$$ Trail for the Surratt Boarding House

[L Verge]

(03-08-2017 12:16 PM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote:  John Surratt Sr. had acquired the boardinghouse as part of a transaction involving several properties years before Mary moved into it.

According to a manuscript about the house kept at the Hall Research Center (I didn't copy the name of the author, alas), a creditor of John Surratt Sr. brought an equity proceeding in November 1865 asking that the H Street house be sold, which it was in June 1866. An Edward Belt had been administrating John Surratt Sr.'s estate, including the boardinghouse, since September 1865, when Anna renounced her rights of administratrix.

Susan is correct in that the boardinghouse was arranged via a type of "swap" negotiation between Surratt and another gentleman who was not the best businessman in the nation either. The Surratts acquired the property in 1853, just shortly after they had moved into their new home in Surrattsville (1852).

The family rented the DC home to other people over the years -- one was a Patent Office employee, I believe, another a piano teacher, etc.

James O. Hall researched all of that many long years ago, and we have put it to good use a lot of times in disputing the ongoing claims that Booth or someone higher up had to purchase the house for Mrs. Surratt and install her in DC in order for her to do dirty work for the conspiracy.