John Surratt in Canandaigua,NY

[L Verge]

(03-31-2016 09:54 AM)STS Lincolnite Wrote:  Thanks Roger and Herb.

I was familiar with the statement about going to church from the Rockville lecture. As you alluded to Roger, what I was wondering about whether there was any corroborating evidence (witnesses, written records, etc.).

I always have felt Surratt was sort of a smarmy character so even when he may very well have been telling the truth, I just can't let go of some doubt about what he says. I just can't bring myself to wholly believe anything that came out of his mouth.

I wonder if there are any train schedule records that might still exist (maybe printed in old newspapers or elsewhere?). Maybe that would give some sort of tangential credibility to his claims. If in fact there were no trains that left until Monday morning like he said and if there was an inbound train on Saturday evening that would match up with what we know of his reported movements that would be something to work from.

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Laurie, thanks for the tip about Schein's book. I have it, but have not yet read it. I will do a looksee in that section of the book.

Michael does include one train schedule that I had not heard of before. If valid, he may have found a schedule that James O. Hall had not seen, because he was convinced that there was no way for Surratt to get to D.C. in time for the assassination and then head back north.

While I am not a fan of John Surratt, I don't consider him smarmy just because of his wartime adventures and his post-war lecture/stories. He was, above all else, a dedicated, Confederate, underground agent who knew not to give away secrets entrusted to him. I feel that it was his duty to keep the enemy "guessing." So far, it has worked for 151 years!