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Steve Whitlock · 12-13-2019, 06:45 PM

(12-13-2019 05:29 PM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:
(12-13-2019 11:32 AM)Gene C Wrote: Great work Steve.
I must confess I find Ray Neff's narrative a bit confusing at times, but intriguing because it seems so extremely implausible.

Not having the research skills that several of you on the forum have, I appreciate it when you uncover facts and documents and share your findings with us.

Seems like throughout our history, there is always a historical/political swamp that needs to be drained, government conspiracies to consider, and more. With this in mind, we will always have the Finis Bates, Otto Eisenschiml, Wilma Francis Minor, C A Tripp, Ray Neff, Balsiger and Seller (and more), to steer us down a false path.

Oops! After reading the diary entry again, and checking my notes, I erred. That was William H. Roark who was in Newsome's Reg't:

"18th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Newsom's)"

Roark, W.H.

Side: Confederacy
Location: Tennessee
Battle Unit: 18th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Newsom's)
Function: Cavalry
********************
So, as stated from the news clip and diary, William Rowark [Roark] shot James W. Boyd, and Roark was a Lt. with Newsome's Reg't, while Boyd enlisted as a Lt in the TN 6th Confederate Reg't, but was working with the Yankee command of Major Smith to recover some fine horses.

Steve W.

There are records at Fold3, I can't download here, for Lt. Joel Roark in 1863 and his son, Lt. William H. Roark in 1864, both in Co. G, 18th Newsom's Reg't, TN Cav. at different times.

Steve W.

Steve · 12-17-2019, 08:01 PM

(12-13-2019 12:56 AM)Steve Whitlock Wrote: As for Leonard Guttridge and Ray Neff, it would take considerable time to list all the misinformation those folks have put out. For openers, the Kate M. Scott sworn statement is a hoax, along with the 1883 will of John Byron Wilkes. A letter attributed to Robert Burns Stewart and written to Elizabeth (Wilkes) Bossom, a daughter of the real John Byron Wilkes in Terre Haute, IN, is nonsense and appears to have an attempted forged signature. A quick look at census records proves there was no Sarah Katherine Scott (by any name), a daughter by Kate M. Scott from an alleged affair with John Wilkes Booth, born in Dec 1865 and left with Samuel Baysinger to raise, who didn't get married until 1867, to another woman than the one supposedly named by Kate M. Scott in her sworn statement, and on, and on. As Ed Steers pointed out there was no Andrew Giles Potter, (nor his brothers Earl and Luther Potter), so things that reference Mr Andrew Potter are a fiction, which includes Andrew Potter as the trustee of the Sarah Katherine Scott inheritance. It also includes the reference to Andrew Potter made in the Robert Burns Stewart letter. Why would Judge Stewart, then Atty Stewart, give an address for a nonexistent man? There were no Potters in the county named in the letter.

I would not use either Leonard Guttridge or Ray Neff as a source for anything without considerable verification from other sources. In a 1977 interview Ray Neff had the mythical Sarah Katherine Scott as the wife of Samuel Baysinger. There was no ancestry.com at that time to make fact checking so much easier.

Samuel Baysinger

in the Indiana, Marriage Index, 1800-1941

Name: Samuel Baysinger
Spouse Name: Lucinda A Wood [Lucinda A (Bruner) Wood]
Marriage Date: 11 Feb 1867
Marriage County: Putnam
***********************
Saml Baysinger

in the 1870 United States Federal Census

Name: Saml Baysinger
[Samuel Baysinger]
Age in 1870: 27
Birth Year: abt 1843
Birthplace: Kentucky
Dwelling Number: 57
Home in 1870: Jackson, Parke, Indiana
Race: White
Gender: Male
Post Office: Mansfield
Occupation: Farmer
Male Citizen over 21: Y
Personal Estate Value: 200
Inferred Spouse: Lucinda Baysinger
Inferred Children: Sylvester Baysinger
Cora A Baysinger
Household Members:
Name Age
Saml Baysinger 27
Lucinda Baysinger 25 [Lucinda A. (Bruner) Wood-Baysinger]
Sylvester Baysinger 6 [Sylvester Wood took the name Sylvester Baysinger after 1880]
Cora A Baysinger 4
*******************
Cora A. Baysinger

in the 1880 United States Federal Census

Name: Cora A. Baysinger
Age: 12
Birth Date: Abt 1868
Birthplace: Indiana
Home in 1880: Jackson, Parke, Indiana, USA
Dwelling Number: 35
Race: White
Gender: Female
Relation to Head of House: Daughter
Marital status: Single
Father's name: Samuel Baysinger
Father's Birthplace: Kentucky
Mother's name: Lucinda Baysinger
Mother's Birthplace: Indiana
Occupation: Works In House
Attended School: Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:
Name Age
Samuel Baysinger 35
Lucinda Baysinger 34
Cora A. Baysinger 12
Francis L. Baysinger 9
Charles E. Baysinger 8
Dora E. Baysinger 5
John M. Baysinger 4
Nora O. V. Baysinger 9/12
Sylvester Wood 14
*****************************
Cora A. Baysinger (possibly Wood) married Harvey A. Ruark and was deceased before 1900, so she couldn't possibly be the daughter that Kate M. Scott claimed to have met in New Orleans in 1906, according to the sworn statement. Also, in the 1910 census Kate shows never having had any children. That's the same year she ostensibly claimed a child, Sarah Katherine Scott (also named in the bogus 1883 John Byron Wilkes of India will) in said sworn statement.

Lucinda Baysinger died in Sep 1900 and Samuel remarried to a widow, Sarah Phoebe (Barnes) Smith-Bush-Baysinger in 1903.

Sarrah P Baysinger

in the 1910 United States Federal Census

Name: Sarrah P Baysinger
Age in 1910: 65
Birth Year: abt 1845
Birthplace: Indiana
Home in 1910: Madison, Putnam, Indiana
Race: White
Gender: Female
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Marital status: Married
Spouse's name: Samuel Baysinger
Father's Birthplace: Kentucky
Mother's Birthplace: Kentucky
Native Tongue: English
Able to Read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Years Married: 7
Number of Children Born: 2
Number of Children Living: 1
Neighbors:
Household Members:
Name Age
Samuel Baysinger 64 [2nd marriage, Lucy died in 1900]
Sarrah P Baysinger 65 [Sarah Phoebe (Barnes) Smith-Bush-Baysinger 3rd marriage]
********************************
According to Neff-Guttridge papers Sarah Katherine Scott b: 8 Dec 1865 was given to a midwife, Sarah, who was to marry Samuel Baysinger shortly and raise Kate's daughter.

"As you know, I have a daughter who was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 8, 1865. To this day I have never told anyone who the father was nor the circumstances of her birth. While you may know some of the facts you do not know them all nor shall you, nor shall anyone else. Some things are so sacred as to be unmentionable.

As for the payments made to me and my daughter by the law firm of Weaver and Weaver, payments to me stopped a number of years ago and in 1886 when my daughter reached her majority, she received the residue of the annuity. She is happily married and is fully aware of all there is to know. I will not reveal her identity."

"When I visited my daughter in October of 1906 I found that she had talked with cousin John Celestina when she and her husband were in New Orleans. He was health[y] and had a family and was living the life of a gentleman. He had given up the sea after his release and had bought a country home and settled down to the quiet country life."

[From "sworn statement" of Kate M. Scott] Puhhleeeze!

Steve Whitlock (the other Steve)

Steve W.,
I actually did a bunch of research on Neff to help Laurie and Ed Steers for a talk Ed was going to give back in May at the Surratt House conference about Neff and his theories. I've been thinking about making a long post about it here about what I found. I was itching to reveal some of what I found out about Neff when Mr. Griffith was posting, but I didn't want to steal Ed's thunder before his talk. I'll probably make my Neff post in January when I have more time after the holidays.

Here's a link to the Find A Grave page for the Sarah Baysinger you mentioned above:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1941...-baysinger

The surname Baysinger is common in that area of Indiana. The Samuel Baysinger couple you gave the information about just matched Neff's Samuel and Sarah Baysinger by chance. Neff's Baysingers seem to be just as fictional as the Potters. I'll send a copy of the 1977 Neff article you mentioned for Roger to post to the forum.

Steve Whitlock · (This post was last modified: 12-17-2019 10:13 PM by Steve Whitlock.)

(12-17-2019 08:01 PM)Steve Wrote:
(12-13-2019 12:56 AM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:

Steve W.,
I actually did a bunch of research on Neff to help Laurie and Ed Steers for a talk Ed was going to give back in May at the Surratt House conference about Neff and his theories. I've been thinking about making a long post about it here about what I found. I was itching to reveal some of what I found out about Neff when Mr. Griffith was posting, but I didn't want to steal Ed's thunder before his talk. I'll probably make my Neff post in January when I have more time after the holidays.

Here's a link to the Find A Grave page for the Sarah Baysinger you mentioned above:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1941...-baysinger

The surname Baysinger is common in that area of Indiana. The Samuel Baysinger couple you gave the information about just matched Neff's Samuel and Sarah Baysinger by chance. Neff's Baysingers seem to be just as fictional as the Potters. I'll send a copy of the 1977 Neff article you mentioned for Roger to post to the forum.

Steve,

I have quite a bit more myself and since Neff-Guttridge referred to a Samuel Baysinger in Parke and Clay Co., IN I followed up with the only Samuel Baysinger there. Neff-Guttridge seem to take some real people in areas of familiarity, such as Lewis Pence in Rockingham Co., VA where Ray Neff graduated from Bridgewater College, and build a story around them.

Perhaps he heard stories about the Pence family in Rockingham, and used the Lewis Pence there, even tho the story about Lewis helping JWB escape is false, inasmuch as JWB did not escape.

General Lew Wallace, Kate M. Scott, Judge Robert Burns Stewart were all real, used to give a hint of credibility for a hoax.

I've attached some newsclips, including the 1977 article, but a couple didn't save very well insofar as readability. I don't know why Ray Neff was mentioned as Dr. Richard Neff a couple of times. Also, I have a 1961 articles for Neff finding a coded Luther Baker message. And there are articles for Neff being involved as a consultant for a movie "The Lincoln Conspiracy".

You may already have the last attachment for "Trumpets of Jerico" sales. That must be something written by Neff Guttridge, rather than the claimed Andrew G. Potter and Edwin F. Stokes. There is mention of Edwin Stokes being a cousin of Wallace Stokes; however, even tho possible I should point out that Edwin F. Stokes is black or mulatto in census records and Wallace Stokes is white. A quick check doesn't show a common ancestor, but it is possible Edwin and Wallace are cousins. Andrew G. Potter on the other hand must be a pseudonym. Somehow it seems like fraud to me.

Steve W.

(12-17-2019 09:54 PM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:
(12-17-2019 08:01 PM)Steve Wrote:
(12-13-2019 12:56 AM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:

Steve W.,
I actually did a bunch of research on Neff to help Laurie and Ed Steers for a talk Ed was going to give back in May at the Surratt House conference about Neff and his theories. I've been thinking about making a long post about it here about what I found. I was itching to reveal some of what I found out about Neff when Mr. Griffith was posting, but I didn't want to steal Ed's thunder before his talk. I'll probably make my Neff post in January when I have more time after the holidays.

Here's a link to the Find A Grave page for the Sarah Baysinger you mentioned above:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1941...-baysinger

The surname Baysinger is common in that area of Indiana. The Samuel Baysinger couple you gave the information about just matched Neff's Samuel and Sarah Baysinger by chance. Neff's Baysingers seem to be just as fictional as the Potters. I'll send a copy of the 1977 Neff article you mentioned for Roger to post to the forum.
Steve,

I have quite a bit more myself and since Neff-Guttridge referred to a Samuel Baysinger in Parke and Clay Co., IN I followed up with the only Samuel Baysinger there. Neff-Guttridge seem to take some real people in areas of familiarity, such as Lewis Pence in Rockingham Co., VA where Ray Neff graduated from Bridgewater College, and build a story around them.

Perhaps he heard stories about the Pence family in Rockingham, and used the Lewis Pence there, even tho the story about Lewis helping JWB escape is false, inasmuch as JWB did not escape.

General Lew Wallace, Kate M. Scott, Judge Robert Burns Stewart were all real, used to give a hint of credibility for a hoax.

I've attached some newsclips, including the 1977 article, but a couple didn't save very well insofar as readability. I don't know why Ray Neff was mentioned as Dr. Richard Neff a couple of times. Also, I have a 1961 articles for Neff finding a coded Luther Baker message. And there are articles for Neff being involved as a consultant for a movie "The Lincoln Conspiracy".

You may already have the last attachment for "Trumpets of Jerico" sales. That must be something written by Neff Guttridge, rather than the claimed Andrew G. Potter and Edwin F. Stokes. There is mention of Edwin Stokes being a cousin of Wallace Stokes; however, even tho possible I should point out that Edwin F. Stokes is black or mulatto in census records and Wallace Stokes is white. A quick check doesn't show a common ancestor, but it is possible Edwin and Wallace are cousins. Andrew G. Potter on the other hand must be a pseudonym. Somehow it seems like fraud to me.

Steve W.

Oops, that was Lafayette Baker, not Luther Baker! I don't know why I can't catch that on a last proofread, only on a read after sent.

Steve W.

(12-17-2019 09:54 PM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:
(12-17-2019 08:01 PM)Steve Wrote:
(12-13-2019 12:56 AM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:

Steve W.,
I actually did a bunch of research on Neff to help Laurie and Ed Steers for a talk Ed was going to give back in May at the Surratt House conference about Neff and his theories. I've been thinking about making a long post about it here about what I found. I was itching to reveal some of what I found out about Neff when Mr. Griffith was posting, but I didn't want to steal Ed's thunder before his talk. I'll probably make my Neff post in January when I have more time after the holidays.

Here's a link to the Find A Grave page for the Sarah Baysinger you mentioned above:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1941...-baysinger

The surname Baysinger is common in that area of Indiana. The Samuel Baysinger couple you gave the information about just matched Neff's Samuel and Sarah Baysinger by chance. Neff's Baysingers seem to be just as fictional as the Potters. I'll send a copy of the 1977 Neff article you mentioned for Roger to post to the forum.
Steve,

I have quite a bit more myself and since Neff-Guttridge referred to a Samuel Baysinger in Parke and Clay Co., IN I followed up with the only Samuel Baysinger there. Neff-Guttridge seem to take some real people in areas of familiarity, such as Lewis Pence in Rockingham Co., VA where Ray Neff graduated from Bridgewater College, and build a story around them.

Perhaps he heard stories about the Pence family in Rockingham, and used the Lewis Pence there, even tho the story about Lewis helping JWB escape is false, inasmuch as JWB did not escape.

General Lew Wallace, Kate M. Scott, Judge Robert Burns Stewart were all real, used to give a hint of credibility for a hoax.

I've attached some newsclips, including the 1977 article, but a couple didn't save very well insofar as readability. I don't know why Ray Neff was mentioned as Dr. Richard Neff a couple of times. Also, I have a 1961 articles for Neff finding a coded Luther Baker message. And there are articles for Neff being involved as a consultant for a movie "The Lincoln Conspiracy".

You may already have the last attachment for "Trumpets of Jerico" sales. That must be something written by Neff Guttridge, rather than the claimed Andrew G. Potter and Edwin F. Stokes. There is mention of Edwin Stokes being a cousin of Wallace Stokes; however, even tho possible I should point out that Edwin F. Stokes is black or mulatto in census records and Wallace Stokes is white. A quick check doesn't show a common ancestor, but it is possible Edwin and Wallace are cousins. Andrew G. Potter on the other hand must be a pseudonym. Somehow it seems like fraud to me.

Steve W.

(12-17-2019 09:54 PM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:
(12-17-2019 08:01 PM)Steve Wrote:
(12-13-2019 12:56 AM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:

Steve W.,
I actually did a bunch of research on Neff to help Laurie and Ed Steers for a talk Ed was going to give back in May at the Surratt House conference about Neff and his theories. I've been thinking about making a long post about it here about what I found. I was itching to reveal some of what I found out about Neff when Mr. Griffith was posting, but I didn't want to steal Ed's thunder before his talk. I'll probably make my Neff post in January when I have more time after the holidays.

Here's a link to the Find A Grave page for the Sarah Baysinger you mentioned above:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1941...-baysinger

The surname Baysinger is common in that area of Indiana. The Samuel Baysinger couple you gave the information about just matched Neff's Samuel and Sarah Baysinger by chance. Neff's Baysingers seem to be just as fictional as the Potters. I'll send a copy of the 1977 Neff article you mentioned for Roger to post to the forum.
Steve,

I have quite a bit more myself and since Neff-Guttridge referred to a Samuel Baysinger in Parke and Clay Co., IN I followed up with the only Samuel Baysinger there. Neff-Guttridge seem to take some real people in areas of familiarity, such as Lewis Pence in Rockingham Co., VA where Ray Neff graduated from Bridgewater College, and build a story around them.

Perhaps he heard stories about the Pence family in Rockingham, and used the Lewis Pence there, even tho the story about Lewis helping JWB escape is false, inasmuch as JWB did not escape.

General Lew Wallace, Kate M. Scott, Judge Robert Burns Stewart were all real, used to give a hint of credibility for a hoax.

I've attached some newsclips, including the 1977 article, but a couple didn't save very well insofar as readability. I don't know why Ray Neff was mentioned as Dr. Richard Neff a couple of times. Also, I have a 1961 articles for Neff finding a coded Luther Baker message. And there are articles for Neff being involved as a consultant for a movie "The Lincoln Conspiracy".

You may already have the last attachment for "Trumpets of Jerico" sales. That must be something written by Neff Guttridge, rather than the claimed Andrew G. Potter and Edwin F. Stokes. There is mention of Edwin Stokes being a cousin of Wallace Stokes; however, even tho possible I should point out that Edwin F. Stokes is black or mulatto in census records and Wallace Stokes is white. A quick check doesn't show a common ancestor, but it is possible Edwin and Wallace are cousins. Andrew G. Potter on the other hand must be a pseudonym. Somehow it seems like fraud to me.

Steve W.

Oops, that was Lafayette Baker, not Luther Baker! I don't know why I can't catch that on a last proofread, only on a read after sent.

Steve W.

I found my other 2 1977 news clips.

Steve W.

RJNorton · 12-18-2019, 05:03 AM

Thank you to Steve for sending this article. It comes from page 15 of the 16 March 1977 edition of the Journal Gazette of Mattoon, Illinois.

[Image: rayneff1.jpg]

Gene C · 12-18-2019, 08:27 AM

That would be "The Lincoln Conspiracy" by Balsiger and Sellier.
Ray Neff was an important contributor to that book.

Interesting item in the article I don't remember reading.
"Since several attempts had been made on his life (General Lew Wallace), he had two bodyguards, Andrew and Earl Potter......."

Steve Whitlock · 12-18-2019, 10:49 AM

(12-18-2019 08:27 AM)Gene C Wrote: That would be "The Lincoln Conspiracy" by Balsiger and Sellier.
Ray Neff was an important contributor to that book.

Interesting item in the article I don't remember reading.
"Since several attempts had been made on his life (General Lew Wallace), he had two bodyguards, Andrew and Earl Potter......."

I probably should have also pointed out that the Margaret Baysinger, mentioned in the 1977 clips as a dtr of the mythical Sarah Katherine (Scott) Baysinger, is also non-existent. But as I said previously, 'on and on' with the errors and deceptions.

Steve W.

RJNorton · 12-20-2019, 07:44 AM

Thanks to Steve for sending these images. Steve writes:

"I was looking at the Neff related documents that Steve Whitlock posted to the forum. One of the newspaper articles was one that I was going to post in my upcoming Neff investigation post. The article is from page 1 of the 27 Dec. 1976 edition of the Brookville American (PA). The article mentions Ray Neff travelling to Brookville, Pennsylvania to research the life of local historian, newspaper editor, and Civil War nurse, Kate M. Scott and giving a talk at the local historical society. Earlier this year I read Carole Briggs' 2014 biography of Scott and sent scans of the pages debunking the "Booth baby" story to Laurie which has more local historical details checked about Scott's life and the local Jefferson county scene than normally could be fact-checked while looking over all of the errors of the Neff papers as a whole. Basically hyper-focused fact checking on the Kate Scott documents of the Neff papers. As expected, a lot of inaccuracies and people who don't exist like "Rob Rover" who can't be located in any local Jefferson county records or cemeteries:

https://library.indstate.edu/about/units...rover.html

So, another nonexistent person like the Potters.

But this is getting beside the point of this email/posting. Briggs' book mentions Kate's brother-in-law Francis A. Weaver. Floating around the internet is a forged marriage record between Martha Izola Mills and John Wilkes Booth in 1859. If you notice at the bottom of the document is a photocopy of the envelope that contained the record and its addressed to Francis Weaver who was supposedly a younger brother of the Rev. Peleg Weaver (he wasn't). I checked the 1899 Washington DC directory and the address matches the Francis A. Weaver, who was Kate Scott's brother-in-law 1899 address. So, the envelope image seems like it may have come from an actual envelope to Weaver which was combined in the forgery. Although I don't think it's mentioned in Dark Union, the marriage record is in the catalog of the Neff papers:

https://library.indstate.edu/about/units...IDnum=2463

Neff was specifically researching Kate and her brother-in-law and the Jefferson County Pa area, so it seems like he would be the person who had the opportunity to forge the marriage record and if he forged that, then he probably forged the other "Potter papers".

Just as a little side note I took a look at some of the Martha Izola Mills written correspondence in the Izola Forrester papers and Martha actually claimed that she and Booth were married in New York state, not Connecticut in 1859. The Connecticut marriage comes from Izola Forrester's 1937 This One Mad Act book. Not that it really matters about where a fake made-up marriage supposedly took place, I just thought it was an interesting difference.

[Image: neff850.jpg]

Gene C · (This post was last modified: 12-20-2019 08:56 AM by Gene C.)

I'm shocked, shocked.
Are you sure it's not just some small, minor, little oversight?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmywwiZth5E

Steve Whitlock · 12-20-2019, 10:06 AM

[quote='RJNorton' pid='79674' dateline='1576845898']
Thanks to Steve for sending these images. Steve writes:

"I was looking at the Neff related documents that Steve Whitlock posted to the forum. One of the newspaper articles was one that I was going to post in my upcoming Neff investigation post. The article is from page 1 of the 27 Dec. 1976 edition of the Brookville American (PA). The article mentions Ray Neff travelling to Brookville, Pennsylvania to research the life of local historian, newspaper editor, and Civil War nurse, Kate M. Scott and giving a talk at the local historical society. Earlier this year I read Carole Briggs' 2014 biography of Scott and sent scans of the pages debunking the "Booth baby" story to Laurie which has more local historical details checked about Scott's life and the local Jefferson county scene than normally could be fact-checked while looking over all of the errors of the Neff papers as a whole. Basically hyper-focused fact checking on the Kate Scott documents of the Neff papers. As expected, a lot of inaccuracies and people who don't exist like "Rob Rover" who can't be located in any local Jefferson county records or cemeteries:

https://library.indstate.edu/about/units...rover.html

So, another nonexistent person like the Potters.

But this is getting beside the point of this email/posting. Briggs' book mentions Kate's brother-in-law Francis A. Weaver. Floating around the internet is a forged marriage record between Martha Izola Mills and John Wilkes Booth in 1859. If you notice at the bottom of the document is a photocopy of the envelope that contained the record and its addressed to Francis Weaver who was supposedly a younger brother of the Rev. Peleg Weaver (he wasn't). I checked the 1899 Washington DC directory and the address matches the Francis A. Weaver, who was Kate Scott's brother-in-law 1899 address. So, the envelope image seems like it may have come from an actual envelope to Weaver which was combined in the forgery. Although I don't think it's mentioned in Dark Union, the marriage record is in the catalog of the Neff papers:

https://library.indstate.edu/about/units...IDnum=2463

Neff was specifically researching Kate and her brother-in-law and the Jefferson County Pa area, so it seems like he would be the person who had the opportunity to forge the marriage record and if he forged that, then he probably forged the other "Potter papers".

Just as a little side note I took a look at some of the Martha Izola Mills written correspondence in the Izola Forrester papers and Martha actually claimed that she and Booth were married in New York state, not Connecticut in 1859. The Connecticut marriage comes from Izola Forrester's 1937 This One Mad Act book. Not that it really matters about where a fake made-up marriage supposedly took place, I just thought it was an interesting difference.

Steve,

Thank you for the added information!

Andrew G. Potter also allegedly wrote an 1896 letter at the same address to Francis "Fritz" Weaver, brother-in-law of Kate M. Scott. It's a pdf file from the Potter papers, and I can't attach it here.

As we see at different points at one time Neff has Kate's dtr, Sarah Katherine Scott, married to Sam Baysinger, and then the story changed and she was raised by Sam and his supposed wife, Sarah, the midwife who delivered Sarah Katherine Scott 8 Dec 1865 in Indianapolis, IN. As an aside Samuel Baysinger was discharged from his Civil War service in Indianapolis in 1865. I have a record of that, and it is the same Samuel Baysinger that I mentioned previously. Kate supposedly used the money she received from the John Byron Wilkes will to set up a trust fund for Samuel Baysinger and his wife. By that time Sarah Katherine Scott, had she existed, would have been an adult.

As for the fake marriage of Martha L. (Mills) Bellows and John Wilkes Booth, I would also add that a real marriage occurred in 1869 for Martha L. Booth and John H. Stevenson, followed by an 1872 marriage of Martha L. Bellows and John H. Stevenson in 1872. I have those records. Why two marriages?

The 1872 marriage was important because when Seaman Charles S. Bellows Sr died in 1869 he left everything he had to his brother, with no mention of his wife and children. Martha later challenged the will and got a share of that estate, and a Navy pension for her children, whether we dispute they were his or not. The birth certificates say he was the father and Martha received a settlement for each case. I can't post them here because each case is over 30 images. The only marriage records mentioned by Martha, or the court, was her marriage to Charles S. Bellows and the 1872 marriage to John H. Stevenson, as Martha steadfastly claimed fidelity to her first marriage until his death.

I believe the marriage as Martha Booth to John H. Stevenson was for Rosalie Booth's benefit, to show that Martha was indeed Rosalie's sister-in-law, can you spare some money for his poor children by the way? Between that record and the bogus 1859 marriage record Martha managed to convince a grieving Rosalie.

If Dna testing is ever done for a descendant of Harry Jerome Dresbach Stevenson, Martha's supposed son with JWB, it should be a match to John H. Stevenson, not any Booth. Harry was born in 1871, 2 years after the 1869 marriage to John H. Stevenson. Perhaps the 1st marriage got by the court because she married as Booth, instead of Bellows, the first time.

Steve W.