Fascinating History

[Dave Taylor]

The 1862 "Stranger" valentine was not written by John Wilkes Booth. That error originated with Albert Richmond "Boo" Morcom in his 1970 article for American Heritage entitled, "They All Loved Lucy". Morcom apparently found the letter to a "Miss Hale" in an antique store with no provenance. My guess is that he was familiar with the letter contained in Asia's book regarding JWB working on a valentine for Lucy Hale in 1865, and conflated it with the "Stranger" letter he found. The handwriting on the Stanger letter does not match John Wilkes Booth's. In addition, 1862 is too early of a date for the two to have become romantically linked. Somewhere I have read that the Hales didn't move into the National Hotel until January of 1865.

We do know that Lucy Hale and Robert Lincoln were linked, though the degree of their involvement is unclear. Dr. Blaine Houmes owned a book signed by Robert Lincoln and another man which was inscribed, "To / Misses Colby & Hale / from their admiring friends. / R. T. Lincoln / F. P. Anderson / '64", which supports at least a friendship between them as Bill's newest discovery supports as well.