The Surratt Courier

[HerbS]

My Surratt Courier came today-Outstanding as usual.Wesley Harris's story about Clara Barton and missing soliders office was fantastic.Dave Taylor's story about Dr Mudd's escape attempt-caught my eye!Whenever I talk to someone about "The Conspiracy"the question always comes up about Dr.Mudd.Dave's story has now added some "extra"cannon fodder to his story! Great Job Guys!

[RJNorton]

I second Herb. Our copy of the Courier arrived today, and kudos to Wesley on his article on the "Angel of the Battlefield" and her Missing Soldiers Office and Dave on his article regarding Dr. Mudd's failed escape attempt.

[Wesley Harris]

Thanks for the kind words. I'm fascinated by the discovery of such a historic site hidden in downtown D.C. for 100 years. Absolutely amazing to me.

[Dave Taylor]

I echo Wesley's appreciation for the kudos. I know I owe Bob Summers so much for his guidance and help in writing the Mudd article. He's a class act.

[Rsmyth]

Thanks Dave and Wes. This is info you won't find in any history book.

[Hess1865]

another great issue-as always!!

[L Verge]

The Surratt Society and the museum are blessed to have so many members with wonderful knowledge, enthusiasm, and the desire to spread their knowledge around. Believe it or not, we have kept that newsletter going since the fall of 1976 through the donation of articles from many people.

And, the great thing is that it goes out to approximately 1500 members as far away as Europe and Australia. We just got another member from Germany this past week, thanks to the influence of Bill Richter. The government agency which owns Surratt House prints and mails them monthly for us. Our modest membership fee of $10 can then go to other good works at the museum.

[Gene C]

Congratulations to Wild Bill (William Richter) for the interesting article in this month's Surratt Courier about Victoria Claflin Woodhull.

It was so good it had me searching the internet to find out more about her.
The few articles I looked at and read were not near as good as the one Wild Bill wrote.
Thanks Bill.

[RJNorton]

I second Gene. Bill's article is extremely well done. I had no clue about her life previous to reading the article.

[L Verge]

And we thought we had some questionable politicians and candidates...

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Since we are on the subject of female politicians, who was the first woman to appear on official ballots as a presidential candidate in both the 1884 and 1888 elections?

[L Verge]

Hint #1: This female was truly very well-qualified for political office.

[Eva Elisabeth]

I second Gene. Bill's article is extremely well done. I had no clue about her life previous to reading the article.

I triple!

[RJNorton]

Since we are on the subject of female politicians, who was the first woman to appear on official ballots as a presidential candidate in both the 1884 and 1888 elections?

Belva Ann Lockwood.

[L Verge]

A+ for the teacher! It was indeed Belva Lockwood, a very interesting lady (in better ways than the previously mentioned Victoria Woodhull). Belva started out as an educator and then decided to tackle the male world of law. She attended National University Law School in D.C. - now George Washington University School of Law - and became one of the first female lawyers in the U.S. However, she had to fight for her diploma, despite having successfully completed all of her course work. The University refused to grant a diploma to a female until Ulysses S. Grant (then a member of the board) made it happen.

In 1879, Mrs. Lockwood became the first woman to be granted permission to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. She went on to sponsor the first black lawyer to argue a case before the Court. Her excellent presentations before the Court contributed to her declaring for the Presidency in 1884, under the platform of the National Equal Rights Party.

Mrs. Lockwood lived for many years in a variety of homes in D.C., including on Tenth Street, NW, just two doors down from the Petersen House where Lincoln died years before. When deciding to run for President, she made her announcement on a farm in Prince George's County, Maryland, about 20 miles from Surratt House. The cabin where she held her "press conference" once stood at Grigsby Station, a small railroad stop in Landover (think FedEx Field), Maryland. It was later moved to the town of Glenn Dale and preserved, but few people today know of its existence.

[L Verge]

I passed the story of Belva Lockwood on to my staff and volunteers. One of the volunteers is part of a group that conducts tours of historic D.C., and her group leader supplied this extra tidbit:

I love Belva! I had to research her for a tour called "discover historic downtown dc" waaaaaay back in 1998. She had a home on F street for awhile (very fashionable then post Civil War) where the Verizon Center is now. She used to ride her bike to her law office on Capitol Hill and she did not care if you were in her way so people jumped when she raced toward them.

They did an excavation of her block and the objects uncovered were displayed in the store at 7th and F. God knows what happened to them when the store closed. Bits of dishes, dice, combs, civil war odds and ends. They were conserved by the City archaeologist and she handed them over to the store to show off. They looked great but they were kept under halogen bulbs in the glass vitrines. One day, as I stood by the shelves, waiting for a tour group to assemble, I noticed that the bulbs had set fire to the paper photograph (reproduction) of Frederick Douglass in the case. I shouted for help but the store was so busy that no one cared. I had to go drag some to the case and say "look, the artifacts are about to go up in flames". Yeeesh!