Clara Harris's Bloody Dress

[Linda Anderson]

(12-30-2013 06:23 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  Here are some statements regarding Keene and the box that I can think of:

1. 1878 - Clara Harris denies Keene was ever in the box.
2. 1909 - Dr. Leale includes Keene in the group in the box.
3. 1930 - William J. Ferguson says it was he who led Keene to the box.
4. date unknown to me - Jeannie Gourlay said it was her father, Thomas Gourlay, who led Keene to the box.

In 1896 Seaton Munroe said he saw Keene and her blood-stained dress at the bottom of the stairs leading to the box.

Add to that list a statement by Billy Otis who was Laura Keene's dresser on the night Lincoln was assassinated, in an August 22, 1879 article from the San Francisco Bulletin titled "An Actor's Prayer: A Curious Reminiscence of the American Stage."

"When the shot was fired he was in the act of buttoning Miss Keene's glove as she was preparing to go on the stage in bridal costume. At first mistaking the shot, she sent a request that the carpenters should not fire pistols during the acts, and then, when the truth became known, rushed to the washstand, saturated the whole front breadth of her magnificent bridal dress, which she wrung out in a vain attempt to resuscitate the unconscious victim."