New Development in Booth Case Coming Soon

[Steve Whitlock]

(07-12-2019 06:45 PM)Steve Wrote:  According to Bates' book, David E. George, previously went by the alias George D. Ryan in other towns of Oklahoma Territory:

https://archive.org/details/escapesuicid...e/page/228

I checked and couldn't find any mention of the name George Ryan or its variants. Also you can tell from the articles I posted on the other thread, David E. George, painter "of Dallas" appears in several Oklahoma newspapers, including in some of the same towns where the Ryan alias was supposedly used.

In fact the earliest confirmed record I could find mentioning David E. George is from page 8 of the April 14, 1897 edition of the Evening Messenger of Marshall, Texas:

There is a mention that David E. George bought a house in El Reno and had J. W. Simmons and his wife living with him

This confirms, at least, that he did indeed come to Oklahoma from Texas. But I can't find any record or city directory listing of him in Dallas. Unfortunately, he seems to have been missed in the 1900 census. There was that insurance policy paper found on him when he died, but that seems to have been bogus, so I'm not sure if we can take the information the policy or the repudiated will says about his origins and family at face value or not.

I was thinking maybe the Ford investigation of Bates and his claims about Mr. George picked up some clues that might have seemed insignificant or impossible to follow up at the time that might be easier to follow-up now with all the historical records and databases online now

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(07-12-2019 08:01 PM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  

(07-12-2019 06:45 PM)Steve Wrote:  According to Bates' book, David E. George, previously went by the alias George D. Ryan in other towns of Oklahoma Territory:

https://archive.org/details/escapesuicid...e/page/228

I checked and couldn't find any mention of the name George Ryan or its variants. Also you can tell from the articles I posted on the other thread, David E. George, painter "of Dallas" appears in several Oklahoma newspapers, including in some of the same towns where the Ryan alias was supposedly used.

In fact the earliest confirmed record I could find mentioning David E. George is from page 8 of the April 14, 1897 edition of the Evening Messenger of Marshall, Texas:

This confirms, at least, that he did indeed come to Oklahoma from Texas. But I can't find any record or city directory listing of him in Dallas. Unfortunately, he seems to have been missed in the 1900 census. There was that insurance policy paper found on him when he died, but that seems to have been bogus, so I'm not sure if we can take the information the policy or the repudiated will says about his origins and family at face value or not.

I was thinking maybe the Ford investigation of Bates and his claims about Mr. George picked up some clues that might have seemed insignificant or impossible to follow up at the time that might be easier to follow-up now with all the historical records and databases online now

David E. George also appears in the 1903 Jennings, El Reno City Directory as a painter living on Macomb. There is also a John George in that directory, at a different address.

From "John Wilkes Booth, The Enid Legend" comes:

"Frontier towns in the American West were no place for lonely elders with no one to care for them. Fortunately, these same towns were also places where neighbors looked out for one another. George decided this was a good place to settle. He came up with 350 dollars to purchase a simple little four-room house. He persuaded J. W. Simmons and his wife to live with him rent free, in exchange for their care.

One afternoon, about a month after settling into the little house, George returned home with the answer to all his problems. He greeted Mrs. Simmons, her friend Ida Harper - whose husband was the town's Methodist minister and another lady, who were visiting in the main room. Always the gentleman, he excused himself before retiring to his own room. A short while later, the pleasantries of the ladies' chat was disturbed by desperate cries for help. The women rushed to George's room and found him lying sick on his bed - his eyes dilated from a self-induced dose of morphine. Mrs. Harper stayed with the dying old man while the other two women, for some strange reason, rushed out of the room to make "strong coffee," as if it were a remedy for poison. In their absence, George called the minister's wife to his bedside. He confessed to her that he was indeed the actor who had assassinated the president. She thought he might be delirious from pain, but was soon convinced the man was quite aware of what he was saying. Again he used the phrase, "I killed the best man that ever lived.""

In the 1900 census we have Rev J W Simmons living on Macomb Ave:

Nortie Simmons

in the 1900 United States Federal Census

Name: Nortie Simmons
[Sarah Nortie Sams]
Age: 40
Birth Date: Feb 1860
Birthplace: Kentucky
Home in 1900: El Reno, Canadian, Oklahoma
Ward of City: 1st
Street: Mc Comb Ave
House Number: 107
Sheet Number: 6
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: 114
Family Number: 118
Race: White
Gender: Female
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Marital status: Married
Spouse's name: James Simmons
Marriage Year: 1877
Father's Birthplace: Kentucky
Mother's Birthplace: Kentucky
Mother: Number of Living Children: 1
Mother: How Many Children: 6
Months Not Employed: 0
Attended School: 0
Can Read: Yes
Can Write: Yes
Can Speak English: Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:
Name Age
James Simmons 50 [Rev JW Simmons]
Nortie Simmons 40 [Sara Norton “Nortie” (Sams) Simmons]
May C Simmons 23
Jesse T Simmons 35
***********************
According to the same article David E. George didn't get to El Reno until 1901:

"St. Helen's trail grew cold until 1901, when he arrived in El Reno, Oklahoma, under the alias of David E. George. He lived in the town for fewer than two years, however, in that short time he made quite an impression on his fellow residents. William G. Shepherd, who picks up the story from there, interviewed witnesses who personally knew the mysterious Mr. George. His findings were published in an article entitled, "Shattering the Myth of John Wilkes Booth's Escape," that appeared in the November 1924 issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine."

---

(07-12-2019 08:01 PM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  

(07-12-2019 06:45 PM)Steve Wrote:  According to Bates' book, David E. George, previously went by the alias George D. Ryan in other towns of Oklahoma Territory:

https://archive.org/details/escapesuicid...e/page/228

I checked and couldn't find any mention of the name George Ryan or its variants. Also you can tell from the articles I posted on the other thread, David E. George, painter "of Dallas" appears in several Oklahoma newspapers, including in some of the same towns where the Ryan alias was supposedly used.

In fact the earliest confirmed record I could find mentioning David E. George is from page 8 of the April 14, 1897 edition of the Evening Messenger of Marshall, Texas:

There is a mention that David E. George bought a house in El Reno and had J. W. Simmons and his wife living with him

This confirms, at least, that he did indeed come to Oklahoma from Texas. But I can't find any record or city directory listing of him in Dallas. Unfortunately, he seems to have been missed in the 1900 census. There was that insurance policy paper found on him when he died, but that seems to have been bogus, so I'm not sure if we can take the information the policy or the repudiated will says about his origins and family at face value or not.

I was thinking maybe the Ford investigation of Bates and his claims about Mr. George picked up some clues that might have seemed insignificant or impossible to follow up at the time that might be easier to follow-up now with all the historical records and databases online now

---

(07-12-2019 08:01 PM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  

(07-12-2019 06:45 PM)Steve Wrote:  According to Bates' book, David E. George, previously went by the alias George D. Ryan in other towns of Oklahoma Territory:

https://archive.org/details/escapesuicid...e/page/228

I checked and couldn't find any mention of the name George Ryan or its variants. Also you can tell from the articles I posted on the other thread, David E. George, painter "of Dallas" appears in several Oklahoma newspapers, including in some of the same towns where the Ryan alias was supposedly used.

In fact the earliest confirmed record I could find mentioning David E. George is from page 8 of the April 14, 1897 edition of the Evening Messenger of Marshall, Texas:

This confirms, at least, that he did indeed come to Oklahoma from Texas. But I can't find any record or city directory listing of him in Dallas. Unfortunately, he seems to have been missed in the 1900 census. There was that insurance policy paper found on him when he died, but that seems to have been bogus, so I'm not sure if we can take the information the policy or the repudiated will says about his origins and family at face value or not.

I was thinking maybe the Ford investigation of Bates and his claims about Mr. George picked up some clues that might have seemed insignificant or impossible to follow up at the time that might be easier to follow-up now with all the historical records and databases online now

David E. George also appears in the 1903 Jennings, El Reno City Directory as a painter living on Macomb. There is also a John George in that directory, at a different address.

From "John Wilkes Booth, The Enid Legend" comes:

"Frontier towns in the American West were no place for lonely elders with no one to care for them. Fortunately, these same towns were also places where neighbors looked out for one another. George decided this was a good place to settle. He came up with 350 dollars to purchase a simple little four-room house. He persuaded J. W. Simmons and his wife to live with him rent free, in exchange for their care.

One afternoon, about a month after settling into the little house, George returned home with the answer to all his problems. He greeted Mrs. Simmons, her friend Ida Harper - whose husband was the town's Methodist minister and another lady, who were visiting in the main room. Always the gentleman, he excused himself before retiring to his own room. A short while later, the pleasantries of the ladies' chat was disturbed by desperate cries for help. The women rushed to George's room and found him lying sick on his bed - his eyes dilated from a self-induced dose of morphine. Mrs. Harper stayed with the dying old man while the other two women, for some strange reason, rushed out of the room to make "strong coffee," as if it were a remedy for poison. In their absence, George called the minister's wife to his bedside. He confessed to her that he was indeed the actor who had assassinated the president. She thought he might be delirious from pain, but was soon convinced the man was quite aware of what he was saying. Again he used the phrase, "I killed the best man that ever lived.""

In the 1900 census we have Rev J W Simmons living on Macomb Ave:

Nortie Simmons

in the 1900 United States Federal Census

Name: Nortie Simmons
[Sarah Nortie Sams]
Age: 40
Birth Date: Feb 1860
Birthplace: Kentucky
Home in 1900: El Reno, Canadian, Oklahoma
Ward of City: 1st
Street: Mc Comb Ave
House Number: 107
Sheet Number: 6
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: 114
Family Number: 118
Race: White
Gender: Female
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Marital status: Married
Spouse's name: James Simmons
Marriage Year: 1877
Father's Birthplace: Kentucky
Mother's Birthplace: Kentucky
Mother: Number of Living Children: 1
Mother: How Many Children: 6
Months Not Employed: 0
Attended School: 0
Can Read: Yes
Can Write: Yes
Can Speak English: Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:
Name Age
James Simmons 50 [Rev JW Simmons]
Nortie Simmons 40 [Sara Norton “Nortie” (Sams) Simmons]
May C Simmons 23
Jesse T Simmons 35
***********************
According to the same article David E. George didn't get to El Reno until 1901:

"St. Helen's trail grew cold until 1901, when he arrived in El Reno, Oklahoma, under the alias of David E. George. He lived in the town for fewer than two years, however, in that short time he made quite an impression on his fellow residents. William G. Shepherd, who picks up the story from there, interviewed witnesses who personally knew the mysterious Mr. George. His findings were published in an article entitled, "Shattering the Myth of John Wilkes Booth's Escape," that appeared in the November 1924 issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine."

Oops. Rev J. W. Simmons was on McComb, not Macomb. Not sure whether there was both a Macomb and McComb.