New Development in Booth Case Coming Soon

[Steve Whitlock]

(07-06-2019 11:55 PM)Steve Wrote:  Once it became apparent that the Leadville JWB (and thus Laura Ida Booth's father) was too young to be the assassin most of the forum members probably lost interest in this specific issue, but I enjoy trying to solve genealogical riddles.

Since the Leadville JWB claimed to be Junius Booth Jr's grandson, any DNA tests on the bodies of the Leadville JWB or Laura Ida Booth or of Laura's descendants will be completely useless as evidence for those people/cranks who claim that Booth wasn't killed in the barn in 1865.

Interesting this other JWB first appears in the record as working as a carpenter at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. I wonder if the University has any records for its laborers from the 1871-72 time period.

Yes, other Forum Members know that JWB died at Garretts farm; therefore the search for exactly who the JWB was in Leadville, CO is a waste of time; however, with the increasing prevalence of those seeking to make a case for Booth's escape I think it might prove beneficial to have some autosomal dna to work with, since it's obvious the courts aren't going to allow an exhumation.

There may not be a living descendant for Virginia (Asburn) McCrea, but I don't know that for sure yet. There are still other supposed children of John Wilkes Booth to contend with. If Lois (White) Rathbun-Trebisacci had her autosomal dna available at GEDMatch we could look for other living descendants (Sarah Scott, etc) who now claim a lineage to JWB and either prove or disprove information suggesting an escape. In that case, should we find a living descendant for Virginia (Asburn) McCrea our research would help prove why said descendant was a match, albeit a weak one, to Lois. With the assertion that the man in Leadville, CO (By the way Finis Bates said that David E. George/John St. Helen, or whatever name he ostensibly went by was in Leadville, CO in 1879) was supposedly a son of Junius Booth, then people shouldn't presume he lied about his age by 10 years and really was the assassin JWB. With that name someone in law enforcement surely checked him out, or he was way too different in appearance, or height.

As it stands now if a descendant of Virginia (Asburn) McCrea were to do the autosomal dna test, and match Lois, it would just fire that base up again, more fervently, in the belief that David E. George was JWB, and he really did escape with a government conspiracy.

I don't view what we've done as a waste of time, especially if we could prove the man who married Dolly Baker was the father of Laura Ida Booth, and not David E. George.