Last Requests

[antiquefinder]

Laurie- that is a chilling letter. I wonder if it's authentic? Since there were no wills back then, what did the wealthy people do when they died?

[BettyO]

Oh there were wills....just don't think that the Lincoln Conspirators had them - they didn't know (although they may have had an inkling) that they were going to die....especially the young ones. You just don't think about wills when you are 21-23 years old! At least I didn't.... I doubt that neither Powell or Herold did either....

Wills DID exist - I have Mary Branson's (Lew Powell's girlfriend/fiancee) will....

[antiquefinder]

Betty- you have Mary Branson's will? How awesome! I guess no mention of Lewis?

[BettyO]

Oh no....Lewis was long dead - Just leaving things to Maggie and her young cousins. Mary died young (age 40) of uterine cancer 5 years after Lewis was hanged.

[Laurie Verge]

Betty is quite right about wealthier people having wills. I believe that John Stanton or Rick Smith found the will for Dr. Richard Stuart in which he's giving quite a number of his various plantations to his heirs.

I have my great-great-grandfather's will that divides the property among his children - right down to the family graveyard being willed to "my heirs for eternity." That little phrase has frustrated a lot of real estate developers (so far).

[antiquefinder]

Oh no....Lewis was long dead - Just leaving things to Maggie and her young cousins. Mary died young (age 40) of uterine cancer 5 years after Lewis was hanged.

Betty- I don't know if this has been talked about in this forum, but did Mary ever mention Lewis about him being involved with the Lincoln assasination, or did she ever talk about him after he was dead?

[BettyO]

Not that we know of. Nothing was recorded except for one reference to the effect that Mary went into "great shock" when it was determined that Powell had attempted to assassinate Seward and had been arrested.

[KateH.]

There were definitely wills. I have a scanned copy of Sarah Slater's will. One of my college professors gave it to me.

[L Verge]

I have never seen that one, Kate! Will you share it with Surratt House via my e-mail? What else does your prof know about Sarah? She still remains a secret in many ways, despite the recent findings by John Stanton of this forum.

P.S. Your professor isn't by any chance Dr. Christie of Connecticut?

[KateH.]

Yes, that's her. She gave me a packet about the research that's been done on Sarah. There was a copy of the will, some pictures of her grave, and a few other pieces I still have to read. She mentioned working with John Stanton and Jane Singer. There was another person but I didn't catch the name. I'll scan the will into my computer and send it.

[L Verge]

Another person besides myself that Dr. Christie may have worked with is Herb Swingle of this forum. I first learned of Dr. Christie when I saw that she was giving a talk on Women of the Civil War. Mention was made of Ms. Slater. I immediately contacted her as a possible conference speaker, but she told me that she had not yet acquired enough material to do a good talk. That was about three years ago, before I put her in contact with John, Jane, and others. She has been very helpful, but I have not yet seen some of the "evidence." I certainly understand that she is keeping it close in order to complete her work on Sarah Slater.

I do appreciate your sharing what she shared with you, and I will mark it so that it cannot be reproduced without permission of Dr. Christie.

[Mike Kanazawich]

I just wanted to say how happy I was to see that you history lovers enjoyed my little book. I was quite flattered by your comments. Thank you so much. I do not spend much time on the computer but when I am less busy, I will look in more often. Thanks again.

[Jim Garrett]

I just wanted to say how happy I was to see that you history lovers enjoyed my little book. I was quite flattered by your comments. Thank you so much. I do not spend much time on the computer but when I am less busy, I will look in more often. Thanks again.

Mike, great to see you on the site. Your book is highly enjoyable.

[BettyO]

Your book is jam packed with some very interesting things, Mike! Glad to see you post --

Gettysburg is my FAVORITE battlefield -

[Laurie Verge]

Mike - So glad to see you posting. I know how much effort you put into that book, and it's a good seller here at Surratt House. Can't wait to have you share some of your experiences here (as well as things you have learned/encountered as a licensed battlefield guide at Gettysburg).