41 Years Ago

[L Verge]

All the debate that has been going on in other threads under the Assassination topic caused me to do a little thinking back to May of 1977, when the Surratt Society sponsored its first bus tour over the escape route of John Wilkes Booth. We packed the school bus (all that we could afford then), and many of the participants were amateur authorities in the field of the assassination.

This first tour (and many more) was under the guidance of James O. Hall, who stood directly behind the driver. Seated in the row behind Hall was a teenager, who quickly got the attention of this used teacher because he kept shaking his head negatively when Hall said things. Mr. Hall certainly saw this, but he ignored it -- he had once been a teacher also - and very likely knew who this smug young man was. However, throughout the day, the young man was otherwise polite.

At one of the stops, I asked who this kid was and was told that his name was Nate Orlowek. Well that woke me up because there had just been a story in Rolling Stone about young Orlowek and his belief in the Finis Bates theory that JWB escaped and finally died in Enid, Oklahoma, in 1903.

The unending historical ping-pong game that we have been playing in several other threads here has reminded me of the Rolling Stones article. It is quite long, so I am only posting the link and hoping that most of you who are interested will take the time to read it.

I will be meeting with Frank Gorman on Tuesday, the lawyer who fended off the 1990s attempts to exhume Booth's body. Nate Orlowek initiated those attempts and failed. Frank is writing a book on his experiences with that trial and the appeals afterwards. I guarantee that Nate's name will be a topic of discussion on Tuesday.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/po...ne-229691/

[GustD45]

(12-09-2018 08:52 PM)L Verge Wrote:  All the debate that has been going on in other threads under the Assassination topic caused me to do a little thinking back to May of 1977, when the Surratt Society sponsored its first bus tour over the escape route of John Wilkes Booth. We packed the school bus (all that we could afford then), and many of the participants were amateur authorities in the field of the assassination.

This first tour (and many more) was under the guidance of James O. Hall, who stood directly behind the driver. Seated in the row behind Hall was a teenager, who quickly got the attention of this used teacher because he kept shaking his head negatively when Hall said things. Mr. Hall certainly saw this, but he ignored it -- he had once been a teacher also - and very likely knew who this smug young man was. However, throughout the day, the young man was otherwise polite.

At one of the stops, I asked who this kid was and was told that his name was Nate Orlowek. Well that woke me up because there had just been a story in Rolling Stone about young Orlowek and his belief in the Finis Bates theory that JWB escaped and finally died in Enid, Oklahoma, in 1903.

The unending historical ping-pong game that we have been playing in several other threads here has reminded me of the Rolling Stones article. It is quite long, so I am only posting the link and hoping that most of you who are interested will take the time to read it.

I will be meeting with Frank Gorman on Tuesday, the lawyer who fended off the 1990s attempts to exhume Booth's body. Nate Orlowek initiated those attempts and failed. Frank is writing a book on his experiences with that trial and the appeals afterwards. I guarantee that Nate's name will be a topic of discussion on Tuesday.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/po...ne-229691/

That will be an interesting book to read. Mr. Gorman's book I mean. I read Finis Bates book and oh if I wrote a review of it that review would be a scathing one. If I remember correctly Finis Bates' book was used as evidence by the lawyer for the Booth decendents. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the judge in that case cited that the evidence wasn't sufficient to overrule Green Mount Cemetery.

[Gene C]

Thanks for posting that article Lauri. It is well worth reading.
Interesting article, despite the early writing style of the author's and his detailed description of Orlowek and his family.

I found it interesting that Roscoe didn't believe the tale told by Finis Bates, and the story of Orlowek's communication with Roscoe.

[Rob Wick]

I liked Crouse's writing style and thought the description of Orlowek's family did a great deal to place him in his own milieu. Crouse, who is now in his 70s, is best known for his book The Boys on the Bus, a rollicking account of the press corp in the 1972 presidential campaign.

The other night, tired of working on a Tarbell article that just won't start, I decided to try and find the original "Unsolved Mysteries" that aired about Booth's alleged escape. Luckily, if that's the term one could use, I found it online. After watching it, I realized that I had spent about 30 or so minutes of my life that I'll never get back. I was immediately reminded of an article that Steve Miller wrote that he once shared with me. It had the headline (approximate...I'm writing this from memory), "How Much C rap Could Robert Stack Stack if Robert Stack Could Stack C rap." The episode was a graphic representation of never letting the facts get in the way of a good story. And yet, Steve's deflation of the nonsense isn't out there to serve as an antidote. More's the pity.

Best
Rob

[L Verge]

(12-10-2018 01:13 PM)Rob Wick Wrote:  I liked Crouse's writing style and thought the description of Orlowek's family did a great deal to place him in his own milieu. Crouse, who is now in his 70s, is best known for his book The Boys on the Bus, a rollicking account of the press corp in the 1972 presidential campaign.

The other night, tired of working on a Tarbell article that just won't start, I decided to try and find the original "Unsolved Mysteries" that aired about Booth's alleged escape. Luckily, if that's the term one could use, I found it online. After watching it, I realized that I had spent about 30 or so minutes of my life that I'll never get back. I was immediately reminded of an article that Steve Miller wrote that he once shared with me. It had the headline (approximate...I'm writing this from memory), "How Much C rap Could Robert Stack Stack if Robert Stack Could Stack C rap." The episode was a graphic representation of never letting the facts get in the way of a good story. And yet, Steve's deflation of the nonsense isn't out there to serve as an antidote. More's the pity.

Best
Rob

Most of that was filmed here at Surratt House, and they were definitely not interested in hearing facts. By the time, they went back to California and dubbed in Robert Stack and edited out other things, there was very little left of anything good.

We had a similar experience about 5-6 years ago when Brad Meltzer and his History Decoded came to town. Much more interested in the mummy than in the facts. Now I get to worry about the Travel Channel and an upcoming program tentatively entitled "Mummies Unwrapped." I sure hope that title means that they are finally unwrapping good history. We have fed them as much as we can of documented details.

---

"the judge in that case cited that the evidence wasn't sufficient to overrule Green Mount Cemetery."

You are quite right on that. While a lot of excellent history was presented (and I include the inaccurate Bates theory here because it laid that agenda out on the table for all to see), it was not the purpose of the case to debate every little item -- just to protect the cemetery and the Booths right to let the dead repose in peace.

[Rsmyth]

How ironic that Orlowek lived in Silver Springs and was searching for the Booth dummy on the west coast?

[L Verge]

(12-10-2018 05:44 PM)Rsmyth Wrote:  How ironic that Orlowek lived in Silver Springs and was searching for the Booth dummy on the west coast?

It appears to me that you have heard the same rumor as to where the mummy supposedly resides as I have heard... The last I heard, however, was about 25-30 years ago and the "mummy keeper" vowed that he was going to deep-six that piece of parchment so far into hiding that no one would ever find it.

In the 1980s, the then-president of the Surratt Society was an authority on death rituals, mourning practices, etc. She was allowed to visit the then-owner. His house was filled with similar attractions ranging from shrunken heads to other mummies, and he did not want his neighbors to know.

Dr. John Lattimer used to worry about the toxicity of the mummy because the old methods of embalming had some dangerous ingredients involved.

[RJNorton]

Thanks to Steve for sending this article. He writes:

"I found this article on page 22 of the 27 Sept. 1979 Kosciusko Star-Herald (Mississippi) by a local woman asking information on a local family named George and how she believes the David E. George who committed suicide in Enid, Oklahoma in January, 1903 is related to them. If her theory is right, then he was just who he said he was, David Elihu George. Does anybody have any information on this? Specifically, does anybody have any information on this 1902 insurance policy she mentions where George listed his birthplace as Mississippi?"

[L Verge]

This sounds vaguely familiar, so Mr. Hall may have pursued it; but I cannot remember -- he followed so many leads.

There is one thing that keeps being mentioned over and over about the mummy having a disfigured thumb "just like Booth." If I remember correctly, John Brennan researched this and found that it was Junius Brutus Booth, the Elder who had a run-in with some stage riggings and sustained damages to his thumb.

[Steve]

Just a little footnote to add to all of the Booth survived stupidity.

In his book, Finis Bates claimed that David E. George, the painter of Oklahoma who committed suicide in 1903, hardly ever worked as a painter and it was all an act/front to hide that he was Booth. (Even if he supposedly told multiple people he was Booth):

https://archive.org/details/escapesuicid...e/page/228

This article from page 8 of the 04 July 1901 El Reno Democrat would seem to disagree, though. David E. George received a contract for $600 to paint a school in the nearby town of Minco, Oklahoma. That's about $18,000 in 2018 money :

   

Also on that same page of Bates' book, Bates claims that before coming to El Reno (and adopting the George alias), Oklahoma Booth lived in Hennessey, Oklahoma as "George D. Ryan, gentleman of leisure." But this item in the local news section from page 5 of the 09 March 1900 Hennessey Press-Democrat might beg to differ. It mentions that David E. George has just finished painting the Rhodes Hotel:

   

For good measure, George placed an advertisement for his house painting and decorating services on the same page. (Perhaps the ad led to the glowing review?) :

   

If we take for granted Bates absurd positions that

A. Booth survived
B. That Booth was living under the alias "George D. Ryan" in Hennessey

How can St. Helen/Ryan/fake Booth be the same person as the David E. George the painter, if they're both living in Hennessey around the same time? How would using multiple aliases in the same town help "Booth" not draw attention to himself?

[GustD45]

(12-12-2018 01:12 AM)Steve Wrote:  Just a little footnote to add to all of the Booth survived stupidity.

In his book, Finis Bates claimed that David E. George, the painter of Oklahoma who committed suicide in 1903, hardly ever worked as a painter and it was all an act/front to hide that he was Booth. (Even if he supposedly told multiple people he was Booth):

https://archive.org/details/escapesuicid...e/page/228

This article from page 8 of the 04 July 1901 El Reno Democrat would seem to disagree, though. David E. George received a contract for $600 to paint a school in the nearby town of Minco, Oklahoma. That's about $18,000 in 2018 money :



Also on that same page of Bates' book, Bates claims that before coming to El Reno (and adopting the George alias), Oklahoma Booth lived in Hennessey, Oklahoma as "George D. Ryan, gentleman of leisure." But this item in the local news section from page 5 of the 09 March 1900 Hennessey Press-Democrat might beg to differ. It mentions that David E. George has just finished painting the Rhodes Hotel:



For good measure, George placed an advertisement for his house painting and decorating services on the same page. (Perhaps the ad led to the glowing review?) :



If we take for granted Bates absurd positions that

A. Booth survived
B. That Booth was living under the alias "George D. Ryan" in Hennessey

How can St. Helen/Ryan/fake Booth be the same person as the David E. George the painter, if they're both living in Hennessey around the same time? How would using multiple aliases in the same town help "Booth" not draw attention to himself?

Bates makes far too many outrageous claims. This David E George probably got himself in trouble somewhere and concocted this elaborate story. Finis Bates was a young lawyer just getting started and fell for George's story hook, line, and sinker.

[Steve]

GustD45, I never got a chance to welcome you to the forum. So, welcome!

[GustD45]

(12-12-2018 11:41 AM)Steve Wrote:  GustD45, I never got a chance to welcome you to the forum. So, welcome!

Thank you Steve. Everyone has been warm and welcoming.

[RJNorton]

Thanks to Steve for sending this article. Steve writes, "It's from page 7 of the 15 January 1903 Enid Weekly Wave. It's an article on the coroner's inquest of the death of David E. George. The article doesn't mention anything coming out at the inquest about George claiming to be John Wilkes Booth to the people who came to help him after he poisoned himself but before he died. But I don't think the people pushing the idea he was Booth had arrived in Enid yet."

[RJNorton]

(12-09-2018 08:52 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I will be meeting with Frank Gorman on Tuesday, the lawyer who fended off the 1990s attempts to exhume Booth's body. Nate Orlowek initiated those attempts and failed. Frank is writing a book on his experiences with that trial and the appeals afterwards.

I received this message from Laurie. She writes, "The two attachments pertain to the decision made by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals that upheld Judge Kline’s lower court decision on exhumation."

Laurie received a message from Frank Gorman which included the two attachments. Mr. Gorman wrote the following regarding the two attachments:

(1) the decision as issued by the Court of Special Appeals on June 4, 1996, and

(2) the decision as reported in Westlaw, a worldwide legal decisions reporter that presents the decision with “headnotes” that address specific points of law contained in the decision (sometimes also referred to as an “opinion” of a court). Practicing attorneys generally use the Westlaw format (or another reporter publication) because the headnotes are very helpful.

Chief Judge Wilner wrote the decision for the Court. I believe it is a tour de force in terms of both history and law. (The file names indicate which pdf is the as issued and which is the Westlaw.)

CLICK HERE.
and
CLICK HERE.