Killing Lincoln - Nat Geo (Reactions)

[John E.]

Quote:I just saw Killing Lincoln. Not bad! One question I have seen posted or mentioned I think at some point on here is about the Booth autopsy picture. Wonder where it could be? After all Dr. Leale's report turned up as well as a copy of Lincoln's death photo in Illinois. Any thoughts? Thanks-Danny Wes[/font][/size]t-

There is no other relic I'd rather see than the autopsy photo - if it exists. However, I don't believe the story about James A. Wardell. Unfortunately, sections pertaining to the conspirators in Mark Katz's book "Witness to an Era" are filled with unverifiable information. In other instances, claims are either completely fabricated or primary sources are dubious themselves.

For years, I treated the book like a mini-bible regarding Alexander Gardner but not so much anymore.

[RJNorton]

Danny, I do not know the answer to your question. However, I have a guess. One way or another the photo may have ended up in Stanton's hands. We have discussed Stanton's "different" views on death in other threads on the forum. Moreover, Stanton may not have wanted Booth to have the publicity of his post mortem photo being in circulation among the public. He may have thought this was in poor taste and would draw undue attention to the assassin. For one reason or another, it's my guess that Stanton destroyed it. IMO.

[John E.]

Stanton's fury with Lincoln's death photo being taken was because the family's wishes were ignored. Mrs. Lincoln was the one who insisted that her husband's photo in death NOT be taken.

Once he heard it had been, Stanton was furious. As we all know, he wrote a scathing letter to Gen. Townsend. But it didn't end there. If I'm not mistaken, Townsend wrote back and insisted that the photo was in good-taste and hardly revealed the President's face. He somewhat pleaded with Stanton to reconsider having it destroyed. Perhaps this is why the Secretary of War kept a copy that was not revealed to the public.

Who knows?

The only statement on an autopsy photo being taken on board the Montauk came from a NY Tribune journalist. However, the journalist was not on the ship and either assumed Gardner's presence meant Booth's photo was taken OR someone told him it was. Either way, we can't be certain.

What the Tribune journalist may not have realize at the time and failed to mention was that Gardner took photos of David Herold and Joao Celestino that day. What was the point of taking the autopsy photo if you were just going to destroy it?

[MaddieM]

(03-03-2013 10:42 PM)Hess1865 Wrote:  

(03-03-2013 06:29 PM)Jim Page Wrote:  Maddie is correct; a month is how long it takes, for me at least, to grow a properly filled-in mustache.

--Jim

Same with my 'stache

Now everyone is going to think I know from experience....

[Mylye2222]

I did watched it recently with subtitles in French. The narrative made by the wonderful Tom Hanks did the job fully. I found all the reanactments part accurately done. I even learned something (when still in the theater box, the first responders moved Lincoln's arms back and forth to help him breathe (didn't knew it was this technique used long before oxygen masks).

[LincolnMan]

(12-13-2019 04:30 PM)Mylye2222 Wrote:  I did watched it recently with subtitles in French. The narrative made by the wonderful Tom Hanks did the job fully. I found all the reanactments part accurately done. I even learned something (when still in the theater box, the first responders moved Lincoln's arms back and forth to help him breathe (didn't knew it was this technique used long before oxygen masks).

Correct! I first learned about that technique from James Swanson's book Manhunt.

[emma1231]

(03-03-2013 11:16 PM)John E. Wrote:  

Quote:I just saw Killing Lincoln. Not bad! One question I have seen posted or mentioned I think at some point on here is about the Booth autopsy picture. Wonder where it could be? After all Dr. Leale's report turned up as well as a copy of Lincoln's death photo in Illinois. Any thoughts? Thanks-Danny Wes[/font][/size]t-

There is no other relic I'd rather see than the autopsy photo - if it exists. However, I don't believe the story about James A. Wardell. Unfortunately, sections pertaining to the conspirators in Mark Katz's book "Witness to an Era" are filled with unverifiable information. In other instances, claims are either completely fabricated or primary sources are dubious themselves.

For years, I treated the book like a mini-bible regarding Alexander Gardner but not so much anymore.

Stanton had a preoccupation (not the correct word) with death. He kept his son's corpse in a small casket on his mantle for quite a while. I think he kept the print of Lincoln in his coffin because he liked to look at it once in a while. I think it is also evidence of how much he loved and respected him.
A contributor to "The Lincoln Conspiracy," Joe Lynch, was a charlatan. He claimed he had found -- in possession of unnamed heirs of Stanton -- the missing pages of Booth's diary, two sections of the scaffold beam from which Mrs. Surratt and Ledwis Powell were hanged, their nooses, and either the glass negative or print from it (I forget which) of the Booth autopsy. The pages and the scaffold beams were proven to be hoaxes. It follows that his autopsy photo story was, too. Lynch always called me from a phone booth near his Massachusetts home. Lynch told me he didn't know Neff, and professed (too much) to despise him. All I ever got from Lynch was a rare copy of John Creehan's bio of Laura Keene and a copy of the full transcript of those missing pages James O. Hall got them, too, when we met Lynch in a White Plains, NY hotel room. I still think Lynch and Neff were in cahoots.

[Paul F.]

(02-18-2013 12:02 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I am so happy that the vast majority of the critiques here are positive ones. At this particular moment, I cannot imagine that any other film company in the near future will undertake anything that could surpass this production. In the past, only one comes close, and that was a pure documentary done by Greystone Productions (again, I can't remember the name, but it was about 1990).

As for some of the other comments: I, too, would have liked a little more on Mary Surratt; but I understand that the whole focus was on the assassination and the escape -- and despite what Bill Richter tries to ram down my throat, I do not believe that Booth's escape included a stop at the boardinghouse! (Fear not, Bill and I are good friends - at least we were until I just typed that...)

As for Jesse's portrayal of Booth, again I would cite the few days and hours that are portrayed. By the time that Richmond falls and Lee surrenders, Booth had to be becoming fanatical in his hatred for what his country was becoming. The celebrations in Washington, the Confederates being shuffled through town, and Lincoln's speech on April 11 must have been driving him crazy - and that's how Jesse portrayed him.

Someone else mentioned Booth's leg being tended to on Mudd's settee. I believe I'm correct that Mudd actually tended to the leg upstairs, hence the boot being retrieved later from under the bed. For anyone who has seen the settee, it would appear a very uncomfortable place to have a broken leg set and splinted.

One of the most effective pieces of the film for me was the meshing of Booth's advances on Lincoln with Powell's advances on Seward. I loved the way one scene with one assassin melted into a similar scene with the other assassin.

Two nit-picks - yes, I do it too - The scene of Booth being shot just didn't work for me. First, you were led to believe that he was shot in the heart, and then he falls backwards.

I have always thought that Booth fell forwards. My other complaint would go unnoticed to everyone except old-timers in Southern Maryland. I did find it interesting that Oswell Swann was allowed to have a part in this and a speaking part even. It was nice to realize that he had to have some discourse with the fugitives as he led them over miles of dark roads to Cox's house. So what bugged me? Mr. Swann's skin color!

I appreciated that a lesson was given on what a Wesort is because it is a definite part of Southern Maryland life. Wesorts are tri-racial people tracing their roots first to colonial Virginia and Maryland. The settlers at Jamestown did not have women join them until 1619. During those years, many of the men took Indian women as their common-law wives. Some were shunned and moved elsewhere, while others migrated with their women to more fertile lands. About six of the men ended up in Maryland.

When Father Andrew White came to Maryland with the first Calvert settlers in 1632, he found these couples "living in sin" and forced them to marry within the Catholic Church. Because they were of mixed race, however, their offspring married within the circle of half-whites and half-Indians. Understanding what it was like to be social castoffs, they also harbored escaping slaves, and soon the clan became tri-racial.

Because of the intermarriage, however, they also became some rare examples of genetic inbreeding. To return to my original complaint, Oswell Swann was much too dark to accurately portray a Wesort. I have lived and worked with Wesorts my entire life (they were also known as Wedems when I was young). I had a cousin who worked with Public Health back in the 1950s when the government actually did an extensive study of the group in relation to genetic factors. Wesorts are often whiter than white folk, or they have cafe au lait coloring. I taught students who had the hair of the Negroid race, the coloring of Native Americans, with freckles and blue eyes. Because of the genetics, many also had few, if any, teeth and other unusual characteristics. Many have been excellent students and have gone on to high positions. One is currently a representative for our county in state government, and one is the education coordinator at Surratt House - and is a whiz at programming.

One last thing on Wesorts - I don't believe they were "given" that name in society until the early-1900s. And that's your Southern Maryland history lesson for the day. North Carolinians might associate them with the Melungeons (if I spelled that correctly).

Laurie, I echo your thoughts on Booth at Mudd’s house. He examined Booth on the sofa downstairs and treated him in the upstairs bedroom, hence why the boot was found upstairs. Bear in mind as well that Booth was pretty muddy and dirty from his horse falling on him, as he reported. I personally wouldn’t want something like that mucking up my furniture and would move him to somewhere that could be more easily cleaned, i.e. a bed that could be changed and the sheets dealt with. That being said, I personally loved the film and wish more projects on the Lincoln assassination could be as good!

---

(12-25-2019 10:09 AM)emma1231 Wrote:  

(03-03-2013 11:16 PM)John E. Wrote:  

Quote:I just saw Killing Lincoln. Not bad! One question I have seen posted or mentioned I think at some point on here is about the Booth autopsy picture. Wonder where it could be? After all Dr. Leale's report turned up as well as a copy of Lincoln's death photo in Illinois. Any thoughts? Thanks-Danny Wes[/font][/size]t-

There is no other relic I'd rather see than the autopsy photo - if it exists. However, I don't believe the story about James A. Wardell. Unfortunately, sections pertaining to the conspirators in Mark Katz's book "Witness to an Era" are filled with unverifiable information. In other instances, claims are either completely fabricated or primary sources are dubious themselves.

For years, I treated the book like a mini-bible regarding Alexander Gardner but not so much anymore.

Stanton had a preoccupation (not the correct word) with death. He kept his son's corpse in a small casket on his mantle for quite a while. I think he kept the print of Lincoln in his coffin because he liked to look at it once in a while. I think it is also evidence of how much he loved and respected him.
A contributor to "The Lincoln Conspiracy," Joe Lynch, was a charlatan. He claimed he had found -- in possession of unnamed heirs of Stanton -- the missing pages of Booth's diary, two sections of the scaffold beam from which Mrs. Surratt and Ledwis Powell were hanged, their nooses, and either the glass negative or print from it (I forget which) of the Booth autopsy. The pages and the scaffold beams were proven to be hoaxes. It follows that his autopsy photo story was, too. Lynch always called me from a phone booth near his Massachusetts home. Lynch told me he didn't know Neff, and professed (too much) to despise him. All I ever got from Lynch was a rare copy of John Creehan's bio of Laura Keene and a copy of the full transcript of those missing pages James O. Hall got them, too, when we met Lynch in a White Plains, NY hotel room. I still think Lynch and Neff were in cahoots.

With respect to the missing pages, I don’t believe that they exist and if they do, I don’t believe that they reveal anything of substance. Sometimes missing pages are just missing pages. As to the photo of Booth’s autopsy, I have long thought that it would be a heck of a find if it resurfaced someday. However, if you haven’t read Barry Cauchon and John Elliott’s work “A Peek Inside The Walls”, then I would suggest doing so. They give a very compelling case as to why the photo doesn’t exist, because it was never taken. All three of their supplements are wonderful!

---

(02-18-2013 12:02 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I am so happy that the vast majority of the critiques here are positive ones. At this particular moment, I cannot imagine that any other film company in the near future will undertake anything that could surpass this production. In the past, only one comes close, and that was a pure documentary done by Greystone Productions (again, I can't remember the name, but it was about 1990).

As for some of the other comments: I, too, would have liked a little more on Mary Surratt; but I understand that the whole focus was on the assassination and the escape -- and despite what Bill Richter tries to ram down my throat, I do not believe that Booth's escape included a stop at the boardinghouse! (Fear not, Bill and I are good friends - at least we were until I just typed that...)

As for Jesse's portrayal of Booth, again I would cite the few days and hours that are portrayed. By the time that Richmond falls and Lee surrenders, Booth had to be becoming fanatical in his hatred for what his country was becoming. The celebrations in Washington, the Confederates being shuffled through town, and Lincoln's speech on April 11 must have been driving him crazy - and that's how Jesse portrayed him.

Someone else mentioned Booth's leg being tended to on Mudd's settee. I believe I'm correct that Mudd actually tended to the leg upstairs, hence the boot being retrieved later from under the bed. For anyone who has seen the settee, it would appear a very uncomfortable place to have a broken leg set and splinted.

One of the most effective pieces of the film for me was the meshing of Booth's advances on Lincoln with Powell's advances on Seward. I loved the way one scene with one assassin melted into a similar scene with the other assassin.

Two nit-picks - yes, I do it too - The scene of Booth being shot just didn't work for me. First, you were led to believe that he was shot in the heart, and then he falls backwards.

I have always thought that Booth fell forwards. My other complaint would go unnoticed to everyone except old-timers in Southern Maryland. I did find it interesting that Oswell Swann was allowed to have a part in this and a speaking part even. It was nice to realize that he had to have some discourse with the fugitives as he led them over miles of dark roads to Cox's house. So what bugged me? Mr. Swann's skin color!

I appreciated that a lesson was given on what a Wesort is because it is a definite part of Southern Maryland life. Wesorts are tri-racial people tracing their roots first to colonial Virginia and Maryland. The settlers at Jamestown did not have women join them until 1619. During those years, many of the men took Indian women as their common-law wives. Some were shunned and moved elsewhere, while others migrated with their women to more fertile lands. About six of the men ended up in Maryland.

When Father Andrew White came to Maryland with the first Calvert settlers in 1632, he found these couples "living in sin" and forced them to marry within the Catholic Church. Because they were of mixed race, however, their offspring married within the circle of half-whites and half-Indians. Understanding what it was like to be social castoffs, they also harbored escaping slaves, and soon the clan became tri-racial.

Because of the intermarriage, however, they also became some rare examples of genetic inbreeding. To return to my original complaint, Oswell Swann was much too dark to accurately portray a Wesort. I have lived and worked with Wesorts my entire life (they were also known as Wedems when I was young). I had a cousin who worked with Public Health back in the 1950s when the government actually did an extensive study of the group in relation to genetic factors. Wesorts are often whiter than white folk, or they have cafe au lait coloring. I taught students who had the hair of the Negroid race, the coloring of Native Americans, with freckles and blue eyes. Because of the genetics, many also had few, if any, teeth and other unusual characteristics. Many have been excellent students and have gone on to high positions. One is currently a representative for our county in state government, and one is the education coordinator at Surratt House - and is a whiz at programming.

One last thing on Wesorts - I don't believe they were "given" that name in society until the early-1900s. And that's your Southern Maryland history lesson for the day. North Carolinians might associate them with the Melungeons (if I spelled that correctly).

Laurie, I echo your thoughts on Booth at Mudd’s house. He examined Booth on the sofa downstairs and treated him in the upstairs bedroom, hence why the boot was found upstairs. Bear in mind as well that Booth was pretty muddy and dirty from his horse falling on him, as he reported. I personally wouldn’t want something like that mucking up my furniture and would move him to somewhere that could be more easily cleaned, i.e. a bed that could be changed and the sheets dealt with. That being said, I personally loved the film and wish more projects on the Lincoln assassination could be as good!

[RJNorton]

(01-03-2020 01:09 PM)Paul F. Wrote:  However, if you haven’t read Barry Cauchon and John Elliott’s work “A Peek Inside The Walls”, then I would suggest doing so. They give a very compelling case as to why the photo doesn’t exist, because it was never taken. All three of their supplements are wonderful!

I second what Paul says. Does anyone know the current status of the "Inside the Walls" project?

[L Verge]

(01-03-2020 02:16 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(01-03-2020 01:09 PM)Paul F. Wrote:  However, if you haven’t read Barry Cauchon and John Elliott’s work “A Peek Inside The Walls”, then I would suggest doing so. They give a very compelling case as to why the photo doesn’t exist, because it was never taken. All three of their supplements are wonderful!

I second what Paul says. Does anyone know the current status of the "Inside the Walls" project?

The last I heard, both men were busy with their day jobs and earning a living. Saw Barry briefly at last April's Surratt conference, and he was heading up the new exhibit projects at Washington's Spy Museum after its move to a new headquarters.

[emma1231]

(01-03-2020 01:09 PM)Paul F. Wrote:  

(02-18-2013 12:02 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I am so happy that the vast majority of the critiques here are positive ones. At this particular moment, I cannot imagine that any other film company in the near future will undertake anything that could surpass this production. In the past, only one comes close, and that was a pure documentary done by Greystone Productions (again, I can't remember the name, but it was about 1990).

As for some of the other comments: I, too, would have liked a little more on Mary Surratt; but I understand that the whole focus was on the assassination and the escape -- and despite what Bill Richter tries to ram down my throat, I do not believe that Booth's escape included a stop at the boardinghouse! (Fear not, Bill and I are good friends - at least we were until I just typed that...)

As for Jesse's portrayal of Booth, again I would cite the few days and hours that are portrayed. By the time that Richmond falls and Lee surrenders, Booth had to be becoming fanatical in his hatred for what his country was becoming. The celebrations in Washington, the Confederates being shuffled through town, and Lincoln's speech on April 11 must have been driving him crazy - and that's how Jesse portrayed him.

Someone else mentioned Booth's leg being tended to on Mudd's settee. I believe I'm correct that Mudd actually tended to the leg upstairs, hence the boot being retrieved later from under the bed. For anyone who has seen the settee, it would appear a very uncomfortable place to have a broken leg set and splinted.

One of the most effective pieces of the film for me was the meshing of Booth's advances on Lincoln with Powell's advances on Seward. I loved the way one scene with one assassin melted into a similar scene with the other assassin.

Two nit-picks - yes, I do it too - The scene of Booth being shot just didn't work for me. First, you were led to believe that he was shot in the heart, and then he falls backwards.

I have always thought that Booth fell forwards. My other complaint would go unnoticed to everyone except old-timers in Southern Maryland. I did find it interesting that Oswell Swann was allowed to have a part in this and a speaking part even. It was nice to realize that he had to have some discourse with the fugitives as he led them over miles of dark roads to Cox's house. So what bugged me? Mr. Swann's skin color!

I appreciated that a lesson was given on what a Wesort is because it is a definite part of Southern Maryland life. Wesorts are tri-racial people tracing their roots first to colonial Virginia and Maryland. The settlers at Jamestown did not have women join them until 1619. During those years, many of the men took Indian women as their common-law wives. Some were shunned and moved elsewhere, while others migrated with their women to more fertile lands. About six of the men ended up in Maryland.

When Father Andrew White came to Maryland with the first Calvert settlers in 1632, he found these couples "living in sin" and forced them to marry within the Catholic Church. Because they were of mixed race, however, their offspring married within the circle of half-whites and half-Indians. Understanding what it was like to be social castoffs, they also harbored escaping slaves, and soon the clan became tri-racial.

Because of the intermarriage, however, they also became some rare examples of genetic inbreeding. To return to my original complaint, Oswell Swann was much too dark to accurately portray a Wesort. I have lived and worked with Wesorts my entire life (they were also known as Wedems when I was young). I had a cousin who worked with Public Health back in the 1950s when the government actually did an extensive study of the group in relation to genetic factors. Wesorts are often whiter than white folk, or they have cafe au lait coloring. I taught students who had the hair of the Negroid race, the coloring of Native Americans, with freckles and blue eyes. Because of the genetics, many also had few, if any, teeth and other unusual characteristics. Many have been excellent students and have gone on to high positions. One is currently a representative for our county in state government, and one is the education coordinator at Surratt House - and is a whiz at programming.

One last thing on Wesorts - I don't believe they were "given" that name in society until the early-1900s. And that's your Southern Maryland history lesson for the day. North Carolinians might associate them with the Melungeons (if I spelled that correctly).

Laurie, I echo your thoughts on Booth at Mudd’s house. He examined Booth on the sofa downstairs and treated him in the upstairs bedroom, hence why the boot was found upstairs. Bear in mind as well that Booth was pretty muddy and dirty from his horse falling on him, as he reported. I personally wouldn’t want something like that mucking up my furniture and would move him to somewhere that could be more easily cleaned, i.e. a bed that could be changed and the sheets dealt with. That being said, I personally loved the film and wish more projects on the Lincoln assassination could be as good!

---

(12-25-2019 10:09 AM)emma1231 Wrote:  

(03-03-2013 11:16 PM)John E. Wrote:  

Quote:I just saw Killing Lincoln. Not bad! One question I have seen posted or mentioned I think at some point on here is about the Booth autopsy picture. Wonder where it could be? After all Dr. Leale's report turned up as well as a copy of Lincoln's death photo in Illinois. Any thoughts? Thanks-Danny Wes[/font][/size]t-

There is no other relic I'd rather see than the autopsy photo - if it exists. However, I don't believe the story about James A. Wardell. Unfortunately, sections pertaining to the conspirators in Mark Katz's book "Witness to an Era" are filled with unverifiable information. In other instances, claims are either completely fabricated or primary sources are dubious themselves.

For years, I treated the book like a mini-bible regarding Alexander Gardner but not so much anymore.

Stanton had a preoccupation (not the correct word) with death. He kept his son's corpse in a small casket on his mantle for quite a while. I think he kept the print of Lincoln in his coffin because he liked to look at it once in a while. I think it is also evidence of how much he loved and respected him.
A contributor to "The Lincoln Conspiracy," Joe Lynch, was a charlatan. He claimed he had found -- in possession of unnamed heirs of Stanton -- the missing pages of Booth's diary, two sections of the scaffold beam from which Mrs. Surratt and Ledwis Powell were hanged, their nooses, and either the glass negative or print from it (I forget which) of the Booth autopsy. The pages and the scaffold beams were proven to be hoaxes. It follows that his autopsy photo story was, too. Lynch always called me from a phone booth near his Massachusetts home. Lynch told me he didn't know Neff, and professed (too much) to despise him. All I ever got from Lynch was a rare copy of John Creehan's bio of Laura Keene and a copy of the full transcript of those missing pages James O. Hall got them, too, when we met Lynch in a White Plains, NY hotel room. I still think Lynch and Neff were in cahoots.

With respect to the missing pages, I don’t believe that they exist and if they do, I don’t believe that they reveal anything of substance. Sometimes missing pages are just missing pages. As to the photo of Booth’s autopsy, I have long thought that it would be a heck of a find if it resurfaced someday. However, if you haven’t read Barry Cauchon and John Elliott’s work “A Peek Inside The Walls”, then I would suggest doing so. They give a very compelling case as to why the photo doesn’t exist, because it was never taken. All three of their supplements are wonderful!

---

(02-18-2013 12:02 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I am so happy that the vast majority of the critiques here are positive ones. At this particular moment, I cannot imagine that any other film company in the near future will undertake anything that could surpass this production. In the past, only one comes close, and that was a pure documentary done by Greystone Productions (again, I can't remember the name, but it was about 1990).

As for some of the other comments: I, too, would have liked a little more on Mary Surratt; but I understand that the whole focus was on the assassination and the escape -- and despite what Bill Richter tries to ram down my throat, I do not believe that Booth's escape included a stop at the boardinghouse! (Fear not, Bill and I are good friends - at least we were until I just typed that...)

As for Jesse's portrayal of Booth, again I would cite the few days and hours that are portrayed. By the time that Richmond falls and Lee surrenders, Booth had to be becoming fanatical in his hatred for what his country was becoming. The celebrations in Washington, the Confederates being shuffled through town, and Lincoln's speech on April 11 must have been driving him crazy - and that's how Jesse portrayed him.

Someone else mentioned Booth's leg being tended to on Mudd's settee. I believe I'm correct that Mudd actually tended to the leg upstairs, hence the boot being retrieved later from under the bed. For anyone who has seen the settee, it would appear a very uncomfortable place to have a broken leg set and splinted.

One of the most effective pieces of the film for me was the meshing of Booth's advances on Lincoln with Powell's advances on Seward. I loved the way one scene with one assassin melted into a similar scene with the other assassin.

Two nit-picks - yes, I do it too - The scene of Booth being shot just didn't work for me. First, you were led to believe that he was shot in the heart, and then he falls backwards.

I have always thought that Booth fell forwards. My other complaint would go unnoticed to everyone except old-timers in Southern Maryland. I did find it interesting that Oswell Swann was allowed to have a part in this and a speaking part even. It was nice to realize that he had to have some discourse with the fugitives as he led them over miles of dark roads to Cox's house. So what bugged me? Mr. Swann's skin color!

I appreciated that a lesson was given on what a Wesort is because it is a definite part of Southern Maryland life. Wesorts are tri-racial people tracing their roots first to colonial Virginia and Maryland. The settlers at Jamestown did not have women join them until 1619. During those years, many of the men took Indian women as their common-law wives. Some were shunned and moved elsewhere, while others migrated with their women to more fertile lands. About six of the men ended up in Maryland.

When Father Andrew White came to Maryland with the first Calvert settlers in 1632, he found these couples "living in sin" and forced them to marry within the Catholic Church. Because they were of mixed race, however, their offspring married within the circle of half-whites and half-Indians. Understanding what it was like to be social castoffs, they also harbored escaping slaves, and soon the clan became tri-racial.

Because of the intermarriage, however, they also became some rare examples of genetic inbreeding. To return to my original complaint, Oswell Swann was much too dark to accurately portray a Wesort. I have lived and worked with Wesorts my entire life (they were also known as Wedems when I was young). I had a cousin who worked with Public Health back in the 1950s when the government actually did an extensive study of the group in relation to genetic factors. Wesorts are often whiter than white folk, or they have cafe au lait coloring. I taught students who had the hair of the Negroid race, the coloring of Native Americans, with freckles and blue eyes. Because of the genetics, many also had few, if any, teeth and other unusual characteristics. Many have been excellent students and have gone on to high positions. One is currently a representative for our county in state government, and one is the education coordinator at Surratt House - and is a whiz at programming.

One last thing on Wesorts - I don't believe they were "given" that name in society until the early-1900s. And that's your Southern Maryland history lesson for the day. North Carolinians might associate them with the Melungeons (if I spelled that correctly).

Laurie, I echo your thoughts on Booth at Mudd’s house. He examined Booth on the sofa downstairs and treated him in the upstairs bedroom, hence why the boot was found upstairs. Bear in mind as well that Booth was pretty muddy and dirty from his horse falling on him, as he reported. I personally wouldn’t want something like that mucking up my furniture and would move him to somewhere that could be more easily cleaned, i.e. a bed that could be changed and the sheets dealt with. That being said, I personally loved the film and wish more projects on the Lincoln assassination could be as good!

---

(01-03-2020 03:08 PM)L Verge Wrote:  

(01-03-2020 02:16 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(01-03-2020 01:09 PM)Paul F. Wrote:  However, if you haven’t read Barry Cauchon and John Elliott’s work “A Peek Inside The Walls”, then I would suggest doing so. They give a very compelling case as to why the photo doesn’t exist, because it was never taken. All three of their supplements are wonderful!

I second what Paul says. Does anyone know the current status of the "Inside the Walls" project?

The last I heard, both men were busy with their day jobs and earning a living. Saw Barry briefly at last April's Surratt conference, and he was heading up the new exhibit projects at Washington's Spy Museum after its move to a new headquarters.

A quote from me here last week was not attributed to me (*or anyone!) . It was in Jo
hn E's post. It begins "Stanton had a preoccupation..." and deals with Joe Lynch and ends with "I still think Neff and Lynch were in cahoots."

[Paul F.]

(01-03-2020 03:08 PM)L Verge Wrote:  

(01-03-2020 02:16 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(01-03-2020 01:09 PM)Paul F. Wrote:  However, if you haven’t read Barry Cauchon and John Elliott’s work “A Peek Inside The Walls”, then I would suggest doing so. They give a very compelling case as to why the photo doesn’t exist, because it was never taken. All three of their supplements are wonderful!

I second what Paul says. Does anyone know the current status of the "Inside the Walls" project?

The last I heard, both men were busy with their day jobs and earning a living. Saw Barry briefly at last April's Surratt conference, and he was heading up the new exhibit projects at Washington's Spy Museum after its move to a new headquarters.

Laurie, I would probably concur with that. I haven't heard back from Barry for a couple of emails I sent him. He must be pretty busy!

[RJNorton]

If my memory is correct, Barry dropped out of the project as he was so busy, and John Elliott was going to complete it.

[Paul F.]

(01-04-2020 04:45 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  If my memory is correct, Barry dropped out of the project as he was so busy, and John Elliott was going to complete it.

I suppose time will tell!