The Lincoln Bible

[RJNorton]

Personally I agree with Mr. Hess. Eva, before you joined our forum, we had discussed Johnson and alcohol as well as whether or not Johnson was a womanizer. Our own Jerry Madonna, who thinks outside the box on many issues, has the most fascinating tale of his theory of what Johnson may have been doing (use you own imagination, Eva) at the moment of Lincoln's assassination. Whether true or not, I find it most interesting. In his book Jerry writes that Booth had sent Johnson "a present" for the night of April 14, 1865. This "present" was Ella Starr, Booth's mistress. A member of our forum, Jenny, has studied Ella in great depth and has shared much information about her. Although outwardly this may have been a "thank you" for Johnson having given Booth a pass out of Washington, it also would have the effect of keeping Johnson in his room when Atzerodt (or Herold) was supposed to come to the door at Johnson's hotel and shoot him. Although conventional wisdom has Atzerodt as Johnson's potential assassin, there is an argument to be made that it was actually Herold who ended up with this assignment.

No one on the forum has ever agreed with me on this, but I have noted there was a definite delay in Johnson answering the door when Leonard Farwell knocked to tell of the assassination at Ford's. Johnson, I believe, had a suite of rooms at the Kirkwood House, so I speculated a little time was needed to hide Eva when Johnson opened his door for Farwell. All of this assumes Jerry's theory on Eva being in there is true.

Regarding whether Johnson was a womanizer...this isn't the best answer or the most reliable source, but in the Johnson chapter of his book Through Five Administrations, William H. Crook (the same man who was working in the White House when Lincoln was president) wrote, "Johnson had an amiable weakness for women, particularly for pretty women. Those of us who were on duty in corridors and anterooms saw many evidences of this fact."