New Development in Booth Case Coming Soon

[Steve Whitlock]

(06-21-2019 07:22 AM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  

(06-21-2019 02:58 AM)Steve Wrote:  [quote='Steve Whitlock' pid='77471' dateline='1561070511']
Also, when I mentioned the actress being born 10 years after George died, that should have been 10 years after JWB was presumed killed at the Garrett farm.

There were many John Booths, and some John W. Booths, so he wasn't necessarily a John Wilkes Booth, and since David E. George died about 23 years after Laura's mom I don't know whether she presumed David E. George was really the John W. Booth that married her mother. Grandma Martha, mentioned in the news article was still around, dying in 1904, so did she say David E. George was John Wilkes Booth. There was mention of money [the real John Wilkes Booth did have money invested in oil]. After reading the article again last night I went looking for who she was and was surprised at the marriage record.

I got as far as a Virginia (Asburn) McCrae b: abt 1921, living in Los Angeles, married to a John R. McCrae.

Petition of Charles Wilson Asburn to bve notified by the court of any proceedings regarding his mother's estate [Laura Ida Driver on the petition]

4 June 1925

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

CharlesRice28

CharlesRice28 originally shared this on 15 Feb 2018
Linked To
**********************
Charles W Asburn

in the 1910 United States Federal Census

Name: Charles W Asburn [Son of Laura Ida (Booth) Asburn, stage name for Asburn was Levine]
Age in 1910: 12
Birth Year: abt 1898
Birthplace: New York
Home in 1910: Philadelphia Ward 13, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Street: Vine Street
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Lodger
Marital status: Single
Father's Birthplace: New York
Mother's Birthplace: Tennessee
Native Tongue: English
Occupation: Performer
Industry: Theatrical
Employer, Employee or Other: Wage Earner
Able to Read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:
Name Age
Lewis Howard 35 [2nd marriage for Laura]
Laura I Howard 36 [Laura Ida (Booth) Levine (Asburn)- Howard-Driver (Norman)
Charles W Asburn 12 [Charles Wilson Asburn]
*************************************
Charles Wilson Asburne
Birth 30 Jun 1897
Death 8 Mar 1977 (aged 79)
Atlantic City, Atlantic County, New Jersey, USA
Burial
Holy Cross Cemetery and Chapel Mausoleum
Mays Landing, Atlantic County, New Jersey, USA
Plot Lawn 5, Sec 1, Lot 62, Grave 2, No Headstone
Memorial ID 64682894 · View Source

"CHARLES W. ASBURNE

"ATLANTIC CITY - A retired actor, Charles W. Asburne, 69, of the Inlet Towers, died Sunday in Atlantic City Medical Center.
"Mr. Asburn's career spanned 50 years. He had appeared on radio and in Vaudeville and motion pictures,
"He was born in Boundbrook and had been a local resident 30 years.
"He is survived by his daughter, Mrs. Virginia McCrea, of Los Angeles, Calif.
"Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated at 10 a.m.Wednesday in the Church of the Holy Spirit. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Mays Landing. Arrangements are by the H. M. Gormley Funeral Home, Albany and Winchester avenues."

From The Press of Atlantic City for Tuesday, March 10, 1977, page 6:
Family Members
Spouse

Photo
Evelyn Asburne

1892–1944
**************
Virginia F Asburn

in the California, Marriage Index, 1949-1959

Name: Virginia F Asburn
Gender: Female
Estimated birth year: abt 1921
Age: 35
Marriage Date: 17 Feb 1956
Marriage Place: Los Angeles, California, USA
Spouse: John R McCrea
Spouse Age: 24
*********************
I have another marriage record for Louisa and John W. Booth, but size is too large. As I said I do have more information.

After taking another look for Virginia Florenz (Asburn) McCrea I found a marriage record for her in 1980 to Thomas John Smercak.

Thomas John Smercak

in the Nevada, Marriage Index, 1956-2005

Name: Thomas John Smercak
Gender: Male
Residence State: California
Spouse: Virginia Florenz McCrea
Spouse Residence State: California
Marriage Date: 26 Dec 1980
Marriage County: Clark
Officiant Type: Civil celebrant
Recorded Date: 6 Jan 1981
Recorded County: Clark
Book: 6120
Page: 89957
Instrument number: 89957
***************************
Virginia subsequently passed away in 1997:

Virginia Florenz Smercak

in the Nevada, Death Index, 1980-2012

Name: Virginia Florenz Smercak
Birth Date: 2 Jul 1919
Birth Place: New York
Death Date: 28 Jan 1997
Death Place: Clark, Nevada, USA
*********************************
Virginia F Smercak
BillionGraves Index
Name Virginia F Smercak
Event Type Burial
Event Place Las Vegas, Clark, Nevada, United States
Cemetery Palm Eastern
Latitude 36.052635
Longitude -115.113939
Birth Date 02 Jul 1919
Death Date 28 Jan 1997
Affiliate Create Date 2015-05-25 00:40:45
Affiliate Image Identifier 14193353
Citing this Record

"BillionGraves Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDK-BL4W : 9 November 2015), Virginia F Smercak, died 28 Jan 1997; citing BillionGraves (http://www.billiongraves.com : 2012), Burial at Palm Eastern, Las Vegas, Clark, Nevada, United States.
**************************************************
I have been in touch with Mr Smercak, who advised me Virginia was the end of that line as far as John W. Booth and Louisa Jane (Price) Payne-Booth are concerned. She had no siblings or children of her own, other than a half-brother, McCager Payne, whose father was Zebediah Payne. With no living descendants of Virginia there is no chance for getting some dna to help figure out exactly who her great grandfather really was, without an exhumation.

[Paul F.]

I'm new to the forum here, but certainly not new to the assassination. I appreciate the sharing of the link for the news story! I found it entertaining to read. If you study art or anatomy at all, you will be quick to notice that the human face is not a mirror image from side to side. And, aside from the fact that the two pictures are of mustachioed men, there are no real similarities. The chin/jawline is different, the lower lip is different, the eyes and brow lines are different, the bridge of the nose is different. There is virtually no similarity between the two. As a dentist, I deal with people's faces every day. Look at the length of the upper lip between the two, and notice that Booth appears to have a longer upper lip than John St. Helen. The upper lip gets longer as we age, not shorter. And, not to disparage TV programs, but rarely is anything of substance revealed on them. The real discoveries come from thorough and often mundane research. We'll see where the discussion heads from here!

[Steve Whitlock]

(08-25-2019 01:22 AM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  

(06-21-2019 07:22 AM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  

(06-21-2019 02:58 AM)Steve Wrote:  [quote='Steve Whitlock' pid='77471' dateline='1561070511']
Also, when I mentioned the actress being born 10 years after George died, that should have been 10 years after JWB was presumed killed at the Garrett farm.

There were many John Booths, and some John W. Booths, so he wasn't necessarily a John Wilkes Booth, and since David E. George died about 23 years after Laura's mom I don't know whether she presumed David E. George was really the John W. Booth that married her mother. Grandma Martha, mentioned in the news article was still around, dying in 1904, so did she say David E. George was John Wilkes Booth. There was mention of money [the real John Wilkes Booth did have money invested in oil]. After reading the article again last night I went looking for who she was and was surprised at the marriage record.

I got as far as a Virginia (Asburn) McCrae b: abt 1921, living in Los Angeles, married to a John R. McCrae.

Petition of Charles Wilson Asburn to bve notified by the court of any proceedings regarding his mother's estate [Laura Ida Driver on the petition]

4 June 1925

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

CharlesRice28

CharlesRice28 originally shared this on 15 Feb 2018
Linked To
**********************
Charles W Asburn

in the 1910 United States Federal Census

Name: Charles W Asburn [Son of Laura Ida (Booth) Asburn, stage name for Asburn was Levine]
Age in 1910: 12
Birth Year: abt 1898
Birthplace: New York
Home in 1910: Philadelphia Ward 13, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Street: Vine Street
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Lodger
Marital status: Single
Father's Birthplace: New York
Mother's Birthplace: Tennessee
Native Tongue: English
Occupation: Performer
Industry: Theatrical
Employer, Employee or Other: Wage Earner
Able to Read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:
Name Age
Lewis Howard 35 [2nd marriage for Laura]
Laura I Howard 36 [Laura Ida (Booth) Levine (Asburn)- Howard-Driver (Norman)
Charles W Asburn 12 [Charles Wilson Asburn]
*************************************
Charles Wilson Asburne
Birth 30 Jun 1897
Death 8 Mar 1977 (aged 79)
Atlantic City, Atlantic County, New Jersey, USA
Burial
Holy Cross Cemetery and Chapel Mausoleum
Mays Landing, Atlantic County, New Jersey, USA
Plot Lawn 5, Sec 1, Lot 62, Grave 2, No Headstone
Memorial ID 64682894 · View Source

"CHARLES W. ASBURNE

"ATLANTIC CITY - A retired actor, Charles W. Asburne, 69, of the Inlet Towers, died Sunday in Atlantic City Medical Center.
"Mr. Asburn's career spanned 50 years. He had appeared on radio and in Vaudeville and motion pictures,
"He was born in Boundbrook and had been a local resident 30 years.
"He is survived by his daughter, Mrs. Virginia McCrea, of Los Angeles, Calif.
"Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated at 10 a.m.Wednesday in the Church of the Holy Spirit. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Mays Landing. Arrangements are by the H. M. Gormley Funeral Home, Albany and Winchester avenues."

From The Press of Atlantic City for Tuesday, March 10, 1977, page 6:
Family Members
Spouse

Photo
Evelyn Asburne

1892–1944
**************
Virginia F Asburn

in the California, Marriage Index, 1949-1959

Name: Virginia F Asburn
Gender: Female
Estimated birth year: abt 1921
Age: 35
Marriage Date: 17 Feb 1956
Marriage Place: Los Angeles, California, USA
Spouse: John R McCrea
Spouse Age: 24
*********************
I have another marriage record for Louisa and John W. Booth, but size is too large. As I said I do have more information.

After taking another look for Virginia Florenz (Asburn) McCrea I found a marriage record for her in 1980 to Thomas John Smercak.

Thomas John Smercak

in the Nevada, Marriage Index, 1956-2005

Name: Thomas John Smercak
Gender: Male
Residence State: California
Spouse: Virginia Florenz McCrea
Spouse Residence State: California
Marriage Date: 26 Dec 1980
Marriage County: Clark
Officiant Type: Civil celebrant
Recorded Date: 6 Jan 1981
Recorded County: Clark
Book: 6120
Page: 89957
Instrument number: 89957
***************************
Virginia subsequently passed away in 1997:

Virginia Florenz Smercak

in the Nevada, Death Index, 1980-2012

Name: Virginia Florenz Smercak
Birth Date: 2 Jul 1919
Birth Place: New York
Death Date: 28 Jan 1997
Death Place: Clark, Nevada, USA
*********************************
Virginia F Smercak
BillionGraves Index
Name Virginia F Smercak
Event Type Burial
Event Place Las Vegas, Clark, Nevada, United States
Cemetery Palm Eastern
Latitude 36.052635
Longitude -115.113939
Birth Date 02 Jul 1919
Death Date 28 Jan 1997
Affiliate Create Date 2015-05-25 00:40:45
Affiliate Image Identifier 14193353
Citing this Record

"BillionGraves Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDK-BL4W : 9 November 2015), Virginia F Smercak, died 28 Jan 1997; citing BillionGraves (http://www.billiongraves.com : 2012), Burial at Palm Eastern, Las Vegas, Clark, Nevada, United States.
**************************************************
I have been in touch with Mr Smercak, who advised me Virginia was the end of that line as far as John W. Booth and Louisa Jane (Price) Payne-Booth are concerned. She had no siblings or children of her own, other than a half-brother, McCager Payne, whose father was Zebediah Payne. With no living descendants of Virginia there is no chance for getting some dna to help figure out exactly who her great grandfather really was, without an exhumation.

Here are some photos of Virginia Florenz (Asburn) McCrea-Smercak, her parents and maternal grandparents, and her uncles. The Bonney family were Vaudevillians, which is likely how Juanita Bonney and Charles W. Asburn Jr (aka Charles Levine/Lavine stage name) met for their very short marriage.

In the "King of Marvin Gardens" movie photo Charles Lavine is lying on the bed with his grandson, Bruce Dern seated by him and other grandson, Jack Nicholson, standing. I don't know who the other man in the photo is off the top of my head.

[Dave Taylor]

I'm hoping to resurrect this thread somewhat as I'm trying to make sense of all the great work the Steves have done regarding the Leadville John Wilkes Booth who died in 1916. In July, the family and I are taking a road trip to Colorado and I was going to try to visit Leadville and find this JWB's grave while I am there. But I'm having trouble parsing all of the information in this thread together. Just who do we believe the Leadville John Wilkes Booth was?

[Gene C]

(06-21-2024 04:06 PM)Dave Taylor Wrote:  Just who do we believe the Leadville John Wilkes Booth was?

David George ?
My theory is David George didn't die in Enid, OK.
After an over zealous mortician tried to overwhelm David with formaldehyde fumes from a nearby furniture store and refinishing business, David managed to escape and hid in a barn that was used for making moonshine. Revenue agents staked out the farm hoping to capture George a/k/a John Wiles Booth. They surrounded the barn and tried to set fire to it (same old routine). The stored moonshine in the barn caught fire and blew up the barn. He somehow managed to escape and spent his final years in Leadville.

Naturally this reminds me of a song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpuCOTxTiFI