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Pamela · (This post was last modified: 10-17-2015 07:57 AM by Pamela.)

I don't have a lot of "faith" in Conroy's account--Mrs Surratt's ghost on the wing, The Pope and the Southern Confederacy, the flaming hyena mouth,etc. It's possible that he manipulated the truth about his original source for the manuscript story. Maybe it would be improper for a priest to have discussions about Weichmann with his altar boy--abuse of power and authority and so on. Hence, Father Conroy wouldn't want to disclose that it was altar boy Abel who was the source of the manuscript story, which originally was told to him by Father Mulcahy, but Conroy could have talked with Abel later as well. There never was a young man secretary who talked to Conroy, just a young man, Joseph Abel. When Abel wrote his article which included a story about Weichmann's manuscript, his version wasn't as Catholic conspiracy oriented as it became in the version related by Father Conroy, who may have gotten it that way from Farther Mulcahy, or maybe that was his own embellishment. Anderson was a sleepy small town and even pastors might need drama and fantasy. It's compelling to me that both the Secretary 's and Abel's versions portray Mary as innocent, something that Weichmann never said.

I'm envisioning Weichmann in Anderson as the painting The Scream, at least to Fathers Mulcahy and Conroy.

(10-16-2015 03:16 PM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote: If Abel typed a manuscript for Weichmann, why didn't he say so in his 1959 interview? I can't think of any reason for him to conceal this fact, as he evidently had a good opinion of Weichmann.

Not sure what you mean about information being provided to two priests--do you mean Mulcahy and Conroy? What information was provided to Mulcahy?

I don't find it improbable that Abel and the anonymous secretary were different people--evening schools attract working people, and there could have been any number of people who did various jobs for Weichmann's school in exchange for tuition. Anyway, the always-chatty Abel doesn't mention moonlighting as a typist or selling office supplies in his recollection here (also from 1959):

BTW, I came across this letter from Weichmann to Judge Bingham just now, reminding Bingham of the "meed of praise" to which Weichmann is entitled and asking him to send him a letter for his book. I wonder if Bingham replied.

http://alplm-cdi.com/chroniclingillinois.../show/8325

He wasn't getting much praise from the local clergy.

L Verge · (This post was last modified: 10-16-2015 06:12 PM by L Verge.)

What a letter! Nothing like telling a man that he's probably going to die soon, so get busy and get me some recognition before that happens -- even if it is just a letter that will help his book sell better.

I would still love to know what caused Fr. Mulcahy to dislike Weichmann so much - if indeed he did. Fr. Conroy's repeating the story seems to me to be a rather innocent way to link Anderson to the story of Mrs. Surratt at the time that Helen Jones Campbell's sympathetic portrayal of the lady was being published as the first "history" of Surratt in the 20th century (I think that's accurate - someone correct me if I have forgotten something previous other than DeWitt's).

That said, the school teacher in Episcopalian me has suffered long enough. Please use the correct spelling of "altar" boy from now on... Abel was not an altered boy, he was serving at the altar of God.

Gene C · (This post was last modified: 10-16-2015 06:50 PM by Gene C.)

(10-16-2015 06:00 PM)L Verge Wrote: Please use the correct spelling of "altar" boy from now on... Abel was not an altered boy, he was serving at the altar of God.

They used to use altered boys in the choir
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castrato

L Verge · 10-16-2015, 07:14 PM

(10-16-2015 06:48 PM)Gene C Wrote:
(10-16-2015 06:00 PM)L Verge Wrote: Please use the correct spelling of "altar" boy from now on... Abel was not an altered boy, he was serving at the altar of God.

They used to use altered boys in the choir
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castrato

Gene - I actually started to use the word "eunuch," but decided to be a bit more genteel.

There are many wonderful boys' choirs today (the National Cathedral here in DC having one) that use those talented voices of many pre-pubescent young men to reach high notes before age changes reduce them to tenors, baritones or bass.

Pamela · 10-17-2015, 12:20 AM

I've changed my misspellings. It's pretty obvious I'm not Catholic! At least I provided inspiration for Gene's creative mind. Big Grin

Susan Higginbotham · 10-27-2015, 12:24 PM

If anyone's feeling flush, some papers relating to Weichmann, including some letters from Richards and a draft chapter from his book, are on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=&_s...r&_sacat=0

Gene C · 10-27-2015, 01:12 PM

These look more expensive than the last time we saw them on ebay. Confused

emma1231 · 12-25-2019, 12:23 AM

I'm about five years late in posting my thoughts about the subject of whether or not the man in the window of the Commissary Gen'l of Prisoners, etc; is Louis Weichmann. I just stumbled upon it! I always believed it was "probably" him. He worked in the building, that we are sure of. Since it was a group shot of all or some of the employees, it's likely that it's him. Whoever was responsible for the blow-up shown here did a terrific job. I must assume there was no attempt at doctoring it in any way. It's like seeing it for the first time! As someone (Laurie?) pointed out, the chin line seems diff't. but it could be due to the fact that the man is smiling with a grin, which could have made his chinline seem diff't. I am not sure, as I think Gene said, that the hair is parted on the same side. It appears NOT to be, in my opinion. But that's not a certainty. The hairline seems lower on the man in the window, but that, too, could be just the way the his hair is combed. He is dressed identically. So I still think it's "probably" LJW.
By the way, I am no so sure it was Mike Kauffman who first came up with this matter. (Did someone say he did so in a Civil War magazine in 1985??) Sometime in 1976 I reported in my old Lincoln Log newsletter that Pep and/or Ray Martin came up with it. I believe I also showed a photo of Pep standing in the room, at that very same window. Ray no doubt took the picture. Unfortunately, an air conditioner precluded Pep from being photographed from the outside of the building. -- Richard Sloan[/i]

RJNorton · 12-25-2019, 04:47 AM

For those folks not familiar with what photo Richard is talking about, here is a LOC photo of the office of the Commissary General of Prisoners where Weichmann worked.

This is a blowup of the man in an upper window, second from the left.

The question: is this man Louis Weichmann?

Mike Kauffman suggested the possibility/probability in his article entitled "John Wilkes Booth and the Murder of Abraham Lincoln" in Volume 7, issue 4 (1990) of Blue & Gray Magazine.

Here is a side-by-side with the Commissary General of Prisoners' photo flipped:

emma1231 · (This post was last modified: 01-25-2020 12:34 PM by emma1231.)

The idea that this might possibly be Weichmann was first proposed in the mid 1970's by Forest Bowman of Charleston, W. Va. , which I reported in my old newsletter, THE LINCOLN LOG. Reader Pep Martin read about Bowman's find and discovered that the building in which the "mystery figure" appeared at the window, once the Commissary General of Prisoners office in D.C. , still stands (at 20th and F Streets). He obtained permission to venture inside and upstairs, where friend John C. Brennan photographed him standing next to the same window. (An air conditioner prohibited him from being photographed outside, assuming the same pose.) His picture appeared in my newsletter, with matching pictures of the building "then and now."
Incidentally, the blow-up of the mystery man that appears on this website is I think it should be corrected. I always thought it is Weichmann, but now I am not so sure.

I mean to write that the blowup on this site is backwards and ought to be corrected.

Sorry to hog this site with this matter. I think Roger posted the close up of the man in the window backwards deliberately, but I think that could be misleading in efforts to identify him as Weichmann, and should be corrected. I wonder if Weichmann could be one of the men posing in front of the building, instead. For instance -- one of them is standing in front with his hand raised as though he is holding his lapel. He's also a good candidate for being Weichmann. I once asked the Library of Congress if they have a print or negative of this photograph, and they reported back that they do not.

Gene C · 06-02-2020, 07:18 AM

In Susan's post #456 from 2015, there were some Weichmann - Richards letters and papers for sale.
The same ebay link from back then is still alive. Either these are new documents for sale, or the same documents from 5 years ago that are still for sale.
Anyone familiar with Nate Sanders Auctions ?

https://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=&_...r&_sacat=0

This one caught my eye - a typed reply to a letter Weichmann had written. In that reply is a reference to an article Weichmann had written in the Indianapolis Journal. I'm curious about what he wrote.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Abe-Lincoln-Ass...SwZjJU-Krc Confused

c:USPSPriority!42431!US!-1

My research skills are a bit limited. Would someone be willing and able to find the article and link or post it?

Rob Wick · 06-02-2020, 03:00 PM

Gene,

The Library of Congress's site Chronicling America has the Indianapolis Journal digitized. Doing a search in the year 1898 for "Weichman" and "Weichmann" doesn't return anything written by him, although there are a couple of articles written in April of 1898 that mention him. I'm not sure if that's what the letter writer was referring to or not.

Best
Rob

Susan Higginbotham · (This post was last modified: 06-03-2020 07:00 PM by Susan Higginbotham.)

He wrote a long, self-justifying letter published in the Pittsburgh Post on April 17, 1898, that contained testimonials from various prominent people who had known him. Perhaps he wrote a similar letter for the Indiana paper, or perhaps the Indiana paper picked up the Pittsburgh correspondence. I can send it to Roger if anyone's interested.

Gene C · 06-03-2020, 08:03 PM

Thank you and I'm interested.

Rob Wick · 06-03-2020, 09:21 PM

Susan and Gene,

I looked again, and what I thought was an article was in actuality the letter written by Weichmann. Guess I'm getting blinder in my old age. Here is the link to it on the LOC website. To get to the second page, simply click on the "next page" button at the top of the screen.

Best
Rob

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/...nge&page=1