Tradition Sarah & Abraham

[Veronica]

Here in the Netherlands, there is an old but still active tradition; when a woman reaches the age of 50 years she becomes a 'Sarah' a man becomes an 'Abraham.
Looking at the background of the assassin John Wilkes Booth from which professor Stephen M. Archer gave, what I take, an interesting description; I noticed that in 1849 John's half-brother Richard Junius Booth married with one 'Sarah P. Ware' sounds like 'Sarah beware'.
When John lost his father in 1852 his mother Mary Ann Holmes ( official Booth just a year before on John's 13th birthday) Mary was 50 years old. The assassination of 'Abraham' Lincoln was certainly a blow for Mary Ann.

I wonder has America the same tradition of 'Sarah & Abraham'?

Does anyone answer this?
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[Steve]

I haven't heard of any tradition like that here. I suppose if a very elderly couple is pious and have been married for 50 or 60 years they might be compared to the Biblical Abraham and Sarah, but there's no tradition of doing that.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

[Veronica]

Steve thank you for your reply I suppose it is typical Dutch.
I mentioned this as John Wilkes Booth's father was married before with a woman from Brussels at the time of the Battle of Waterloo, then the southern part of the Netherlands. The Abraham and Sarah tradition is very old and although it may look insignificant, there is a matter of a pattern that is visual if you place the details of the Booth family next to it.

For instance;

Junius Brutus Booth married Mary Ann Holmes on the 10th of May 1851. The ex-wife of Junius Brutus, Marie Adelaide Delannoy, was also living at the time of Junius Brutus Booth's marriage in Baltimore Maryland and the wedding-day of her ex can be taken as an insult to her and her son Richard Junius Booth.
Adelaide had lost her first child their daughter, Amelia Portia Adelaide Booth.

According to professor Archer in, 'Junius Brutus Booth Theatrical Prometheus, page 23, their first child Amelia Portia Adelaide Booth was born on ' 5 October 1815'.

Going further;

European date of 5 October 1818 (05-10-1815) will be noted as, '10-05-1815'.
Adelaide and Richard were Europeans and Junius Brutus Booth's second wedding day in America '05-10-1851' would have been read by them as; 5 October 1851 which was also the 36th anniversary of the birth of Amelia Portia Adelaide Booth who died in infancy (date unknown).

I wonder was Junius Brutus Booth so insensitive to ignore the feelings of his first born son and ex-wife, or was he so Americanised that he had forgotten the European ways?
Or did he provoked them by his second marriage on John Wilkes Booth 13th birthday like a message to them that this unlucky number was actually the beginning of his luck? With this action, if it was as such, the ball was thrown back into his face.

I have here a picture from the Illustrated London News.
It is the winning cup given to John Wilkes the namesake of John Wilkes Booth. The cup has an illustration of the assassination of Julius Ceasar.

   

[L Verge]

Very interesting points, Veronica, and welcome aboard the forum.

For some reason, I just can't envision Junius Brutus Booth being cognizant of dates, anniversaries, etc. I decided early on that I really didn't like that man and that, if I had been Mary Ann, I would have packed up my children and headed back to England!!

That said, I see him totally wrapped up in his own little make-believe world of the theater -- perhaps even a genius on the stage, but verging on insanity in the real world. Would I find it fascinating to be in his presence for several hours? Yes. Would I need a stiff drink or at least an Excedrin afterwards? You bet.

I will now stand by to be blacklisted from membership with Tudor Hall...

[Eva Elisabeth]

Hartelijk welkom to the forum, Veronica - I've never heard of that Dutch tradition although I had lived right at the border for 20 years! (It's somewhat scaring to think one is approaching the Sarah status...)

[Veronica]

(10-05-2017 03:34 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Hartelijk welkom to the forum, Veronica - I've never heard of that Dutch tradition although I had lived right at the border for 20 years! (It's somewhat scaring to think one is approaching the Sarah status...)

Feel welcome, thanks Eva Elisabeth,

You never heard of this tradition? Well, it is very common here in the Netherlands and 'yes' it is a bit scary but on the other hand, think of Abraham & Sarah (Biblical wise) they received a child while they thought it was not possible. Being 50 means not that the best part of life is over, in the remaining years one can have many advances from the knowledge that one has gained over the years which can make it all going much easier. Then we have the standard question which belongs to this tradition, "Have you seen 'Abraham or Sarah?', you cannot fail to notice it or something must be terribly wrong with one's eye-site, and here comes the 'scary bit'; the enormous doll (man or woman) is sometimes twice the size of a person which by some occasions are hanged from the balcony. I had one's an almost 'heart attack experience' when on my bike I had entered a street in the early morning and was suddenly confronted with this doll, that at the time looked very real to me like someone had hung (in this case)herself.

Why I was fishing if this tradition had also found its way in America has to do with the connection I have found with the marriage of Richard, the name of his wife and the fifty-year-old widow Mary Ann Booth (Holmes). To put this theory forward in America I had to explain it in order to show the possibility.

Over the years (from 1997) I found more 'coincidental events' concerning the Booth family, actually, it turned out to be a Victorian Cryptic Labyrinth surrounding the area where Junius Brutus Booth was born in London. Through my teenaged son, helping him gathering material for his essay, I accidentally entered a world that was total unknown to me. Since then I have studied it and followed the pattern.

Therefore, thinking of John Wilkes Booth's half-brother, I started to ignore lines like this; 'After his fathers' (Junius Brutus Booth) death the two families went their own separate ways.' What if this half-brother made it his life purpose to destroy everything that was dear to his father and his mistress that became his wife?

Mary Ann lost her husband in 1852, they were married on the 13th birthday of their son, 13 years later the assassination took place while Junius Brutus Booth junior was in Cincinnati Ohio, the place where Mary Ann Booth was confronted with the dead body of her husband. Certainly, John Wilkes Booth days were numbered after his murderous act in the Ford Theatre.

He never had the change to tell his side of the story and there was scheduled a beneficial play of 'Julius Caesar' and I wonder about the possibility if his real purpose of entering the Presidential Box was pure to promote this coming Shakespeare play.
That Lincoln knew about Booth's entrance, holding the hand of his wife to ease her mind for the 'approaching joke'.
After the shooting, Laura Keene disappeared to Cincinnati's Pike's Opera House and dreaded the whole affair.
What do we know about Laura's plans that she already had made, after her farewell performance in the Ford Theatre?

Another thing is that I have learned that Mrs. Surratt who like Mrs. Delannoy's mother held a boarding house, Mrs. Surrattt was hanged as a conspirator. She was born in an American place called 'Waterloo'. If you think about the time that Junius Brutus Booth had met his first wife in Brussels (near Waterloo) where at the time this famous battle took place well, to me it looks more then coincident?[/u]

I can see that this becomes rather long and I do not know if I might have bothered you with the details.
Have to press on, my work is waiting.
All the best!
Veronica

[Veronica]

(10-05-2017 03:11 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Very interesting points, Veronica, and welcome aboard the forum.

For some reason, I just can't envision Junius Brutus Booth being cognizant of dates, anniversaries, etc. I decided early on that I really didn't like that man and that, if I had been Mary Ann, I would have packed up my children and headed back to England!!

That said, I see him totally wrapped up in his own little make-believe world of the theater -- perhaps even a genius on the stage, but verging on insanity in the real world. Would I find it fascinating to be in his presence for several hours? Yes. Would I need a stiff drink or at least an Excedrin afterwards? You bet.

I will now stand by to be blacklisted from membership with Tudor Hall...

Hello,
I think they can live with comments like this, however judging his last photographs he looks very tormented.
Did you ever have heard of one [/color][/size][/font]Charles A. Dunham?

[Thomas Kearney]

Welcome Veronica

[L Verge]

(10-06-2017 10:23 AM)Veronica Wrote:  

(10-05-2017 03:11 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Very interesting points, Veronica, and welcome aboard the forum.

For some reason, I just can't envision Junius Brutus Booth being cognizant of dates, anniversaries, etc. I decided early on that I really didn't like that man and that, if I had been Mary Ann, I would have packed up my children and headed back to England!!

That said, I see him totally wrapped up in his own little make-believe world of the theater -- perhaps even a genius on the stage, but verging on insanity in the real world. Would I find it fascinating to be in his presence for several hours? Yes. Would I need a stiff drink or at least an Excedrin afterwards? You bet.

I will now stand by to be blacklisted from membership with Tudor Hall...

Hello,
I think they can live with comments like this, however judging his last photographs he looks very tormented.
Did you ever have heard of one [/color][/size][/font]Charles A. Dunham?

Yes, I think most of us who have studied the Lincoln assassination have heard of this "gentleman" (and I use that term lightly). What is your story on him?