New Development in Booth Case Coming Soon

[Steve]

(07-09-2019 06:27 PM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  

(07-09-2019 03:14 PM)Steve Wrote:  Here are some new documents and newspaper articles:




Comparison of the supposed signature of the Tennessee John Wilkes Booth (from the image in the 1911 article) with a known signature of the assassin John Wilkes Booth from an endorsement from a Feb. 1863 check sent to him from his brother Edwin. The point I'm trying to make is the supposed cut out "J. Wilkes Booth" signature of the Tennessee JWB shown to the newspaper in 1911 is probably a forgery based on the signature of the assassin JWB.

So, what document is it that J. Wielkes [sic] Booth signed as Mrs Howard's father? I guess he couldn't spell his own name. Surely they didn't just say here is his signature without it being on a document?

I found the death record of Laura Ida Booth. The 29 April 1925 date matches the death date from her probate records. Norman was her later performance last name, but I have no idea why her first name is given as Ruth on the death certificate.

New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949

Name: Ruth Norman
Event Type: Death
Event Date: 29 Apr 1925
Event Place: Manhattan, New York, New York, United States
Address: 227 West 46th St.
Residence Place: N.Y. City
Gender: Female
Age: 52
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Occupation: Theatrical
Birth Year: 1873 (estimated)
Birthplace: U.S.
Burial Date: 01 May 1925
Cemetery: Kensico
Father's Name: John Wilkes Booth
Father's Birthplace: U.S.
Mother's Name: Ida Payne
Mother's Birthplace: U.S

The 1911 article says the scrap of paper was attached to a certified copy of her parents marriage record "bearing the signature 'J. Wilkes Booth', which she declares was torn from the records of the Tennessee Court with the permission of the clerk"

I missed the possible "e" after the "i", but I still think it was copied off of the signature of the assassin and isn't from court records. There was nothing torn off the marriage records, which were signed "Jno. W. Boothe" according to record copy of the marriage bond. (But that looks like it might have been written by the clerk or officiant, and not Booth like it was supposed to.) The are no signatures of the married couple on the license, just the signature of the officiant on the back.