Awww...Peanuts

[RJNorton]

(07-10-2014 02:04 PM)STS Lincolnite Wrote:  I did not look to see if he was called at Andrew Johnson impeachment proceedings (but I will when I get a chance) like many others were.

Scott, I don't think so. I think he essentially "disappears" after the conspiracy trial.

[STS Lincolnite]

Thanks Roger. My suspician was that he did not.

Cliff posited in a previous post that Peanuts may have relocated to Baltimore. It makes me curious as to the possiblity that he worked at John Ford's Baltimore Theatre after the assasination. I wonder if a search of records regarding that theatre might turn him up? Maybe he disappeard from the Washington DC area but not from Ford's circle of cast/crew. I am not sure where or if any records from that theatre might still exist.

[L Verge]

(07-10-2014 02:25 PM)Cliff Roberts Wrote:  

(07-10-2014 10:44 AM)L Verge Wrote:  

(07-09-2014 05:24 PM)Rsmyth Wrote:  In Steers "The Evidence" pg. 140, there is a statement by John Bohran and in parenthesis Joseph Burroughs. The statement lists John C. Bohran "Peanut John."

This is a very interesting development, Rich, and worth looking into. I seems to me that Steers and Edwards added the bracketed information [Joseph Burroughs] under the Bohran name to indicate that Burroughs was his real name, and in their footnote, they give the possibility of "Borrows" and "Bohran."

In the trial records, the name is given as Joseph Burroughs - so who in the heck is Bohran. Betty and Susan, city directories please; Cliff, what's your take on the "Bohran?"

This guy has plagued historians for 150 years. It's time that we clearly identify him.

Hi Lori. I've found many legitimate variations of the Burroughs surname over the years, some traditional and some merely to differentiate one family from another with the same name in the same town. But in the case of Peanut's statement, I think it's simply a matter of mistaken phonetics. Whoever recorded his name simply wrote what he heard, "Bohran," rather than what the boy actually said. At the time, what was really important is what the witness saw and heard, not precise spelling of names. If you say "Burroughs" quickly with a slight Southern drawl (something like "baurra") it's easy to see how the transcriber could make that error. I'm fairly confident the correct spelling of his surname is Burroughs.

I agree, Cliff. I think we have run into yet another example of phonetics, accents, dialects, etc. tending to confuse the issue. My family from Southern Maryland slurs it so that it sometimes sounds like "burrs."

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I'm beginning to suspicion that Peanuts may have been homeless and attached to the Ford family as needed??

[Rsmyth]

Nicknames are worse than maiden names when tracking people. "Peanut" may not have been fond of the name associates had bestowed on him and when (if) he moved discarded the tag.

[RJNorton]

(07-10-2014 10:44 AM)L Verge Wrote:  This guy has plagued historians for 150 years. It's time that we clearly identify him.

(07-10-2014 03:51 PM)STS Lincolnite Wrote:  Cliff posited in a previous post that Peanuts may have relocated to Baltimore. It makes me curious as to the possiblity that he worked at John Ford's Baltimore Theatre after the assassination.

From what I can tell here are the possibilities:

(1) Cliff posited in a previous post that Peanuts may have relocated to Baltimore
(2) the son of Dr. Joseph Borrows eliminated by Susan's research
(3) an unnamed fellow who told fireman Elmer Stein he was Peanut John (around May 1930)
(4) Nathan Simms
(5) "Coughdrop Joey" Ratto

I believe Ed Steers and others have eliminated numbers 3, 4, and 5. Cliff, I think you are the best hope for finding this boy!

[STS Lincolnite]

(07-10-2014 07:32 PM)Rsmyth Wrote:  Nicknames are worse than maiden names when tracking people. "Peanut" may not have been fond of the name associates had bestowed on him and when (if) he moved discarded the tag.

I agree completely. Especially if he was one of the people that wanted to escape his involvement in the events of that dark day there is no way he would want to continue to go by Peanut John or John Peanuts or a similar nickname. Definitely makes him more difficult to track.

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(07-11-2014 05:11 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(07-10-2014 10:44 AM)L Verge Wrote:  This guy has plagued historians for 150 years. It's time that we clearly identify him.

(07-10-2014 03:51 PM)STS Lincolnite Wrote:  Cliff posited in a previous post that Peanuts may have relocated to Baltimore. It makes me curious as to the possiblity that he worked at John Ford's Baltimore Theatre after the assassination.

From what I can tell here are the possibilities:

(1) Cliff posited in a previous post that Peanuts may have relocated to Baltimore
(2) the son of Dr. Joseph Borrows eliminated by Susan's research
(3) an unnamed fellow who told fireman Elmer Stein he was Peanut John (around May 1930)
(4) Nathan Simms
(5) "Coughdrop Joey" Ratto

I believe Ed Steers and others have eliminated numbers 3, 4, and 5. Cliff, I think you are the best hope for finding this boy!

Very well summarized Roger! I agree with Laurie, it is long past time this young man was found so we can learn the rest of his life story. Hope Cliff is able to continue along his line of research with success.

[Tom Bogar]

Ah, Peanut, Peanut, Peanut--the eternal mystery figure. Sorry I haven't addressed this thread earlier, but I've been out of the country (in Montreal, actually, where the folks at the Montreal Historical Society said "John Wilkes who? never heard of him." Just kidding) In researching Backstage, I came across two potential old-age Peanuts: the New York Herald 8/24/1888 talks about “Peanut John” Oprandy of Mount Vernon, NY, who runs fruit stand and “has amassed quite a fortune from the business.” Also four different items in the Springfield (MA) Republican from 1889 to 1904 mention “Peanut John” Musante. But neither panned out (and believe me, I tried). My secret theory is, since Annie Wright, the wife of stage manager John Burroughs Wright, called him "a simple minded but good natured street waif who worked all day and half the night about the stage," that he was actually kind of homeless and had been semi-adopted by Wright, who gave the boy his own middle name as a surname. But who knows? I took the age from several sources, most credibly from Will T. Kent, who said in the St. Louis Globe Democrat (12/3/1891) that Peanut was “a young fellow about 17 years old.”) Talk about the Holy Grail of Lincoln Assassination information......

[Cliff Roberts]

(07-11-2014 02:22 PM)Tom Bogar Wrote:  . . . . My secret theory is, since Annie Wright, the wife of stage manager John Burroughs Wright, called him "a simple minded but good natured street waif who worked all day and half the night about the stage," that he was actually kind of homeless and had been semi-adopted by Wright, who gave the boy his own middle name as a surname. But who knows? I took the age from several sources, most credibly from Will T. Kent, who said in the St. Louis Globe Democrat (12/3/1891) that Peanut was “a young fellow about 17 years old.”) Talk about the Holy Grail of Lincoln Assassination information......

Hi Tom. I recall coming across news clippings on several guys known in their local areas as "Peanut John" but in those cases, the fellow's first name was really John! Your theory about the Wright connection is interesting, but the description of the "simple minded but good natured street waif," doesn't fit our Peanuts. I think Joseph Burroughs was good natured but definitely not simple minded, as a reading of his recorded statements after the assassination will attest. He may have been unable to sign his name, but his responses, under what must have been grueling interrogation, show a young man with a surprising ability to stand up to his questioners and deliver his answers forthrightly, with clarity, exactness and credibility. This carried over to his testimony at trial. My impression is that of a young man, not easily intimidated, with limited education, but possessing an intelligent mind and an ability to handle himself well among adults.

[Tom Bogar]

I agree with you, Cliff, esp. in terms of his knowledge of, and testimony about, horses. I was concentrating more on the "street waif" part.

[RJNorton]

I agree that he was not, but my (extremely vague) memory seems to recall someone else describing Peanuts as dull-witted. Perhaps it was William J. Ferguson (actor) in one of his statements? I have forgotten, though, but I am pretty sure I read it (said by a Ford's Theatre employee/actor) somewhere.

[Cliff Roberts]

(07-12-2014 05:40 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  I agree that he was not, but my (extremely vague) memory seems to recall someone else describing Peanuts as dull-witted. Perhaps it was William J. Ferguson (actor) in one of his statements? I have forgotten, though, but I am pretty sure I read it (said by a Ford's Theatre employee/actor) somewhere.

I think you're right about it being Ferguson - I do recall him making a statement like that, and/or possibly it was in his own book. He was young, not much older than Peanuts, and I had the impression he was trying to belittle the lad to increase his own stature. I think Ferguson started out doing odd jobs around the theater until he was pressed into service as an actor in bit roles, such as the small part he was playing in Our American Cousin.

[RJNorton]

Yep, it was Ferguson. At my age I sometimes don't know if I am imagining something or I really read it somewhere.

"The basket boy at Ford's Theatre was known as 'Peanut John.' (Basket boy being one who carried wardrobes back and forth between the homes of the actors and the theatre in champagne baskets) "He was a dull-witted boy and often mixed up the baskets." p. 12 I Saw Booth Shoot Lincoln by W. J. Ferguson, Pemberton Press, Jenkins Publishing Company, Austin and New York 1969.

I do agree with you and Tom. Peanuts' responses/testimony do not support Ferguson's contention.

[jbarry]

(07-08-2014 09:17 PM)Cliff Roberts Wrote:  It's been several years since I worked on Peanuts, but I recall finding a likely family for him living in the D.C. suburb of Tennellytown (sp?), consisting of a mother, grandfather and several children including Joseph. There was no father. The ages and dates given in the 1850 and 1860 census suggested to me that Joseph was a teenager when he left home and likely came to Washington, alone, to find work. He'd only worked at Ford's for a month or so. As I recall, the business about him living with his father at the theater was at the heading of one of his statements - it doesn't appear to be a direct quote from him - which might suggest a misunderstanding on the part of the interrogator. I spent months searching for actors named Burroughs who might have played at Fords but with no success. Ned Spangler is quoted as stating that for one or two nights after the assassination, Peanuts stayed with him at a rooming house where several other theater employees were living - strong evidence that Peanuts had nowhere else to stay. A fellow genealogist has been working on the Tennellytown Burroughs family and thinks son Joseph left home in early 1865, which seems to fit. Her research confirms much of what I had. This Joseph eventually settled in Baltimore. It's been a year since we last communicated; I'll check and see if she's found anything more to connect her Joseph Burroughs with our Peanuts.

Hello everyone, I am doing some research on Peanuts John and was intrigued by this post. Is anyone in touch with Cliff Roberts, or knows anything more about this lead? This seems to be the most promising lead on tracking him down after the assassination.

Thanks,
Joe Barry

[RJNorton]

THANK YOU to Steve for sending this information. Steve writes: "Joe Barry asked about a Joseph Burroughs who lived in the Tenelytown suburb of Washington which was mention by Cliff in a post a decade ago. Cliff had enough information in his post where I could track him down for his life up to 1917.

Firstly I need to point out that Cliff and his genealogist friend made a mistake. This Joseph Burroughs was living with his mother in the 1870 census in Tenelytown. The family's surname is incorrectly written as Burrs but they match the family details of the 1860 census and are also living next door to a family named Burroughs. Joseph's occupation in the 1870 census is listed as farmer. His age in the 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses would place his birth around 1848-9 which matches the age estimate given by William T. Kent of about 17 during the trial. Based on the limited evidence we have with these census records, I think it's equally possible that Peanut could be this Joseph Burroughs and he returned to his mother after the trial or they could be two different people with the same name and age.

If they are two different people, then Peanut presumably left Washington before 1870. I also need to note the Tenelytown Joseph spelled his name both as "Burroughs" and "Burrows" and definitely seemed to favor the Burrows spelling after he moved to Baltimore. As we shall see the Tenelytown Joseph Burroughs definetly seems like he's literate. Whether or not he and Peanut are the same person, I need to point out that Peanut signing his statement with "X" is not proof Peanut was illiterate in the 19th century plenty of people who could write their signature signed documents with an "X" sometimes. One of my own 19th century ancestors signed his marriage record with an X but later signed his name on a document. Also its possible Peanut could have hurt his hand holding onto the horse in the way Booth took it away from him and just didn't feel like writing out his signature.

Without further adeu here's the life of Joseph Alexander Burroughs/Burrows (he also calls himself a Jr. in some of the Baltimore directories) after the 1870 census:

In April 1873 Joseph Alexander Burroughs marries Mary Elizabeth Burroughs in the District of Columbia Yes, same last name but I don't know for sure if they're closely related.

Shortly thereafter Joseph and Mary move to Baltimore. In the 1870's Baltimore directories and the 1880 census Joseph's occupation is listed as a laborer.

In the 1880 census Mary's brother Joseph A. Burrows is living with the family (I don't if the brother's middle name was also Alexander), he's listed as a butcher in the census and earlier years Baltimore directories before later changing professions. While this Joseph A. Burrows is also listed as being born in Washington, he is too young to be Peanut. In the 1880 census Joseph A. Burrow's birthplace and birthdate match the Tenelytown Joseph Alexander Burrows and Mary's birthplace is also listed as Washington.

In the 1881 and 1882 Baltimore directories Joseph Alexander Burrows is listed as a clerk. His brother-in-law Joseph is living at the same address with the occupation of butcher, so this is definitely the same person.

By 1885 Joseph Alexander Burrows is selling produce at a stall in the Baltimore City Market. He continues selling produce for as long as I can track him. By the 1890's he's joined by his son John has joined him in the business.

In August 1907 Mary Elizabeth Burrows dies and in the obituary there's a poem praising her written by Joseph and/or his children.

The 1917 Baltimore directory is where I last find Joseph Alexander Burrows. I haven't found an obituary for him yet, so I don't yet know when he died.

I think Tom Bogar and Dave Taylor should definitely be paged for their opinions. They have way more knowledge and expertise on Peanut Burroughs then I do and can better evaluate the probability/possibility of Joseph Alexander Burroughs and Peanut Burroughs being the same person.

[RJNorton]

Thank you to Steve again. Steve writes, " I have a couple of extra things to add to my Joseph Alexander Burroughs post.

- I can't find Joseph Alexander Burroughs, yet, in the 1900 census but I did find him in the 1910 census living in Baltimore.

- In 1883 he had a son named Joseph Cornelius Burroughs who also went into the produce business. I've attached Joseph Cornelius Burroughs WWI draft card and there Joseph Cornelius clearly prefers the "Burroughs" spelling of the surname over the "Burrows" spelling.