I do know that there was a connection to another President...James Garfield. After he was shot, he was not masking much progress recuperating in the White House. It was thought that ocean air would help. He was taken by train to the Jersey shore where a "spur" line was laid from the RR to a cottage (since demolished) along the shore in Long Branch. He died here, I think 6 days later.

“They Escape to Mosby,” UTICA (NY) DAILY OBSERVER, April 17, 1865, “The murderers have probably escaped across the Potomac to Mosby.”

Didn't General Grant have a summer home in Long Branch NJ too??

Off topic but... I visited Alexander Lovett's grave over the weekend. He is buried in New Cathedral Cemetery (formerly known as Nicetown Cemetery) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the only one in the plot and there is no marker, not even a military one. The plot was purchased by Dr. Alexander Lovett. I do not know if that was him, a father or a son. I have not been able to find much information on him either before or after the war. Does anyone have anything? Thanks.

I had the opportunity to walk by Dr. Joseph Booth's summer home in Long Branch, NJ over the Labor Day weekend. It is easy to see what attracted him to the location; ocean front with great views, close to town and the back of the property fronted First Ave. (now Ocean Blvd.) only a couple of blocks from the RR station. The area is a little depressed now. There are only a handfull of the stately mansions left lining the beach. The rest have been torn down and are now empty lots or given way to now aging motels/hotels or apartment buildings. The Booth hiouse itself is up for sale and currently "under contract." It appears to have been converted to apartments and is not in very good shape. My guess is it will be torn down and converted to something that will generate income. The house has had numerous additions to it and it is difficult to tell what is original. The asking price was 1.2 milliion and the taxes were $24K per year. At this price I do not believe anyone will undertake the project of fixing up this historic building.

There is another home to the right of the Booth home that is connected to the Booth legend in a somewhat funny way. It seems that the owner of this house was going to open an ice cream parlor on his property. It is unknown if it would be in the main house or one of the numerous outbuildings in the back. Joseph Booth did not like the idea of all the traffic it would generate and decided to erect a fence between the two homes. The lots are large but the distance between these two homes are only about 25 feet or so. BTW - although all trace of the fence is gone, the neighboring house is still there although vacant, in very poor shape and also for sale. Well. it seems that certain townspeople did not like the idea of a fence and vocally protested. One day a group appeared at the front door of the Booth home. When Rosalie (JWB and Joseph's older spinster sister) who was staying at the home answered the door, the crown began yelling. As Rosalie started to close the door, someone threw a large rock denting the door. One wonders if it was the fence or the Booth name that incited the mob? I checked out the door. The original has been replaced.

Upon further checking... a statement from Lloyd on April 28, he states  that he only saw Booth on the night of the assassination, and wasn't aquainted with him. All the more reason that Lloyd was a liar, as many suspect.

I forgot to add that Surratt's Tavern was a stagecoach and mail stop from Washington to the lower counties.  The stage stopped there six days a week - going south one day, back north the next, etc.  We know that Booth took the coach at least once while visiting the Bryantown area.  Teams that pulled passenger and mail coaches would likely be fed, watered, transferred at the Surratts' livery stable, so that would give passengers time to at least imbibe or even have a meal at the public dining room table, depending on the layover.  That leaves another possibility for Booth to have been inside.

We have the Surratt Tavern account records (originals were confiscated and are in National Archives), but Booth's name doesn't show.  That would be natural, because he was not a regular customer who would have an account and was wealthy enough to pay up front -- yes, they had credit accounts even then, while they waited for crops to go to market.  In the case of a tobacco economy, market only came twice a year.

Laurie, you wondered at the historical significance of the possible December 23 release date. . . Frederick Aiken died on December 23, 1878.  Maybe they want to capitalize on that historical fact

Other than that statement to Lovett, we have no documentable evidence that Booth was ever INSIDE Surratt House.  HOWEVER, there is a newspaper interview done in the 1890s with one of Mrs. Surratt's former slaves, Aunt Rachel Hawkins, who stayed on at Surrattsville as a free servant after the Surratts moved to Washington.

In that interviesw, she talks about Booth being a visitor, entertaining patrons and servants, etc.  We actually include that interview on a display panel in a new room that we have opened over the kitchen to portray the cook's (Aunt Rachel) living space.  Whether it is the ramblings of an old lady, we can only guess.  When I get to work, I will try to remember to post the pertinent points.

BTW:  Thirty years later, Rachel was still defending her former mistress.

I think we can easlily skip 'Gods And Generals'