Last eye witness on "I have a secret"

[LincolnToddFan]

I am pretty certain Mr. Hazelton is one of the witnesses quoted in Timothy Good's "We Saw Lincoln Shot: 100 Eyewitness Accounts".

Roger will know for sure. He seems to know that entire book by memory.

[estonensb]

I shall have to order that book!

[Eva Elisabeth]

His account is in "We Saw Lincoln Shot", and more about him you find in Tom Bogar's "Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination". (Toia, if you haven't read it - a must-read!!) Joseph Hazelton was the program boy who was eleven on April 14. He was the longest survivor of the theater crew and pursued an acting career, personally encouraged by JWB. In the early 20th century he performed in 34 silent films ("forgettable shorts"). He died on Oct.9, 1936 and is buried in Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery. To his death he claimed JWB wasn't killed in the barn but escaped to South America.

[RJNorton]

Toia, no way! HA! Elizabeth, IMO Tim Good's book is a "must have." I think one of the most interesting things about the book is how memories faded over the years, and the later accounts have some embellishments and then some! I'll just give one example. Kitty Brink, who was backstage, said in 1935 that "a group of men carried the chair with the President on it out of the theater." Wow, if Kitty is right (she is not), then maybe Stanton sat in it at the Petersen House!!!

[Thomas Kearney]

Juan, Here is a rather interesting article on a possible Abraham Lincoln voice graph recording. I find it highly implausible but intriguing nevertheless. http://www.firstsounds.org/features/lincoln.php

Craig

It is unlikely that Lincoln's voice was recorded. But I did find a recording of Edwin Booth reading Othello. It is likely that Booth had his voice recorded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM82m1MJn_g

I bet that John Wilkes Booth would have loved to have recorded his voice and political thoughts, but he was dead for years before science got to that point, Tom.

"On April 30, 1877, French poet, humorous writer and inventor Charles Cros submitted a sealed envelope containing a letter to the Academy of Sciences in Paris fully explaining his proposed method, called the paleophone. Though no trace of a working paleophone was ever found, Cros is remembered as the earliest inventor of a sound recording and reproduction machine. The first practical sound recording and reproduction device was the mechanical phonograph cylinder, invented by Thomas Edison in 1877 and patented in 1878.[6] The invention soon spread across the globe and over the next two decades the commercial recording, distribution and sale of sound recordings became a growing new international industry, with the most popular titles selling millions of units by the early 1900s. The development of mass-production techniques enabled cylinder recordings to become a major new consumer item in industrial countries and the cylinder was the main consumer format from the late 1880s until around 1910."

Supposedly, some form of recording was made back in 1857, but they had no way of listening to it to see if it really worked. Edwin Booth did not record Othello until 1890.

I was talking about Edwin Booth in this sentence:It is likely that Booth had his voice recorded.

[L Verge]

Juan, Here is a rather interesting article on a possible Abraham Lincoln voice graph recording. I find it highly implausible but intriguing nevertheless. http://www.firstsounds.org/features/lincoln.php

Craig

It is unlikely that Lincoln's voice was recorded. But I did find a recording of Edwin Booth reading Othello. It is likely that Booth had his voice recorded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM82m1MJn_g

I bet that John Wilkes Booth would have loved to have recorded his voice and political thoughts, but he was dead for years before science got to that point, Tom.

"On April 30, 1877, French poet, humorous writer and inventor Charles Cros submitted a sealed envelope containing a letter to the Academy of Sciences in Paris fully explaining his proposed method, called the paleophone. Though no trace of a working paleophone was ever found, Cros is remembered as the earliest inventor of a sound recording and reproduction machine. The first practical sound recording and reproduction device was the mechanical phonograph cylinder, invented by Thomas Edison in 1877 and patented in 1878.[6] The invention soon spread across the globe and over the next two decades the commercial recording, distribution and sale of sound recordings became a growing new international industry, with the most popular titles selling millions of units by the early 1900s. The development of mass-production techniques enabled cylinder recordings to become a major new consumer item in industrial countries and the cylinder was the main consumer format from the late 1880s until around 1910."

Supposedly, some form of recording was made back in 1857, but they had no way of listening to it to see if it really worked. Edwin Booth did not record Othello until 1890.

I was talking about Edwin Booth in this sentence:It is likely that Booth had his voice recorded.

You had just told us that Edwin's voice was recorded -- it wasn't "likely," it was a reality. One would think that you were then referring to John Wilkes being a possibiliity. Please take the history lesson kindly and learn from it.

[RobertLC]

I agree with Roger. Tim’s book, “We Saw Lincoln Shot,” is a must have. Tim places particular emphasis on the 1865 accounts because, again as Roger said, the later accounts became tarnished with time. Tim discusses this issue in the Preface to his book.

One final sidebar, none of the accounts that were made in 1865 (except Booth himself) make note of Booth “limping” or “hobbling” in any way, as he escaped across the stage. I know that point has been discussed before in this forum, but it is still an interesting point.

Bob

[LincolnToddFan]

His account is in "We Saw Lincoln Shot", and more about him you find in Tom Bogar's "Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination". (Toia, if you haven't read it - a must-read!!) Joseph Hazelton was the program boy who was eleven on April 14. He was the longest survivor of the theater crew and pursued an acting career, personally encouraged by JWB. In the early 20th century he performed in 34 silent films ("forgettable shorts"). He died on Oct.9, 1936 and is buried in Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery. To his death he claimed JWB wasn't killed in the barn but escaped to South America.

Okay, since I am almost in walking distance to that cemetery, I must make it my assignment to go there and photograph his gravesite so that I can share it here at the Forum!

I already have "100 Witnesses" it is MESMERIZING...haunting even. Some of the stories toward the end are just silly, like the one where Lincoln regains consciousness as they are carrying him across 10th St. and says "Where are we going?" Yeah, right. That is one of the later "embellishments" that came up in the later eyewitness reports.

Bogar's "Backstage" is definitely on my reading list, thanks Eva!

[loetar44]

His account is in "We Saw Lincoln Shot", and more about him you find in Tom Bogar's "Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination". (Toia, if you haven't read it - a must-read!!) Joseph Hazelton was the program boy who was eleven on April 14. He was the longest survivor of the theater crew and pursued an acting career, personally encouraged by JWB. In the early 20th century he performed in 34 silent films ("forgettable shorts"). He died on Oct.9, 1936 and is buried in Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery. To his death he claimed JWB wasn't killed in the barn but escaped to South America.

   

Judge Charles E. Bull impersonating Lincoln and JOSEPH H. HAZELTON, who was program boy at Ford’s Theatre the night that Lincoln was shot and who witnessed the tragedy. (The Los Angeles Times, Sept. 14, 1923). Both are standing near a chair Thomas Lincoln made with a jackknife to meet dentist Dr. Jesse Hall’s bill. The chair was on exhibition at the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel.