stanton the dairy on Thursday afternoon, April 27. Officers in the National Detective Police say the dairy was found and retuned to Washington on Sunday morning April 23rd. So I am lost now I thought I read that it was on Booth at the time of his death. Anyone?

(01-25-2015 05:58 PM)GARY POPOLO Wrote:  I did some help answering this question. When was Booths diary found and tuned over to Stanton? I just finished reading a book written by H. Donald Winkler. Mr. Winkler states that a dairy written by congressman George says that both Stanton and Lafayette Baker lied as to when Stanton received Booths dairy. Backer says he gave Stanton the dairy on Thursday afternoon, April 27. Officers in the National Detective Police say the dairy was found and retuned to Washington on Sunday morning April 23rd. So I am lost now I thought I read that it was on Booth at the time of his death. Anyone?

According to Everton Conger's testimony at the trial of John Surratt, the "diary" was found on Booth's person on April 26, 1865 after he was taken out of Garrett's barn. What is the reference for the National Detective Police stating that the diary was returned earlier?

I agree with Scott; every account I have ever read has the diary among the items taken from Booth's body.

I believe that Conger testified that the diary was given to Stanton, but that at some point Stanton gave to JAG Holt. I believe that Bill Hanchett found reference to Conger and Baker claiming later that one of the pages missing from the diary was a sketch of a house that they wanted to identify as possibly being the Surratt boardinghouse.

I went back and read Conger's testimony at the John Surratt trial. He states several times that it was he who took the daybook/diary from Booth's person. He further says that the diary/daybook was in his possession from 6am until 4pm. He examined it while on a steamer on the Potomac. He states that it is now (1867) in the same condition it was in when he turned it over to Stanton.

(01-25-2015 07:22 PM)STS Lincolnite Wrote:  

(01-25-2015 05:58 PM)GARY POPOLO Wrote:  I did some help answering this question. When was Booths diary found and tuned over to Stanton? I just finished reading a book written by H. Donald Winkler. Mr. Winkler states that a dairy written by congressman George says that both Stanton and Lafayette Baker lied as to when Stanton received Booths dairy. Backer says he gave Stanton the dairy on Thursday afternoon, April 27. Officers in the National Detective Police say the dairy was found and retuned to Washington on Sunday morning April 23rd. So I am lost now I thought I read that it was on Booth at the time of his death. Anyone?

According to Everton Conger's testimony at the trial of John Surratt, the "diary" was found on Booth's person on April 26, 1865 after he was taken out of Garrett's barn. What is the reference for the National Detective Police stating that the diary was returned earlier?

The information I received about Booth's dairy was from the book written by Donald Winkler called Lincoln and Booth. According to Congressman George Julian's dairy he alleges there seemed to be more information known about Lincolns death then was being told. Booths dairy allegedly contained information that connected Stanton and republicans Zachariah Chandler and John Conness to the assassin. What connection the National Detective Police have to all of this I am not sure. In the book it says officers in the National Detective Police would report later that the dairy had been found and returned to Washington on Sunday morning, April 23 (not Thursday , April 27). As I said before this is the first time I heard that maybe Booth's dairy was obtained prior to his death. I also read that the dairy may have been left with Thomas Jones on Friday the 21, or with John Hughes on April 22. Then again maybe all this was just an old man's way of trying to put more doubt and suspicion on a story that already has many views and loose ends.

Gary, does Winkler in his citation of George Julian's diary say where diary is currently located? I would love to examine it. Julian was from Indiana and that is where I live. Assuming his papers may be kept locally I would drive up to Indianapolis to have a look.

George Julian did write a book/memoir called George Julian: Political Recollections 1840-1872. A free electronic copy is available on archive.org. In my quick scan, I was not able to find any mention of anything akin to accusations of "funny business" related to Lincoln's death.

(01-26-2015 08:14 PM)STS Lincolnite Wrote:  Gary, does Winkler in his citation of George Julian's diary say where diary is currently located? I would love to examine it. Julian was from Indiana and that is where I live. Assuming his papers may be kept locally I would drive up to Indianapolis to have a look.

George Julian did write a book/memoir called George Julian: Political Recollections 1840-1872. A free electronic copy is available on archive.org. In my quick scan, I was not able to find any mention of anything akin to accusations of "funny business" related to Lincoln's death.

STS, According to Winkler's book excerpts from Juian's1865 dairy were published in Lincoln Log (March-April1977) and paraphrased in David Balsiger and Charles Sellier's The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977). Now a newspaper reporter named Claude Bowers who wrote The Tragic Era (1929) borrowed the actual diary from Julian's daughter, Grace Julian Clarke. She told Bowers that her father meant to destroy the diary. When Bowers returned the diary to her she burned the parts relating to the civil war and gave the remainder to the Indiana State Library. Sorry to drag out my answer but I wanted to explain how and where the diary ended up at the end of it's journey. I do hope you get to view the actual diary. I would love to hear how you make out. Best of luck.

Thanks Gary. When I get a chance I will venture up to Indianapolis and take a look at what remains of the diary. Additionally, I was able to find that at least some of the Civil War portion of the diary was published in the Indiana History Magazine in around 1915. When I get a chance I will read through his entries for the dates around Lincoln's assassination. I will post what I find.

After I saw the The Lincoln Conspiracy mentioned in your last post I suddenly am getting the feeling that the so called report of the National Detective Police was sourced from the Potter papers. If that is the case, I know all I need to know about the credibility of that report.

Gary, I find that the account printed by Winkler has little credibility as it puts forward ideas originally published in the The Lincoln Conspiracy by Balsiger and Sellier. The alleged statements from Julian's diary/journal published there have been declared as falsifications by a number of respected historians and researchers. In fact, Julian's diary/journal notations for 1865 were published in 1915 in the Indiana Magazine of History and they don't make any statements as claimed by Balsiger and Sellier. Apparently whoever made the spurious claims as to what was written by Julian in his diary/journal were not aware of that.

I would highly recommend you read Chapter 12 of Ed Steers' book Lincoln Legends: Myths, Hoaxes, and Confabulations Associated with Our Greatest President. He discusses at length the questions you raised and debunks the idea the Julian diary/journal made any such sensational claims as were printed in The Lincoln Conspiracy and then repeated in Winkler's book. The spurious account claims that Julian and other radical Republicans met Stanton in his office and viewed Booth's diary on April 24, 1865. Here is what Julian wrote on April 24, 1865 as published in Indiana Magazine of History in 1915:

"Monday, 24th
On Saturday last we had General Rosecrans before our committee, and his account of the campaign of Western Virginia makes McClellan look meaner than ever. On last Friday went with Indianans to call on President Johnson. Governor Morton transgressed the proprieties by reading a carefully prepared essay on the subject of reconstruction. Johnson entered upon the same theme, indulging in bad grammar, bad pronunciation and much incoherency of thought. In common with many I was mortified."

STS, Thank you for your follow up on this matter. I was pretty certain that Mr. Winkler did not have much credibility when it came to Julian's diary. And I guess the same could be said of both Balsiger and Sellier. I guess even back then some people are always looking for an angle to have their 15 minutes of fame. Yes I will also look for Mr. Steers book. He is a excellent writer. I loved his book blood on the moon. Have a great day.

IMO, Balsiger and Sellier and their movie that was then turned into a book did more to set the Lincoln assassination field back 50-75 years than anyone else in my recent memory! The Surratt Society and the Dr. Mudd Society were the first to see the movie. We had a private showing in our area before it was distributed to other areas. I remember distinctly that the audience recommended that it be stopped in its tracks and never shown elsewhere. You know how far that suggestion went!

Back to the Julian diary - Roger, can we drag Richard Sloan into the discussion? Richard was the wonderful editor of the Lincoln Log newsletter that he created back in the 1970s, and he carried excerpts from the diary in one of the early issues. He might share some insight with us.

(02-05-2015 02:41 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Back to the Julian diary - Roger, can we drag Richard Sloan into the discussion?

Laurie, I have alerted Richard.

So if the "Diary" was in Washington on the 23rd, what did JWB write the note to Dr. Stuart on? A cocktail napkin?

So, is this one big"cover up"?

(02-05-2015 02:41 PM)L Verge Wrote:  IMO, Balsiger and Sellier and their movie that was then turned into a book did more to set the Lincoln assassination field back 50-75 years than anyone else in my recent memory! The Surratt Society and the Dr. Mudd Society were the first to see the movie. We had a private showing in our area before it was distributed to other areas. I remember distinctly that the audience recommended that it be stopped in its tracks and never shown elsewhere. You know how far that suggestion went!

Back to the Julian diary - Roger, can we drag Richard Sloan into the discussion? Richard was the wonderful editor of the Lincoln Log newsletter that he created back in the 1970s, and he carried excerpts from the diary in one of the early issues. He might share some insight with us.

Ed Steers did a fine story about the Julian diary in his book "Lincoln Legends -- Myths, Hoaxes, and Confabulations..." It's on his pages 197-200. I believe it answers all the questions. Please check it out! (Our hero the late James O. Hall really stuck it to Sunn Classic Pictures with that one!)

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Sorry if this is redundant. I tried replying to Laurie's invitation to chime in on the Julian diary, but don't think I did it properly.
All I wish to tell you is that the complete story of the Julian diary hoax (the entry bearing on Stanton and the Booth diary) can be found on pages 197-200 of Ed Steers' book, "Lincoln Legends." Please check it out. -- Richard Sloan

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See Ed Steers' "Lincoln Legends," p.197-200 for the complete story on the Julian diary hoax.