Frank Ford Letter

[J Hewitt]

Good Morning.

I was just wondering what the concensus view of the Frank Ford Letter that states his father (John T) bore the hole in the door (or had it done), to the Presidential Box, so that the guard could look in on the President without having to open the door.

I thought most historians believed that Booth himself bored the hole in the door.

Frank Ford Letter here:

https://archive.org/details/restorationo...4/mode/2up

[RJNorton]

John, for some arguments that Booth made the hole please see Jonathan's post here:

[AussieMick]

My opinion is that Booth is not likely to have bored the hole.
I find the Frank Ford letter very convincing.
The suggestion that theatre management claimed to have bored the hole so that it would somehow ease any opprobrium or criticism seems weak. I can just about accept that some people would have put blame on Ford's theatre for the assassination ... but does management claiming responsibility for the hole ease that censure?

The fact that Booth had a gimlet? Er, well I had a gimlet for years and it came in very handy but lost the darn thing. But I had no involvement in Lincoln's death. As for shavings in Booth's possession ? I'm not sure who made that claim..... whenever I used a gimlet the "shavings" were tiny and I didnt retain them! anyway ... so what if he did have shavings ?

Booth would have been well aware of the normal layout of the Presidential box. He'd have known that police or guards did not sit in there with them.

As for actually doing the boring? I know Booth was someone whose presence was accepted in the theatre. But I think it would have been a risky thing to do. Anybody could have passed by and said , "Hey ... whatcha doing, pal ?" I always found using a gimlet took a degree of time and strength (Ok, I'm no workman ... but neither was Booth). The hole would have had to have been of a size which gave a good view.

“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.”
― Flannery O'Connor

[RJNorton]

As for shavings in Booth's possession ? I'm not sure who made that claim

Michael, for a list of items on JWB's person at Garrett's please see Rich Smyth's post here.

[AussieMick]

thanks, Roger.
I was hoping someone would help me ( I was being lazy) with details of where the gimlet was found. As posted, "G. W. Bunker, a clerk at the National Hotel, who testified at the conspiracy trial that a gimlet with an iron handle was found in Booth's trunk."

And I see that Laurie was ahead of me (of course) in wondering why Booth would have retained the wood shavings.
Not that there would have much "shavings" from a peep hole. Powdered wood more like.
Whenever I've used a gimlet my instantaneous urge is to blow and brush every few moments to check whether the hole is big enough. The removed wood (what there is of it) sort of vanishes. Maybe Booth was more meticulous in tidying up.

---

I found this useful 'The hole in the door'
https://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussi...-2668.html

[RJNorton]

Bunker's testimony was as follows:

"I am clerk at the National Hotel. The day after the assassination I packed Booth's effects at the National, and had his trunk removed into our baggage-room. In his trunk I found a gimlet with an iron handle. I carried it to my room, and afterward gave it to Mr. Hall, who was attending to Mr. Ford's business."

Previous to Bunker's testimony T.K. Plant (a man who had examined the box's doors after the assassination) had testified as follows:

"I noticed a hole in the wall of the passage behind the boxes; it had the appearance of having been covered with something; I could not see what, as no remnant of it was left, in size about five by seven and a half or eight inches. I noticed also a hole, a little more than one-fourth of an inch in diameter, in the door of box 7. It is larger on the outside than it is on the inside. The left side of the hole feels rough, as if cut by a gimlet, while the lower part on the right-hand side appears to have been trimmed with a penknife or some sharp instrument. The hole might, I think, have been made by a penknife, and the roughness might have been caused by the back of the knife."

[Steve]

Despite what Frank Ford said in his letter, I still think it's more likely Booth bored the hole. If the theater managment had bored the hole, either they or the worker(s) who bored the hole would've likely said so. In fact, the head carpenter at Ford's Theatre testified during the John Surratt trial that he had no knowledge of who bored the hole. Presumably Booth would need something like that to make sure the President or anybody in his party were focused on the show. His chances of success would've been much higher if he could sneak right up behind the President unnoticed.

[J Hewitt]

I agree. I just wondered if everyone thought the same. Like others have said sounds like Ford didn't want people to think Booth had the run of the place. Which it seems he did.

[Dennis Urban]

Booth may very well have bored the hole. Also the possibility exists that the hole had already been there for some time to facilitate observation of the box occupants and Booth used his penknife to somewhat enlarge the hole to suit his use. The same penknife was then used to create the notch in the wall to fit his door brace.