April 15, 1865 New York Herald's

[L Verge]

Over the past 10-15 years, so many people have tried to sell locks of Mrs. Surratt's hair to the Surratt House Museum that I have truly lost count. I believe there was once a posting on this forum discussing who had access to her body in order to chop off the hair. The executioner, Christian Rath, claimed that he let no one else touch her. I can't remember if her coffin was opened when the bodies were moved in 1867, but a newspaper account of her reburial in Mt. Olivet Cemetery does speak of Annie Surratt being given a lock.

Don't even get me started on all the offers of photos of Mrs. Surratt that have been made to us. That is a very frustrating topic for me, and it was not helped any when a gentleman (whose name I forget) actually advertised "to the world" that the museum had no photos of the Surratts and were looking for some. I'm sure that he thought he was helping, but trying to tell people politely that you really do not think they have a photograph that they purport it to be is a tricky business. In essence you are telling them that they have not hit the jackpot and they will have to continue working for a living. It does occasionally happen that a rare photo appears - and when it does, I hope they clue us in on it!