John Surratt in Canandaigua,NY

[HerbS]

Today,I had lunch with a local historian and author.He showed me his story that he wrote and researched about John Surratt staying at the Webster House and going to Easter Sunday Mass at St.Mary's Church in Canandaigua,NY! He signed the hotel register as John Harrison.He [John Surratt]was shocked that no trains ran on Easter Sunday.Thus,he stayed in Canandaigua,NY and went on to Montreal,Canada via Albany,NY on Monday.The author's evidence comes from Surratt's speeches in his later life and the Webster House!So,I tend to believe this about John Surratt until proven otherwise!

[RJNorton]

Herb, I know that the hotel register from the Brainard House in Elmira went missing. I have always wondered about that. How about the hotel register at the Webster House? Herb, do you know if that went missing? Or does it exist to prove Surratt was really in Canandaigua as he said? Also, I wonder why he would risk attending Easter Sunday Mass when he was a wanted man. I think if it were me I would have stayed in the room as much as possible until I could get out of Canandaigua and travel to Canada.

Herb, like you, I tend to believe Surratt's story. I used to want to place him in Washington, but I no longer think he was there.

[HerbS]

The Webster house burned down in 1967,but those who saw the register said that they compared handwriting samples of John Surratt and reaced a conclusion that it was Surratt's! St.Mary's Church was directly across the street from Surratt's room at the hotel.We do have to remember that Surratt was a devote Catholic and was in the priesthood in his early life!Thus,he did take the risk and go to Easter Mass.My question has always been,why Canandaigua from Elmiria? Well,Rochester is close by and an easy escape to Canada by boat!The entire Finger Lakes area was loaded with Copperheads,who could have given Surratt support[Knights of the Golden Circle]!Thanks for your opinion Roger,and I will continue to dig up more evidence!

[STS Lincolnite]

Herb, what is the source for John Surratt attending Easter Mass?

Though I tend to believe he was in NY and not Washington DC, I have the same question as Roger regarding attendance at mass. As a practiced Confederate agent who had traveled extensively, I would think he would be more practical than to be out in public like that given the circumstances. Surely he knew he was a wanted man at that point. Devout or not, from what I have read about Surratt, he has always struck me as the kind of person who while perhaps starting with a grain of truth, liked to talk a big game and exaggerate a lot but didn't actually do exactly what he said he did and his actions in many cases didn't live up to his own self serving hype.

[RJNorton]

Scott, in his Rockville lecture, John Surratt said:

"Upon arriving at Canandaigua on Saturday evening I learned to my utter disappointment that no train left until the Monday following, so I took a room at the Webster House, registering myself as "John Harrison." The next day I went to church, I remember it being Easter Sunday."

I do not know if there is evidence beyond what John Surratt said.

[HerbS]

The evidence source is very difficult to put my hands on! I tend to feel that John Surratt was a risk taker and he felt that he wouldn't be caught in a small town such as Canandaigua,NY.However,that is my view of what happened.Note of interest,St.Mary's Church was estabished in Canandaigua by a Jesuit bishop from Rochester,NY!The Surratt family had many Jesuit priest friends!

[L Verge]

Michael Schein, author of John Surratt: The Lincoln Assassin Who Got Away, is also a former attorney and a longtime professor of American Legal History at Seattle University Law School. He gives the most extensive coverage that I have read to-date on Surratt's whereabouts from April 12 on. He lends some credence to the Canandaigua story.

[STS Lincolnite]

Thanks Roger and Herb.

I was familiar with the statement about going to church from the Rockville lecture. As you alluded to Roger, what I was wondering about whether there was any corroborating evidence (witnesses, written records, etc.).

I always have felt Surratt was sort of a smarmy character so even when he may very well have been telling the truth, I just can't let go of some doubt about what he says. I just can't bring myself to wholly believe anything that came out of his mouth.

I wonder if there are any train schedule records that might still exist (maybe printed in old newspapers or elsewhere?). Maybe that would give some sort of tangential credibility to his claims. If in fact there were no trains that left until Monday morning like he said and if there was an inbound train on Saturday evening that would match up with what we know of his reported movements that would be something to work from.

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Laurie, thanks for the tip about Schein's book. I have it, but have not yet read it. I will do a looksee in that section of the book.

[L Verge]

Thanks Roger and Herb.

I was familiar with the statement about going to church from the Rockville lecture. As you alluded to Roger, what I was wondering about whether there was any corroborating evidence (witnesses, written records, etc.).

I always have felt Surratt was sort of a smarmy character so even when he may very well have been telling the truth, I just can't let go of some doubt about what he says. I just can't bring myself to wholly believe anything that came out of his mouth.

I wonder if there are any train schedule records that might still exist (maybe printed in old newspapers or elsewhere?). Maybe that would give some sort of tangential credibility to his claims. If in fact there were no trains that left until Monday morning like he said and if there was an inbound train on Saturday evening that would match up with what we know of his reported movements that would be something to work from.

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Laurie, thanks for the tip about Schein's book. I have it, but have not yet read it. I will do a looksee in that section of the book.

Michael does include one train schedule that I had not heard of before. If valid, he may have found a schedule that James O. Hall had not seen, because he was convinced that there was no way for Surratt to get to D.C. in time for the assassination and then head back north.

While I am not a fan of John Surratt, I don't consider him smarmy just because of his wartime adventures and his post-war lecture/stories. He was, above all else, a dedicated, Confederate, underground agent who knew not to give away secrets entrusted to him. I feel that it was his duty to keep the enemy "guessing." So far, it has worked for 151 years!

[Wild Bill]

I have not read Schein, but I am going to throw in a plug for Larry Starkey's "Wilkes Booth Came to Washington." He has some notions of how Surratt could have made the trip south. Starkey has a lot of interesting ideas that he explores including how Booth might have gotten to Canada of he had not injured his leg. I think Starkey has been ignored by too many for too ling.

[RJNorton]

I have Starkey's book. I read it over 30 years ago. One statistic in the book has stuck in my head all these years; it shows the brutality of war. Starkey writes:

"....shortly after the war the state of Mississippi....spent 20 percent of its total annual income on artificial limbs."

[L Verge]

I read Starkey about forty years ago and enjoyed the book. If I recall correctly, however, words like you used above "some notions," "interesting ideas," etc. is probably what hurt the book in the long run. He didn't back up those notions and interesting ideas with solid evidence.

Unfortunately, the good-old-boy network of "professional historians" still look for the evidence - just like they did back then. As an addict to the Lincoln assassination story, I'm glad they do (as long as they are not snobbish about it) because the story has been corrupted far too much for far too long. You and I argue over this all the time, Bill, but "If it didn't happen that way, it should have" irritates the heck out of me.

[HerbS]

Me too! Sometimes,I feel that it is ok to speculate[with in reason] with evidence about history!

[Wild Bill]

Gee, Laurie, then I guess you will not want me to do my little presentation for the bus trip to Port Tobacco and Newport. You irritate me, too, dearie.

[Gene C]

Gosh, I'm glad I never get on anyone's nerves.