"Phantoms" at Lincoln's deathbed

[Donet D. Graves]

(11-13-2015 10:44 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Welcome to the forum, Donet. Thanks for sharing all this fascinating info! I just wonder - wouldn't have it made "the news", i.e. been reported by others if one "people of color" attended the deathbed? Or do you think that this v.v. would rather have been avoided to spread?

Thank you for your interest and welcome. My guess is that he was perceived by the media of the time as merely a "nurse" therefore not of the same public stature as the others clamoring for attention.
I was always curious about this detail and have not been able to confirm from any contemporaneous source other than the ones mentioned. I do know and can confirm his well-known persona to all of those surrounding the President and find it almost inconceivable he was not called in to the Peterson House which was just a few blocks from James' home and businesses. The only factor which gives me pause is that his long-time friend Seward had also been wounded that night and whose home was in closer proximity to Wormley. The fact that he was personally much closer to Seward is the one factor which would make me have second thoughts about his presence at Lincoln's deathbed and that would only be because of their much more intimate relationship.