Path of the assassins

[Linda Anderson]

The Coleman family has a large tombstone in the crossroad.

[Dave Taylor]

(08-08-2013 08:22 PM)Linda Anderson Wrote:  The Coleman family has a large tombstone in the crossroad.

You're a wealth of information, Linda. Thanks again.

Looks like Jim and Rich have two more residents of Mt. Olivet (Oswell Swann and Margaret Coleman) to add to the second edition of their book!

[Linda Anderson]

You're welcome, Dave.

These are the photos my husband took last March after the Conference.

Margaret's name is on the back side of the tombstone. James Coleman was her brother, Mary was her sister-in-law and Michael was their son. Margaret became Charles Sumner's housekeeper after Seward left Washington in 1869. Margaret went to live with her brother and his family at 1114 6th St. southwest after Sumner died in 1874.

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[Jim Woodall]

(08-09-2013 02:15 PM)Linda Anderson Wrote:  You're welcome, Dave.

These are the photos my husband took last March after the Conference.

Margaret's name is on the back side of the tombstone. James Coleman was her brother, Mary was her sister-in-law and Michael was their son. Margaret became Charles Sumner's housekeeper after Seward left Washington in 1869. Margaret went to live with her brother and his family at 1114 6th St. southwest after Sumner died in 1874.

I hate to throw some cold water on this (edit: especially when on further analysis it has to be her) but I think one needs to be looking for a "Margaret Coleman Davidson" gravestone or internment. The obituary for her niece, Margaret, who was hired at the treasury at her behest, indicates that her aunt's name was the late, "Margaret Coleman Davidson."

From the Evening Star dated, 15 Mar 1948, on page 12, headlined:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Funeral Set Tomorrow For Niece of Woman Who Saved Seward

Miss Margaret T. Coleman, who owed her Treasury Department job to the fact her aunt saved the life of Secretary of State Seward the night Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, will be buried here tomorrow.
Miss Coleman, who was 73, died Thursday at a Washington hospital after a long illness. From 1901 to 1931 she held a job in the loans and currency division of the Secretary of Treasury's office, given her "as a favor" to her aunt, the late Mrs. Margaret Coleman Davidson.
Mrs. Davidson had been the housekeeper at Secretary Seward's home the night of April 14, 1865, when a conspirator forced his way into the house to kill the Secretary. The would-be assassin first stabbed Frederick Seward, the son, in an attempt to reach the Secretary who was bedridden from a cariage (sic) fall.
Mrs. Davidson heard the noise and sprang upon the conspirator at the top of the stairs. She broke her collarbone in the scuffle, but her shrieks brought other members of the household who pulled the attacker away as he slashed Mr. Seward. Mr. Seward later recovered from the wounds.
Mrs. Davidson was termed a "historical character" by Massachusetts Representative Samuel Hooper when he and other political figures asked that she be given a job in the Government.
According to Miss Coleman's family, the Secretary had promised Mrs. Davidson or a relative should always have a job in the Government. Miss Coleman was the last of the line. She retired in 1931 due to illness.
She was a native Washingtonian and for many years lived in the 1200 block of East Capital Street. She has no immediate survivors.
Requiem Mass will be said at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Tenth and G streets N.W., with burial in Mount Olivet Cemetery.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I do not think she would have been buried under just the Coleman name, even in a family plot. What name is on the death certificate or internment records?

Margaret T Coleman's death notice is also in same paper on same page just a couple columns to the left of the obituary.

Her burial mass notice appeared in the previous day's Evening Star on page 4 where it listed her parents as: James and Mary Murphy Coleman.

This Margaret T Coleman should not be confused with Margaret Gertrude Coleman, born of James Coleman and Anne Virginia Smoot Coleman, who goes on to marry David Diggins. Both of the Margarets are born about 1875. Margaret Gertrude Coleman's aunt, Margaret, had worked at the Treasury in 1870, as well. Her dad was of the Washington Light Infantry and joined the Union army proper attaining rank of Captain. His mother's name was Mary.

Margaret appears to be a popular name within the Coleman family lines.

I would assume that since an 1887 article refers to Margaret Coleman as saving Seward, that she must have married Davidson after that??

Edit: The newspaper in 1902 announces Margaret Coleman's death at the correct address from the 1900 census, stating her age at 86. It is curious that they would put 1818 on the tombstone which doesn't even match with age given in the death notices and does not match what was pretty consistent in the censuses.

Other than lack of Davidson for her last name and the prior mentioned birth year variance, it does look like the right spot given the names on the front which match. However, I do not find James Coleman after 1870 census but he is listed as dead in 1898.

I would blame cut/paste in computers for the consistent usage of Davidson in the one article but I don't think they would have easily made an accidental mistake like that given the technology they had then. So where does the Davidson come from?

[Jim Garrett]

Saint Patrick has so much history. Father Jacob Walter was the priest for almost his entire career and died there. That's where Mary Surratt attended mass in Washington. Lt. Edward Doherty and Katherine Gautier were married there and this wonderful Coleman info. One of the founding members of Saint Patrick's was James Hoban, the architect of the White House. Pope Francis will visit Saint Patrick's this fall. All just a block from Ford's Theatre.

[Jim Woodall]

(07-31-2015 08:39 AM)Jim Garrett Wrote:  Saint Patrick has so much history. Father Jacob Walter was the priest for almost his entire career and died there. That's where Mary Surratt attended mass in Washington. Lt. Edward Doherty and Katherine Gautier were married there and this wonderful Coleman info. One of the founding members of Saint Patrick's was James Hoban, the architect of the White House. Pope Francis will visit Saint Patrick's this fall. All just a block from Ford's Theatre.

I am glad to see you posting. Hope all is going well.

I had been keeping my eyes peeled on info regarding St. Peters since the earliest catholics in my family concentrated there including one said to be the first baptized at St. Peters, James Boiseau. Later parts of the extended family moved onto St. Patrick. However, I have stayed away from chasing the church info because it seemed the church held the info close. It was my understanding that to access it, one needed to do it in person. I had heard that info is easier to come by now but haven't made the effort yet to learn the mechanisms. I wish the cemetery info, like Mount Olivet, was easier to retrieve. Although, there now is a form on the web.

The Jenkins influence moved part of my Anderson line into catholicism starting around 1852. Sarah Ann Jenkins' kids from three marriages all stayed catholic and much of those lines were heavily involved in their respective churches.

Confusing for me with the Coleman's was one of Sarah's kids, Anne Virginia Smoot married a James Coleman whose mother was a Mary Coleman. They named a daughter Margaret who did work at the treasury in 1870. They are buried at Mount Olivet, as well.

They do not appear to be related to Margaret Coleman of the Seward house.

[Linda Anderson]

(07-30-2015 10:55 PM)Jim Woodall Wrote:  

(08-09-2013 02:15 PM)Linda Anderson Wrote:  You're welcome, Dave.

These are the photos my husband took last March after the Conference.

Margaret's name is on the back side of the tombstone. James Coleman was her brother, Mary was her sister-in-law and Michael was their son. Margaret became Charles Sumner's housekeeper after Seward left Washington in 1869. Margaret went to live with her brother and his family at 1114 6th St. southwest after Sumner died in 1874.

I hate to throw some cold water on this (edit: especially when on further analysis it has to be her) but I think one needs to be looking for a "Margaret Coleman Davidson" gravestone or internment. The obituary for her niece, Margaret, who was hired at the treasury at her behest, indicates that her aunt's name was the late, "Margaret Coleman Davidson."

From the Evening Star dated, 15 Mar 1948, on page 12, headlined:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Funeral Set Tomorrow For Niece of Woman Who Saved Seward

Miss Margaret T. Coleman, who owed her Treasury Department job to the fact her aunt saved the life of Secretary of State Seward the night Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, will be buried here tomorrow.
Miss Coleman, who was 73, died Thursday at a Washington hospital after a long illness. From 1901 to 1931 she held a job in the loans and currency division of the Secretary of Treasury's office, given her "as a favor" to her aunt, the late Mrs. Margaret Coleman Davidson.
Mrs. Davidson had been the housekeeper at Secretary Seward's home the night of April 14, 1865, when a conspirator forced his way into the house to kill the Secretary. The would-be assassin first stabbed Frederick Seward, the son, in an attempt to reach the Secretary who was bedridden from a cariage (sic) fall.
Mrs. Davidson heard the noise and sprang upon the conspirator at the top of the stairs. She broke her collarbone in the scuffle, but her shrieks brought other members of the household who pulled the attacker away as he slashed Mr. Seward. Mr. Seward later recovered from the wounds.
Mrs. Davidson was termed a "historical character" by Massachusetts Representative Samuel Hooper when he and other political figures asked that she be given a job in the Government.
According to Miss Coleman's family, the Secretary had promised Mrs. Davidson or a relative should always have a job in the Government. Miss Coleman was the last of the line. She retired in 1931 due to illness.
She was a native Washingtonian and for many years lived in the 1200 block of East Capital Street. She has no immediate survivors.
Requiem Mass will be said at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Tenth and G streets N.W., with burial in Mount Olivet Cemetery.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I do not think she would have been buried under just the Coleman name, even in a family plot. What name is on the death certificate or internment records?

Margaret T Coleman's death notice is also in same paper on same page just a couple columns to the left of the obituary.

Her burial mass notice appeared in the previous day's Evening Star on page 4 where it listed her parents as: James and Mary Murphy Coleman.

This Margaret T Coleman should not be confused with Margaret Gertrude Coleman, born of James Coleman and Anne Virginia Smoot Coleman, who goes on to marry David Diggins. Both of the Margarets are born about 1875. Margaret Gertrude Coleman's aunt, Margaret, had worked at the Treasury in 1870, as well. Her dad was of the Washington Light Infantry and joined the Union army proper attaining rank of Captain. His mother's name was Mary.

Margaret appears to be a popular name within the Coleman family lines.

I would assume that since an 1887 article refers to Margaret Coleman as saving Seward, that she must have married Davidson after that??

Edit: The newspaper in 1902 announces Margaret Coleman's death at the correct address from the 1900 census, stating her age at 86. It is curious that they would put 1818 on the tombstone which doesn't even match with age given in the death notices and does not match what was pretty consistent in the censuses.

Other than lack of Davidson for her last name and the prior mentioned birth year variance, it does look like the right spot given the names on the front which match. However, I do not find James Coleman after 1870 census but he is listed as dead in 1898.

I would blame cut/paste in computers for the consistent usage of Davidson in the one article but I don't think they would have easily made an accidental mistake like that given the technology they had then. So where does the Davidson come from?

Interesting information, Jim. I have never heard of Margaret marrying a Mr. Davidson. However, she did not, according to George Robinson, Seward's nurse who was on duty the night of the assassination attempt, spring on Powell and break her collarbone.

Her name in her death certificate is Margaret Coleman and her age is 86.

Margaret started her Treasury job in 1874 after Sumner died. There were many articles about her when she retired from the Treasury in 1901. She was quite feeble at that time. There is no mention of the name Davidson.

The discrepancy in her age has baffled me for a long time. Maybe she just lied to make herself appear younger?

Here's the Collier's Weekly's article on "Women Workers in the Departments" which includes information about Margaret. That's her photo in the upper left.

https://books.google.com/books?id=R2AwAQ...an&f=false

[IrishJim011]

(08-09-2013 02:15 PM)Linda Anderson Wrote:  Her name in her death certificate is Margaret Coleman and her age is 86.

Margaret started her Treasury job in 1874 after Sumner died. There were many articles about her when she retired from the Treasury in 1901. She was quite feeble at that time. There is no mention of the name Davidson.

The discrepancy in her age has baffled me for a long time. Maybe she just lied to make herself appear younger?

My family research found Margaret was baptised in Kilskyre, County Meath, Ireland on April 4, 1816, matching the age on her death certificate.

There is also no record of her ever marrying. When her niece, her namesake, died, there were no immediate family members left, so it isn't beyond reason that the writer of the obituary had inaccurate information.

And as noted in many of the articles on Margaret, her own story grew in size & grandeur as the years progressed.

[Linda Anderson]

(09-19-2020 04:04 PM)IrishJim011 Wrote:  

(08-09-2013 02:15 PM)Linda Anderson Wrote:  Her name in her death certificate is Margaret Coleman and her age is 86.

Margaret started her Treasury job in 1874 after Sumner died. There were many articles about her when she retired from the Treasury in 1901. She was quite feeble at that time. There is no mention of the name Davidson.

The discrepancy in her age has baffled me for a long time. Maybe she just lied to make herself appear younger?

My family research found Margaret was baptised in Kilskyre, County Meath, Ireland on April 4, 1816, matching the age on her death certificate.

There is also no record of her ever marrying. When her niece, her namesake, died, there were no immediate family members left, so it isn't beyond reason that the writer of the obituary had inaccurate information.

And as noted in many of the articles on Margaret, her own story grew in size & grandeur as the years progressed.

IrishJim, thank you for your information on Margaret Coleman. I’ve been researching her for a while and your info is very helpful.

Michael’s sister, Margaret T. Coleman, worked in the Treasury Dept from 1901 to 1931 according to the March 14, 1948 Evening Star article about her death. The 1930 Census and the 1931 City Directory record her living with James and his wife Wallie at 1319 E. Capital Street. in DC. However, Margaret T. is recorded as being “incomp” in the General Index to Pension files. Her illness no doubt contributed to Michael’s despair.

James O. Hall researched the two Margarets in 1988 trying to figure out the relationship between Margaret and Margaret T. He did find that Margaret T. was Margaret’s niece. In the course of his research to “fix” Margaret T.’s date of death, he went to Suitland to read a “rather large” administration file at Suitland Records Center. “There was a contested matter the legal heirs to her $10,000 (roughly) estate. Since she never married, and the family had mostly died out, it boiled down to a genealogical search not too well done by lawyers and remote kin. But the file shows that Margaret T. Coleman died at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital [DC psychiatric hospital] on 11 March 1848, where she had been a patient for over fifteen years. According to the file, her father was James Coleman, her mother was Mary. James Coleman had brothers, Michael and William, and a sister, Margaret [Seward’s servant]. Michael and Margaret never married. [We know that is incorrect since Michael was married to Wallie at the time of his death.] But William went to Colorado, married, and had one child, a daughter. He was killed in a snowslide. The daughter had children. In the end, under District of Columbia law, William’s descendants got the estate and the remote kin of Mary got nothing.”

I was surprised to discover that there are now two listings for Margaret Coleman in Find A Grave. The first one is under the name Margaret Coleman and simply lists her birth, death and burial dates. The second listing is under the name Margaret T Coleman. There are photos added in July 2020 of her marker which is on the other side of the gravestone from James, Mary and Michael. The articles from Cosmopolitan and Collier’s Weekly are also included. The Find a Grave listing mentions her birthdate in the 1880 and 1900 Censuses as being between 1834 and 1835.

Margaret did exaggerate her experience with Lewis Powell on the night of his attack on Seward. However, an 1887 Evening Star article quotes her directly and she doesn’t mention a broken collarbone. She does say that Powell inadvertently brushed against her and dislocated her shoulder and accidently bruised her face with his clenched fist. I suppose that could have happened but I haven’t found any mention of her being injured in Fanny Seward’s diary or in any other contemporaneous account.

Margaret’s true age is interesting because several authors have written that she was Seward’s flirty maid whom Booth was supposedly trying to get information from. The conspirator who mentions a maid is George Atzerodt. “I overhead Booth when in conversation with Wood say, That he visited a chambermaid at Seward’s House & that she was pretty. He said he had a great mind to give her his diamond pin.” "Atzerodt confession given to James McPhail and John L. Smith, May 1, 1865." By the way, a diamond stick pin was found on Booth’s body after he was shot at Garrett’s farm.

In another confession, Atzerodt says, “A widow woman was living near Mr. Seward’s, and Booth said by her influence he could get entrance to Seward’s house; through her influence with the chambermaid and house-servant. The girl at the house was good looking and knew the widow.” "“Confession of Atzerodt” Baltimore American and Commercial Advertiser, January 18, 1869." (Azterodt’s confessions can be found at Dave Taylor’s wonderful blog LincolnConspirators.com.)

Since Margaret was almost fifty in 1865 and only nine years later was described in the Daily Critic (March 14, 1874) as “The Old Housekeeper,” I think Atzerodt was referring to a much younger maid. Interestingly, an article titled, “Two Heroines in the Treasury” from the Cincinnati Enquirer dated May 16, 1887 says Margaret is 57. It looks like the two heroines were interviewed for the article so it was Margaret herself who was taking some years off her actual age.

There’s a photo of Seward and his family and servants on the back porch of the Old Clubhouse in DC. I asked the Seward House Museum about the photo some years ago and they said that an unidentified young lady, Anna, Fred & Gus Seward, family friend Mrs. Martin and William Seward are on the left side of the pillar and the servants are on the right side. I suspect the older servant is Margaret.

IrishJim, do you have any info about that photo? You can find it at LincolnConspirators.com. Search for "Seward Assassination Attempt Pictures" and scroll down.

[Susan Higginbotham]

Is that the photo the Seward House Museum posted today in honor of Gus Seward's birthday?

[IrishJim011]

Hi Linda-

Great to see your message. As I said, I came into this discussion very late, but was intrigued with the history & the minor connection to my family.

I've read everything here that you & the other experienced researchers have written over the years where Margaret was mentioned. I found the other family members through the various city directories or news articles on Ancestry.

In reference to what James O. Hall said, one clarification to where it's mentioned James Coleman's siblings William, Michael & Margaret. My great aunt Walburga (Wallie) was married to James Coleman's son Michael, not his brother. My great aunt was sister-in-law to Margaret T. Coleman the neice, not Margaret T. Coleman, Seward's servant. I mentioned the other children of James Coleman in the "Rathbone Uncovered" thread regarding the crossroads gravesite.

Based on everything I've read from you & others here, it seemed obvious to me that Margaret exaggerated her role during the Seward attack, and made it more meaningful as years went on. I also didn't think she was the "pretty maid" mentioned, but I had records showing her much older long before I found the discussion here.

I also found the picture you mentioned here, but was taking what everyone else said as to who is who. I haven't found any photos of her in my own family records.

None of my grandfather's 4 sisters had any children, so any stories that might have existed are long forgotten.

-Jim

[Linda Anderson]

(10-01-2020 12:07 PM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote:  Is that the photo the Seward House Museum posted today in honor of Gus Seward's birthday?

Thanks, Susan. That's not the photo I was referring to.

You can also find the Old Clubhouse photo in Water Stahr's Seward: Lincoln's Indispensible Man - photo 28.

[IrishJim011]

Linda- Do you know anything more about William Coleman and his family? Did James O. Hall mention his wife & daughter's names, or when William died? I haven't found anything in my research.

[Linda Anderson]

(10-01-2020 05:01 PM)IrishJim011 Wrote:  Hi Linda-

Great to see your message. As I said, I came into this discussion very late, but was intrigued with the history & the minor connection to my family.

I've read everything here that you & the other experienced researchers have written over the years where Margaret was mentioned. I found the other family members through the various city directories or news articles on Ancestry.

In reference to what James O. Hall said, one clarification to where it's mentioned James Coleman's siblings William, Michael & Margaret. My great aunt Walburga (Wallie) was married to James Coleman's son Michael, not his brother. My great aunt was sister-in-law to Margaret T. Coleman the neice, not Margaret T. Coleman, Seward's servant. I mentioned the other children of James Coleman in the "Rathbone Uncovered" thread regarding the crossroads gravesite.

Based on everything I've read from you & others here, it seemed obvious to me that Margaret exaggerated her role during the Seward attack, and made it more meaningful as years went on. I also didn't think she was the "pretty maid" mentioned, but I had records showing her much older long before I found the discussion here.

I also found the picture you mentioned here, but was taking what everyone else said as to who is who. I haven't found any photos of her in my own family records.

None of my grandfather's 4 sisters had any children, so any stories that might have existed are long forgotten.

-Jim

Hi Jim, Margaret is an interesting person to research as she keeps popping up in the newspapers.

I just saw your post about William. James O. Hall did not mention names or dates. I haven't found anything about William yet. I'm sure there's more information, like the date of his death and his children's names, in the administration file at Suitland Records Center. The file number is 070835. Of course, they may be closed for now.

Margaret's brother James and his wife Mary had 5 children according to the 1870 Census. William 16, Mathew 11, Mary 9, James 7, and Michael (who married Wallie) 4. They had one more child, Margaret (niece of Seward's servant), who is 7 in the 1880 Census.

Also, I haven't found a record of Margaret (Seward's servant) using the middle initial of "T." It's not on her baptismal record nor her death certificate. Have you seen it used anywhere?

Mary Coleman appointed her daughter, "Margaret T Coleman," her sole Executrix in her will dated August 15, 1907.

[IrishJim011]

None of the official records, censuses or city directories have her middle initial as "T". The only place I found it was in just one of the mutliple newspaper articles announcing her retirement in 1901. However, they also call her "Mrs. Margaret T. Coleman", so it could be an error. As was previously noted here, there's no record of her marriage, or ever being married, except for this article calling her "Mrs", and her niece's obituary calling her Coleman Davidson. The 1880 & 1900 censuses both list her as single, not widowed or married, but they are not the most accurate source of information.

On a different note, I also found an article (The Evening Times, Washington, DC Jun 16, 1896) where she is mentioned along with a number of federal employees who were quickly filing to become naturalized U.S. citizens:

"Aliens In The Offices. Clerks in a Hurry to Become Naturalized Citizens. Those who hold good, soft, high-salaried positions in the various executive departments of the government, but have never considered it necessay to become citizens in order to cement their grip upon these lucrative places, are now making strenuous efforts to put themselves upon a voting basis. The clerks down at city hall have recently been overrun with this class of business..."
"...a patriotic organization of this city decided to take vigorous action in the matter of aliens holding government positions..."
"...General Grosvenor introduced in the House a resolution, which was passed, calling upon the head of each executive department to furnish Congress with a complete list of all aliens employed under their supervision. This caused many clerks, who had permitted their first declarations to slumber, to become panic-stricken, and they hastened before the judges authorized to act in such cases..."
"...Margaret Coleman, sixty-five, of Meath, Ireland..."