Mary Lincoln Extra Credit Questions

[L Verge]

I didn't think that Blaine's question involved Bettie being a friend of Mrs. Lincoln. I think he meant that Rose Greenhow and Mrs. Lincoln were friends (or at least acquaintances) and that Bettie was a protégé of Rose and went on to higher spy callings.

As I said earlier, I am too lazy to track which limb of the Duvall tree Bettie came from. However, the majority of the Duvalls of Maryland were part of the Southern Maryland planters group that detested the actions of the Lincoln administration. Many long years ago, I tried getting more information on a Baltimore Slave Convention (ca. late-1850s), and some of the leaders of this were Duvalls.

I only found brief newspaper references to the Convention, however, and finally gave up. I can assure you that the folks involved were trying very hard to control the slavery issue in the state, even to the point of supporting the American Colonization Society's efforts to send the enslaved back to Africa and also to send freed people out of Maryland so that they could not knowingly or unknowingly aid in slave escapes.

I would love for someone on this forum to take up the challenge of getting more details on this Baltimore Slave Convention and compose an article on it for our Surratt Courier newsletter. If you find more about Laura (Bettie) Duvall to throw into the mix, that would be great also.