Gautier's Restaurant

[SSlater]

Here's some tight speculation, of the picture:
1. To the far right is a hill top. Capitol Hill?
2. From the tilt of the umbrellas, I'd say we are looking east.
3. Some men are wearing Frock Coats, and some women are wearing Jackets of some kind, and shawls.
4. Notice too, that there is a Band leading this parade.
5. The "long umbrella" looks to be under construction - or at least incomplete.
6. The trees do not have leaves, or at least small ones.
My summary: It is Pennsylvania Ave, in early spring, say April and the windows are draped, commemorating a Death.
PS. The Soldiers are at " Parade Rest". (Relaxed, but in position to move promptly).
("At Ease" The hands are clasped in front, and one foot may be slightly forward, but no talking. "Parade Rest" is a little more casual, notice how the Officers are on their Horses, but not "In Line".
In my opinion, these guys are waiting for the "Parade" to begin."

[J. Beckert]

I think that's it, John. Here's another shot that I've never seen. Everything I've found says it's Lincoln's funeral procession moving down Pennsylvania Ave. toward the Capitol.

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Here's another.

[rmvanhorn1]

Hi all,

I am new to the group and have already found some valuable facts and leads for my genealogical research on the Gautier family (Pierre Charles Gautier was my 3rd great grandfather).

My grandfather used to speak of his father's (Charles's grandson) donation of the table from Gautier's restaurant at which Booth met with his co-conspirators on 15 March 1865 to the Smithsonian. I have been unable thus far to unearth any evidence of its presence within the Smithsonian collection. I'm unsure if the story is apocryphal, whether the table might be located somewhere else, or if I've just been looking in the wrong places.

So my question to the group is whether anyone knows of the existence of said table and where it might be held today. I'd welcome any suggestions in how to go about proving such claims. Additionally, I would be grateful for any suggested sources and materials to include in my research on Charles Gautier.

Cheers
Robert

[L Verge]

The James O. Hall Research Center at Surratt House Museum may have a small file on Gautier. I will have our librarian check on it this week. I also have a friend who works part-time at the Smithsonian archives, so I'll contact him also. There is also a D.C. historian by the name of John DeFerrari who runs an online site called Streets of Washington. He has a small item on Gautier in a piece on early caterers and confectioners in D.C. He might have more that he has not put online. We have had him as a speaker at Surratt House - very good and very knowledgeable.

Finally, have you contacted the D.C. Historical Society? Also ask about their Kiplinger Research Library.

The Historical Society of Washington, D.C.
801 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001
(202) 249-3955
info@dchistory.org

[Steve]

Hi Robert, and welcome!

Donations to the Smithsonian and other historical groups/Institutions are sometimes reported on by local media. Have you considered looking at Chronicling America and other historical newspaper databases online to see if any papers reported on the donation. If one did it may have more information on the table, or if it was donated to some place other than the Smithsonian - it would tell you where.

Also I found the blog post Laurie was referring to:

http://www.streetsofwashington.com/2014/...great.html

[rmvanhorn1]

Hello all,

It's been a while since I have been active on this thread, but thought I would share the attached image with the group (hope this works properly):

This comes from a program for a Lincoln Centenary Dinner held in New York in 1909. The table pictured is from Gautier's where Booth met with his co-conspirators. The badge was taken from Booth's body. Both were in the possession of my 2nd great uncle, Frank D. Van Horn, Gautier's grandson and Lt. Doherty's nephew. I'm still unsure of their current whereabouts.

Thought this might be of interest!

[L Verge]

It is definitely of interest, but that table appears to be more of a parlor side table (perhaps center table?). Seems small for that many men to have gathered around to discuss their plans, but Gautier's was an upscale place for its time, so it is possible that the table was in the same room with more commodious ones for drinking and dining. Just guessing...

That badge is very interesting, and I don't remember ever seeing mention of it being taken from Booth by the Garrett Farm Patrol. Rob, please chime in. Wonder who those sharpshooters in Virginia might have been? I don't know of much contact that Booth and Herold had with Confederate soldiers except for the trio at the Rappahannock and the Garretts.

BTW: I did ask my friend at the Smithsonian for help in locating the table, but his initial response after doing some searching was "nothing found." We would certainly love to find both pieces along with their provenance. Thanks for sharing again.

[Rob Wick]

In the trial of John Surratt, Everton Conger testified that some of the items he took from Booth's body included pine shavings, some daguerreotypes, tobacco and what he described as a Catholic medal. He made no mention of it earlier at the trial of the conspirators or later at the impeachment investigation. However, that's not out of the question given that he was asked specifically about items at the conspirator's trial and likely forget during the impeachment investigation.

Best
Rob

[rmvanhorn1]

Laurie,

That was my initial thought too when I first saw the photograph. The way the story had always been relayed to me concerning the table, I envisioned a much larger dining table. Interestingly, I happened to see a clip from DW Griffith’s 1930 “Abraham Lincoln” not long ago that portrayed Booth meeting at a very similar table. I’m not suggesting we should get our history from Hollywood or a director such as Griffith, but it did strike me as oddly coincidental. I’m not sure of the historical record, but I believe there were more present than the film depicts and that the table would seem to accommodate.

[RJNorton]

I’m not sure of the historical record, but I believe there were more present than the film depicts and that the table would seem to accommodate.

Yes, Robert, there were 7 at the real meeting, but only 4 in the movie.