The Pope Did It?

[L Verge]

I believe I'm correct in saying that James O. Hall (and possibly others) did search the records of St. Mary's Church, Bryantown, where Booth met Mudd (when Mudd came from his home church, St. Peter's, that Sunday). St. Aloysius and St. Patrick's in D.C. would be logical guesses also. We would also have to check to see when the Archdiocese of Washington was created out of the Archdiocese of Maryland. I think it was during the Civil War. Somewhere Bishop Spalding fits into the history.

One of my original points was when did Booth have the time to train for confirmation/conversion? He traveled so much plying his trade as well as planning his exploits. If he took the classes - or even was allowed to do it as a private "student" - it could have been in any city or town along the East Coast or further inward. Why do I not see Booth worrying about what denomination he was from 1863 on? Why do I see him not even going to church during this time?

I think what irritates me the most with some of the postings here and in another thread in these last few weeks is that they seem to denounce previous expert historians for failing to do their homework and to find answers to some of these spurious subjects. Did it ever occur to some that the experts did research things thoroughly and dismiss a great deal of speculation, etc. as useless and without proof? Just in our generation, we have the likes of Hall, Kauffman, Hanchett, Steers, Loux, Chamlee, Alford, Roscoe, and others who did fantastic work. And now, we have a new generation making strides in the field.