Maybe we have discussed this before, but where did Mary get the money to buy the boarding house (and how sure are we about that), is there any kind of deed records or legal papers which may show if there was a lien on the property and who she purchased it from, and for how much?

I have the understanding that housing was in short supply due to the war, and a decent boarding house could command top dollar.

We have discussed somewhere why Mary wanted to move away from the country to the city, but the circumstances and timing always seemed a bit coincidental to me.

I remember reading after the trial, most of the tenants had moved out, the property was vandalized some, and Anna was unable to make a go of things. With her mother and two brothers gone, she was truly on her own (except for an uncle?) do we know what, if any, Mary or John Sr.'s family reached out to Anna to help her? Friends of the family helped her out some, but the property was later sold, or foreclosed on?

John Surratt Sr. had acquired the boardinghouse as part of a transaction involving several properties years before Mary moved into it.

According to a manuscript about the house kept at the Hall Research Center (I didn't copy the name of the author, alas), a creditor of John Surratt Sr. brought an equity proceeding in November 1865 asking that the H Street house be sold, which it was in June 1866. An Edward Belt had been administrating John Surratt Sr.'s estate, including the boardinghouse, since September 1865, when Anna renounced her rights of administratrix.

(03-08-2017 12:16 PM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote:  John Surratt Sr. had acquired the boardinghouse as part of a transaction involving several properties years before Mary moved into it.

According to a manuscript about the house kept at the Hall Research Center (I didn't copy the name of the author, alas), a creditor of John Surratt Sr. brought an equity proceeding in November 1865 asking that the H Street house be sold, which it was in June 1866. An Edward Belt had been administrating John Surratt Sr.'s estate, including the boardinghouse, since September 1865, when Anna renounced her rights of administratrix.

Susan is correct in that the boardinghouse was arranged via a type of "swap" negotiation between Surratt and another gentleman who was not the best businessman in the nation either. The Surratts acquired the property in 1853, just shortly after they had moved into their new home in Surrattsville (1852).

The family rented the DC home to other people over the years -- one was a Patent Office employee, I believe, another a piano teacher, etc.

James O. Hall researched all of that many long years ago, and we have put it to good use a lot of times in disputing the ongoing claims that Booth or someone higher up had to purchase the house for Mrs. Surratt and install her in DC in order for her to do dirty work for the conspiracy.

(03-09-2017 12:46 PM)L Verge Wrote:  

(03-08-2017 12:16 PM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote:  John Surratt Sr. had acquired the boardinghouse as part of a transaction involving several properties years before Mary moved into it.

According to a manuscript about the house kept at the Hall Research Center (I didn't copy the name of the author, alas), a creditor of John Surratt Sr. brought an equity proceeding in November 1865 asking that the H Street house be sold, which it was in June 1866. An Edward Belt had been administrating John Surratt Sr.'s estate, including the boardinghouse, since September 1865, when Anna renounced her rights of administratrix.

Susan is correct in that the boardinghouse was arranged via a type of "swap" negotiation between Surratt and another gentleman who was not the best businessman in the nation either. The Surratts acquired the property in 1853, just shortly after they had moved into their new home in Surrattsville (1852).

The family rented the DC home to other people over the years -- one was a Patent Office employee, I believe, another a piano teacher, etc.

James O. Hall researched all of that many long years ago, and we have put it to good use a lot of times in disputing the ongoing claims that Booth or someone higher up had to purchase the house for Mrs. Surratt and install her in DC in order for her to do dirty work for the conspiracy.

Laurie,

I believe that the other gentleman's name was Augustus Gibson, an artillery officer in the U.S. Army.

Rick