"Phantoms" at Lincoln's deathbed

[Donet D. Graves]

(11-23-2015 07:02 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Thank you for your reply and assessment. What you question regarding Seward seems a valid point to me. Quite some people have checked on Seward (first), haven't they?

I believe so. I had not done a great deal of research on the issue but they were close before and after the assassination. It is likely that during the war years there was little incentive to record the activities of men of color, even men as well regarded as James Wormley. It seems that during Reconstruction much more attention was given to him in the national media.
I am now spending most efforts searching for the nexus which gave James that "leg up" in the DC society. It turns out that his family was well regarded by a number of the members of leadership from 1814 through the mid-19th century. James grew up knowing the Presidents, their cabinet members and high society. While James had a unique personality and gift, it had to help that he dealt on a daily basis with the elite of the city.