The hole In the door

[LincolnMan]

Are we thinking Spangler bore the hole possibly at the request of JWB or Mr. Ford?

[RJNorton]

(09-14-2015 07:24 PM)brtmchl Wrote:  I can't recall where I had heard this, but I remember reading once that where an author implied that Spangler may have bored the peephole. Can anyone else recall who may have said this?

(09-14-2015 08:25 PM)LincolnMan Wrote:  Are we thinking Spangler bore the hole possibly at the request of JWB or Mr. Ford?

I think anything is possible; certainly Spangler cannot be ruled out.

James Gifford, head carpenter at Ford's Theatre, was asked about the hole at the trial of John Surratt. He gives no explanation for how the hole got there. I suppose Ford (or Booth) could have asked Spangler to make the hole without Gifford knowing about the request.

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Q. Did you make an examination at any time to ascertain how the door was fastened?

A. Yes, sir; while the Secretary of War was there I explained it to him. There was a hole cut in the plastering of the wall; from that they had a bar that slipped against the door, and the door being at an angle, was secure from any rushing in or attempt to force it in; but if they shook the door the bar would at once fall out. There was a hole in the door close to the President's box, that I thought at first was where a pistol was fired, but on close examination I found it was cut with a left-hand auger bit.

Q. Describe where that cut was.

A. It was right in the corner of the panel, by the moulding. I thought, at first, it was shot through by a pistol.

Q. How did you examine it?

A. By looking at it; the only way I know.

Q. Go on with your statement.

A. That is all I have to say.

Q. Do you think it would have been observed easily by persons whose attention had not been called to it?

A. No, sir; you might have passed it a dozen times, you might have passed H a year and not have taken notice of it.

Q. How large was the hole?

A. It was about a quarter of an inch in diameter.

Q. When did it appear that this hole had been made? Did it seem to be fresh cut?

A. It appeared to be tolerably fresh.

Q. You had never observed it before?

A. Never.

Q. Could you tell what it had been made by?

A. Yes, sir; I could tell by the way it was cut; it was cut by a bit that turned left-handed.

Q. What sort of an instrument?

A. It was cut by a gimlet. I understood the government had the gimlet that cut it. The hole had been tampered with by cutting it, so as to make it appear larger on the outside of the box.

Q. How long would it require to make it?

A. A man could put it there in half a minute. All he had to do was to turn the bit a few times round. The stuff was not more than three-eighths thick. Two or three turns would take the gimlet through it. It was at the rising of the panel, right in the corner where the moulding of the panel mitres. Mr. Pierrepont. Step to that door and explain to the jury where, corresponding in the door, it was. (Witness explained.)

Q. How high was it from the floor?

A. I judge about 4 feet five or six inches, so that a man could look through.

By Mr. Wilson: Q. Was it so that any person looking through it could easily see the whole interior of the box?

A. No, sir; he could see the left-hand side of the box; he could not see over the box. It was in a direct line from where the President sat.

Mr. Bradley. You mean by that that the President would be in full view from that hole?

A. He could see the back part of the President's head from where that hole was bored.

[brtmchl]

Gimlets are among the most underrated hand tools in the modern workshop, but I imagine a popular choice for carpenters in the 19th Century. They are easily used for quickly making pilot holes in wood for screws.

Not to say Spangler actually bored the hole. Anybody could have. Including Ford, in an attempt to look in on VIP's in the box without disturbing them.

There were probably many carpenters working in the Theatre, but it seems plausible that Booth could have asked Spangler for the tool, making him AGAIN an unknowing accomplice. Or at the very least, Booth probably knew where his friend kept his tools.

[LincolnMan]

Is Mr. Gifford suggesting that a hole was already there previously when he states: "the hole had been tampered with by cutting it...?" Or is he merely stating that the way the hole was cut was deliberate in that it appeared to be a larger hole from the outside?

[L Verge]

Booth was right-handed; anyone know if Spangler was left-handed? I happen to think that Booth cut the hole with a borrowed gimlet -- maybe from a stagehand's tool box? Wasn't the gimlet found in Booth's room, though? To me, that would be the dead give-away that he did the drilling.

[Thomas Kearney]

The peephole was created for the security man to look in on Lincoln without interrupting, according to a Ford relative, and was made on a previous Lincoln visit to the theater according to the exhibit in the Lincoln Museum.

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You're welcome!

[LincolnMan]

(09-17-2015 01:49 PM)Thomas Kearney Wrote:  The peephole was created for the security man to look in on Lincoln without interrupting, according to a Ford relative, and was made on a previous Lincoln visit to the theater according to the exhibit in the Lincoln Museum.

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You're welcome!

Really? That's new news to me! As I mentioned when I posted this thread- I just don't think JWB made the hole.

[L Verge]

Word of caution: Don't always trust what exhibit labels say, and in the case of a few exhibits at Ford's Theatre, we already know that some of the labels and artifacts have been wrong in the past. Mention of some of these have been made before.

[LincolnMan]

Duly noted Laurie. I just hadn't heard somebody claim that the hole was previously made.

[RJNorton]

(09-17-2015 01:49 PM)Thomas Kearney Wrote:  The peephole was created for the security man to look in on Lincoln without interrupting, according to a Ford relative, and was made on a previous Lincoln visit to the theater according to the exhibit in the Lincoln Museum.

I remain on the fence whether or not Booth made the hole.

Here is the claim of Frank Ford, son of Harry Clay Ford:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

April 13, 1962

Dr. George J. Olszewski, Historian
Ford's Theatre
511 10th St. N.W.
Washington 25, D.C.

Dear Dr. Olszewski:

As I told you on your visit here in New York, I say again and unequivocally that John Wilkes Booth did not bore the hole in the door leading to the box President Lincoln occupied the night of his assassination, April 14, 1865, as "history" seems to think and has so many times repeated.

The hole was bored by my father, Harry Clay Ford, or rather on his orders, and was bored for the very simple reason it would allow the guard, one Parker, easy opportunity whenever he so desired to look into the box rather than to open the inner door to check on the Presidential party. As we know Parker left his post to view the performance from the dress circle.

My father would always "blow his top", to use today's slang, whenever he read or heard of this historical absurdity (who was it said "history is an implied lie?") and would often finish his vehemence by saying, "John Booth had too much to do that day other than to go around boring holes in theatre doors". And while it is true Mr. Booth might use "professional courtesies" to attend performances, it is laughable to imagine he had such free access to Ford's Theatre that he could perform feats of carpentry whenever he wished, to say nothing of doing it the very day the decision was made by President Lincoln to attend the performance at the Theatre.

My wife and I enjoyed your visit and hope to see or to hear from you again soon.

Best regards,

rr-
Frank Ford
255 West 90th St.
New York 24, N.Y.
TR 4-0745

[brtmchl]

(09-17-2015 01:49 PM)Thomas Kearney Wrote:  The peephole was created for the security man to look in on Lincoln without interrupting, according to a Ford relative, and was made on a previous Lincoln visit to the theater according to the exhibit in the Lincoln Museum.

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You're welcome!

I think the idea of security drilling a hole to look in on the President is plausible. It is as good a theory as any.

I lean to the side that the hole was drilled by Booth. Probably using Spangler's tool. The fact that there was evidence of a gimlet found in Booth's possession seals the deal for me. Why would an Actor, living room to room, town to town, need to carry such a tool?

[RJNorton]

(09-17-2015 04:09 PM)brtmchl Wrote:  I lean to the side that the hole was drilled by Booth. Probably using Spangler's tool. The fact that there was evidence of a gimlet found in Booth's possession seals the deal for me. Why would an Actor, living room to room, town to town, need to carry such a tool?

Mike, Conger found wood shavings in Booth's pocket at Garrett's. I won't guess where the wood shavings came from as I don't know.

[Eva Elisabeth]

I ask this again - why should a guard peep into the box to secure it when the danger would most likely approach from outside (as it actually happened)??? How likely was it that suddenly one Lincoln's company in the box (mostly people he well knew) would have gone amok?

[Craig Hipkins]

In Gifford's testimony he stated that "I understood the government had the gimlet that cut it?" I wonder if he was referring to Booth's gimlet or another one?
Also, I read somewhere that the wood shavings found on Booth's person might have been used as kindling to start a fire. Perhaps they were leftover from when he was staying in the woods with Herold?

[Eva Elisabeth]

I thought it would have been kind of suicidal for them to make fire on the run.