w 
 
 It 
 
 ERNEST C. MILLER 
 
 John Wilkes Booth 
 
 A previously unknown port of the assassin's life 
 
 now told for the first time from newly discovered 
 
 material 
 
$2.50 
 
 A 
 
 tfohn lA/uked ffJooth 
 
 — OILMAN 
 
 ERNEST C. MILLER 
 
 A GREAT deal has been written about 
 John Wilkes Booth, much of it true, much 
 of it untrue. In John Wilkes Booth — 
 Oilman, Ernest C. Miller has covered a 
 phase of the assassin's life about which 
 little was known, and that little generally 
 inaccurate. Mr. Miller has not ignored the 
 acting part of Booth's career, and throws 
 new light on it, but it is chiefly with 
 Booth the oilman that the author has 
 concerned himself. He has gone through 
 considerable research to gather and col- 
 late his facts, the result being a fascinat- 
 ing account of Booth's adventure in the 
 oil business. But it is his engrossing por- 
 trait of Booth the man which adds lustre 
 to the biography. 
 
 The book, which throws new light on 
 
II . C. II 
 
 J It ft 1 1 [; !; S S 1 3 rj I n 
 
 (i i; P. I : : l 
 
LINCOLN ROOM 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
 MEMORIAL 
 
 the Class of 1901 
 
 founded by 
 
 HARLAN HOYT HORNER 
 
 and 
 
 HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://archive.org/details/johnwilkesboothoOOmill 
 
JOHN WILKES BOOTH 
 — OILMAN 
 
Also by the same author: 
 
 Oil Mania - 1941 
 
 (Editor) The History of Pithole- 1945 
 
Q 5 
 
 A previously unknown part of the assassin's life 
 
 now told for the first time from newly discovered 
 
 material 
 
 /johvi Wilkes l/Dootk 
 -OILMAN 
 
 (Ernest C 
 
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Copyright 1947 by Ernest C MWer 
 
 ITprintedII 
 
 |l_IN USA J 
 

 FOREWORD 
 
 This work started when only incomplete information 
 could be found concerning John Wilkes Booth's interest 
 in the Pennsylvania oil fields. The search for facts that 
 could be verified soon led to Mr. Louis J. Mackey. 
 
 In 1894, Mackey was a twenty-three year old boy 
 who was the manager of the Postal Telegraph-Cable 
 Company at Franklin, Pa. He augmented his income by 
 acting as the regional correspondent for several news- 
 papers. Mrs. Sarah Webber, his grandmother, was post- 
 mistress of the town, and Booth had lived in her home 
 during most of his Franklin sojourn as had his business 
 associate, Joseph H. Simonds. 
 
 As a young man, Mackey lived with his grandmother 
 and occupied the same room Booth had used. Because 
 he was interested in the history of the assassin, he lis- 
 tened eagerly to the stories of his relatives, and inter- 
 viewed many others who had known Booth personally 
 or had business dealings with him. The results he re- 
 corded in "Phillips' code," a shorthand method designed 
 by Walter P. Phillips for the use of court and news- 
 paper reporters. 
 
 Mr. Mackey filed his extensive completed notes away 
 and spent busy years as a telegraph supervisor and 
 newspaper editor. He retired in 1941 at Pittsburgh and 
 three years later returned to his boyhood town of 
 Franklin. He allowed me to transcribe his original notes 
 and gave me exclusive use of his material; in addition, he 
 furnished more information in three lengthy interviews 
 during 1942 and 1943. 
 
The writer acknowledges a heavy debt to Mr. Mackey. 
 It had been arranged that he would read the finished 
 manuscript but his sudden death late in 1945 prevented 
 this. 
 
 All the notes, consisting of sources used, explana- 
 tions of aid in understanding parts of the text, and com- 
 ments by the author, have been placed in the back of 
 the volume because it is recognized many readers will 
 not wish to either refer to them casually or use as a 
 basis for their own additional research. 
 
 Ernest C. Miller 
 Warren, "Pennsylvania 
 25 November 1946 
 
Is there a crime 
 Beneath the roof of Heaven that stains the soul 
 Of man with more infernal hue than damn A 
 Assassination ? 
 
 COLLEY ClBBER 
 
 "Caesar in Egypt/' I 
 c. 1710. 
 
JOHN WILKES BOOTH 
 — OILMAN 
 
/jokn Wilkes vjSootk - \Jlty, 
 
 man 
 
 ACTOR'S DILEMMA 
 
 Junius Brutus Booth, an English actor, deserted his 
 wife and child and with an attractive London flower 
 girl named Mary Ann Holmes, sailed for America in 1821. 
 Settling at Bel- Air, Maryland, twenty-five miles north 
 of Baltimore, talented Junius soon became the foremost 
 Shakespearean actor in America, a position he held with 
 little competition for over thirty years. Of the ten chil- 
 dren born to the couple, John Wilkes was the youngest. 
 He was born in May of 1838. 1 
 
 Few youngsters of the period grew up in an environ- 
 ment comparable to that surrounding John Wilkes. With 
 a farm of one hundred fifty acres for his playground, 
 he roamed at will in the pleasant country and learned 
 to appreciate nature. The farm served as an early school 
 for him. 2 Not only did he love wild life and show signs 
 of tenderness toward it, a trait exhibited by all the fam- 
 ily, but he personally trained his pony and rode it as 
 only an expert could. The pony was an important part 
 of his young life and he called it Cola di Rienzi after the 
 famous Roman tribune. 
 
 As most children do, John fought with other children 
 and he grew angry too easily; his father set a poor prece- 
 dent for a son who was only too quick to follow his 
 lead. John's schooling was erratic. He first attended the 
 Milton Boarding School near Cockeysville, Maryland; 
 it was operated by John E. Lamb, a Quaker. Here he 
 
 —11— 
 
gained a reputation which a classmate, sixty- three years 
 later, described in these words: 
 
 "Jack was a bad boy and used to fag the smaller 
 boys cruelly. He was a bully until a short, stout 
 boy, from the Eastern Shore, matriculated and Jack 
 tried to fag him, but that boy turned on Jack and 
 thrashed him terribly and he never crowed again/" 
 
 At York, Pa., in 1853, he next attended Bland's School 
 for a short time. The quality of the institution can be 
 imagined from this description : 
 
 "Bland's boys learned but little and were taught 
 less. There was no system, no regular course of 
 study, nor recitation/' 
 
 After a short period of operation, Bland went into 
 bankruptcy and his school disappeared. Next, with his 
 brother Joseph, John attended St. Timothy's Hall, an 
 Episcopalian academy of a semi-military nature near 
 Catonsville, a Baltimore suburb. 
 
 While his mother smothered him with loving care 
 and spoiled him because he was her favorite son, Wilkes' 
 father provided more than a few bad examples. Junius 
 carried his stage manner into everyday life and drank 
 too much and too often. He was friendly with such 
 notables as Andrew Jackson, yet always found time to 
 frolic with his many drinking companions, especially 
 with the famous Sam Houston. 
 
 Throughout the years he was accused of being more 
 than a little insane and he did everything possible to 
 convey that impression. Elaborate funerals were held for 
 dead pigeons; the actor appeared on the stage in a drunk- 
 en stupor; and one time he was fortunately rescued by 
 
 —n— 
 
iivncrn 
 
 sailors after he had thrown himself into the sea in a sui- 
 c\(\e> attpmnt while mailing the Atlantic* Sane men have 
 
 life eventually 
 cal endurance, 
 only fourteen, 
 arly in the life 
 )le companion- 
 arent. But this 
 excellent acting 
 ible impression 
 in — all wanted 
 er Joseph tried 
 ne a physician, 
 he advantages 
 id the physical 
 ig god, flashing 
 and the famous 
 is older brother 
 , Wilkes' tem- 
 \ apprenticeship 
 s. Slowly Edwin 
 o the top; John 
 d, and perhaps 
 perfect features, 
 to impress and 
 
 :specially one at 
 er, should have 
 In 1857, at the 
 of a minor role 
 e spectators and 
 art, the manage- 
 
 
 C^medt C rv Idler 
 
gained a reputation which a classmate, sixty-three years 
 later, described 
 
 ff Jack was a 
 boys cruelly, 
 boy, from the 
 tried to fag h 
 thrashed him 
 
 At York, Pa., 
 for a short time 
 imagined from tl 
 
 "Bland's be 
 less. There ^ 
 study, nor re 
 
 After a short 
 bankruptcy and 
 brother Joseph, 
 Episcopalian ac 
 Catonsville, a Be 
 
 While his m 
 and spoiled him 
 father provided 
 carried his stag 
 too much and 
 notables as And 
 frolic with his 
 with the famous 
 
 Throughout 1 
 than a little im 
 convey that imp 
 dead pigeons; th 
 en stupor; and 
 
 A GREAT deal has been written about 
 John Wilkes Booth, much of it true, much 
 of it untrue. In John Wilkes Booth — 
 Oilman, Ernest C. Miller has covered a 
 phase of the assassin's life about which 
 little was known, and that little generally 
 inaccurate. Mr. Miller has not ignored the 
 acting part of Booth's career, and throws 
 new light on it, but it is chiefly with 
 Booth the oilman that the author has 
 concerned himself. He has gone through 
 considerable research to gather and col- 
 late his facts, the result being a fascinat- 
 ing account of Booth's adventure in the 
 oil business. But it is his engrossing por- 
 trait of Booth the man which adds lustre 
 to the biography. 
 
 The book, which throws new light on 
 why Booth retired unwillingly from the 
 stage, contains considerable references to 
 aid the reader, and the photographs, pub- 
 lished for the first time, lend pictorial 
 interest to the text. 
 
 The author was born and raised in the 
 heart of the oil country. He learned much 
 of the oil business from his grandfather, 
 his father, and other relatives engaged 
 in it. 
 
 After finishing at Penn State (1934), 
 and doing graduate work on petroleum 
 technology there, he was a special inves- 
 
sailors after he had thrown himself 
 
 tigator against malpractice in the oil 
 industry in New England and Eastern 
 Canada, employed by the Pennsylvania 
 Grade Crude Oil Association. In 1940 he 
 joined the staff of the West Penn Oil 
 Company. Late in 1942 he joined the 
 Red Cross where he served as a Field 
 Director with various Army units until 
 January of 1946. Since that time he has 
 returned to his former employment. 
 
 In 1941 he wrote Oil Mania, a brief 
 history of the oil fields, and in 1946 
 served as editor for the rare The History 
 of Pithole. Frequent articles relative to 
 historical oildom and semi-technical pres- 
 ent day petroleum problems have come 
 from his pen. 
 
 $2.50 per copy 
 
 into the sea in a sui- 
 
 Sane men have 
 
 life eventually 
 
 ical endurance. 
 
 only fourteen. 
 
 sarly in the life 
 
 ble companion- 
 
 went. But this 
 
 excellent acting 
 
 lible impression 
 
 hn — all wanted 
 
 ler Joseph tried 
 
 me a physician. 
 
 the advantages 
 
 ad the physical 
 
 ig god, flashing 
 
 and the famous 
 
 lis older brother 
 
 i, Wilkes' tem- 
 
 l apprenticeship 
 
 s. Slowly Edwin 
 
 io the top; John 
 
 :d, and perhaps 
 
 perfect features, 
 
 to impress and 
 
 especially one at 
 :er, should have 
 In 1857, at the 
 of a minor role 
 e spectators and 
 art, the manage- 
 
gained a reputation which a classmate, sixty-three years 
 later, described 
 
 "Jack was 
 boys cruelly, 
 boy, from th( 
 tried to fag 1 
 thrashed him 
 
 At York, Pa., 
 for a short tim 
 imagined from 1 
 
 "Bland's b 
 less. There \ 
 study, nor n 
 
 After a shor 
 bankruptcy and 
 brother Joseph, 
 Episcopalian a( 
 Catonsville, a B 
 
 While his n 
 and spoiled him 
 father provided 
 carried his sta£ 
 too much and 
 notables as Anc 
 frolic with his 
 with the famou 
 
 Throughout 
 than a little in 
 convey that imj 
 dead pigeons; tl 
 en stupor; and 
 
 ORDER BLANK 
 
 THE EXPOSITION PRESS, 
 One Spruce Street, 
 New York 7, N. Y. 
 
 Kindly send me copy (copies) of 
 
 John Wilkes Booth — Oilman for which 
 I enclose $2.50 per copy. 
 
 Name. 
 
 Address 
 
sailors after he had thrown himself into the sea in a sui- 
 cide attempt while sailing the Atlantic* Sane men have 
 seldom acted in a like manner. His hard life eventually 
 ruined his nerves and shattered his physical endurance. 
 He died in 1852 when John Wilkes was only fourteen. 
 
 Ordinarily, the death of a father so early in the life 
 of his youngest son robs the boy of valuable companion- 
 ship and the advantages offered by the parent. But this 
 man could not be easily forgotten; his excellent acting 
 and strange behaviorism made an indelible impression 
 on all his sons. Junius Jr., Edwin, and John — all wanted 
 to become actors and they all did. Brother Joseph tried 
 acting too but gave up the stage to become a physician. 
 
 Contemplating a theatrical career, the advantages 
 Wilkes could muster were many. He had the physical 
 make-up of an athlete, the face of a young god, flashing 
 eyes, wavy black locks, pleasing manners, and the famous 
 Booth name. The growing reputation of his older brother 
 Edwin was valuable, but unlike Edwin, Wilkes' tem- 
 perament prohibited his serving any long apprenticeship 
 towards the learning of theatre techniques. Slowly Edwin 
 was gaining fame that subsequently led to the top; John 
 wanted immediate acclaim. He believed, and perhaps 
 rightly so, that his graceful manners, perfect features, 
 and bold stage actions were sufficient to impress and 
 satisfy most of his audiences. 
 
 Some of his first experiences, and especially one at 
 Philadelphia during his early stage career, should have 
 warned him of this error in judgment. In 1857, at the 
 Arch Street Theatre, his performance of a minor role 
 was bad enough to bring jeers from the spectators and 
 stage fright to the novice. In another part, the manage- 
 
 —13— 
 
ment hauled him from the stage in disgust and anger. 6 
 Two years previously John had made his debut in Bal- 
 timore, but during the interval he failed to recognize 
 the necessity for correct lines and careful performances. 
 Never again was he to regard Philadelphia as a friendly 
 city, and he did not care to appear there. 
 
 At first Booth played under the name "J. Wilkes" and 
 a year after his humiliation in Philadelphia he was earn- 
 ing twenty dollars weekly in George Kunkel's stock 
 company in the South. 6 Of the many places he played, 
 Richmond proved exceedingly kind to him. The applause 
 there was long and hearty, and the dashing young actor 
 was sought for the social activities of the city. Here was 
 welded to him forever his love for the South and its 
 people; he enjoyed their mode of living, their high spirits 
 and gallantry. And perhaps most of all, he enjoyed their 
 praise of John Wilkes Booth. 
 
 About this time Edwin wrote of Wilkes' ability in an 
 informative letter to his brother: "I don't think he will 
 startle the world ... but he is improving fast, and looks 
 beautiful on the platform/' 7 Little could Edwin have 
 guessed just how completely this brother would amaze 
 the entire world, nor by what means he would accom- 
 plish it. 
 
 Years later, others who were well qualified to judge, 
 reported with favor of young Booth's ability on the stage. 
 Clara Morris and Mrs. J. H. Gilbert both worked with 
 him and had little but praise for his performances. Their 
 opinion was substantiated by such actors as Edwin Var- 
 rey and John McCullough. Sir Charles Wyndham, the 
 English amateur actor who turned professional while in 
 this country, also thought John most able and went to 
 
 —14— 
 
considerable lengths to explain his reasons in an inter- 
 view given to a New York paper in 1909. 8 
 
 One thing about Wilkes people did not admire was 
 his violent temper. Many times it caused him consider- 
 able trouble, but it did not deter women from idolizing 
 him. Some of them brought trouble as well as their 
 adoration. Such a woman was Miss Henrietta Irving, a 
 Buffalo actress, who created a scene in Albany where 
 Booth was playing at the Gayety Theatre. During April, 
 
 1861, she entered his room at Stanwix Hall and tried to 
 kill him with a dagger. The actor suffered a cut face 
 which could have marred his looks. The actress, seem- 
 ingly overcome by remorse at what she had attempted, 
 rushed back to her own room and stabbed herself. How- 
 ever, her remorse was not great enough to allow the 
 blade to make a fatal plunge and she recovered. 9 
 
 John Wilkes began his acting in 1862 in an impressive 
 manner, determined to improve his standing and to gain 
 greater prestige. For the first half of the year his work 
 and reviews demonstrated how seriously he was trying to 
 better his career. As larger crowds came to see him, John 
 found a decided benefit in using the family name in 
 his billings. The value of it increased as other members 
 of the clan continued to collect lustre and glory. In May, 
 
 1862, he arrived in Boston where he was well received. 
 An unknown Boston reporter soon gave him some ex- 
 cellent advice which the young man must have seen, 
 although he did not profit by it. This observer wrote : 
 
 "With a view to observing if Mr. Wilkes Booth 
 were winning for himself his father's triumphs, or if 
 he were likely so to do, we have taken pains to see 
 him in each of the characters which he assumed 
 
 —15— 
 
during the last week, Richard III, Romeo, Charles 
 DeMoor, and Hamlet. We have been greatly pleased 
 and greatly disappointed . . . 
 
 ff In what does he fail? Principally, in knowledge 
 of himself — of his resources, how to husband and 
 how to use them. He is, apparently, entirely ignorant 
 of the main principles of elocution. We do not mean 
 by this word merely enunciation, but the nature 
 and proper treatment of the voice as well. He ig- 
 nores the fundamental principle of all vocal study 
 and exercise — that the chest, and not the throat or 
 mouth, should supply the sound necessary for sing- 
 ing or speaking . . . 
 
 "When Mr. Booth wishes to be forcible or im- 
 pressive, he produces a mongrel sound in the back 
 of the mouth or top of the throat, which by itself 
 would be unintelligible and without effect; by a 
 proper use of his vocal organs he might draw from 
 that fine trunk of his a resonant, deep tone whose 
 mere sound in the ear of one who knew not the 
 language should give a hint of the emotion to be 
 thereby conveyed. In this connection we need simply 
 say that his proclivity to a nasal quality is most ap- 
 parent, and bodes great harm to his delivery if not 
 checked at once . . . 3,1 ° 
 
 Two years later, if Booth recalled these words at all, 
 he must have given grudging respect to his critic. The 
 criticism did not reduce the size of his audiences, gen- 
 erally well filled with women, and it did not alter his 
 acting. 
 
 As his apparent lack of vocal knowledge continued, the 
 handicap made a definite drain on the actor's physical 
 condition and in 1 863 John found himself hampered by a 
 throat impediment. On diagnosis the weakness proved 
 to be a form of bronchial trouble. At intervals his voice 
 
 —16— 
 
turned harsh and ugly, and constant stage work ag- 
 gravated the condition. Early in 1864 a severe attack 
 halted his acting, but he recovered and wrote rather 
 eagerly to a friend of his recuperation and pending 
 theatrical engagements. 11 
 
 With Richard III he opened a run in New Orleans on 
 March 14, 1864. This proved to be his greatest triumph. 
 He was received with unequalled enthusiasm and in 
 exchange for the appreciation, Wilkes threw himself 
 into the engagement with great energy. This effort proved 
 too much for his already over-strained voice. The theatre 
 critic of 7he "New Orleans limes was perturbed about 
 his condition: 
 
 "It is a matter of regret/' he explained, "that 
 he is at present laboring under a severe hoarseness, 
 in consequence of which his efforts have been much 
 less satisfactory to himself than to his friends, but 
 we trust his speedy recovery may enable him to 
 continue to the merit of his endeavors. He has cer- 
 tainly created a furore here, which will continue 
 through his engagement/' 12 
 
 His further success in New Orleans was short and 
 after several days the same paper voiced disapproval in 
 stronger language. 13 The next Sunday edition brought 
 surprising news with this notice: 
 
 "notice — The management of the St. Charles 
 Theatre regrets to inform the public that in conse- 
 quence of the severe and continued cold under 
 which Mr. Booth has been laboring for several days, 
 and at the suggestion of his medical adviser, he is 
 compelled to take a short respite from his engage- 
 ment. Due notice will be given of his next appear- 
 
 ance." 14 
 
 —17— 
 
Wilkes did appear for a few more performances but 
 the following week brought his stay to an end. 
 
 'The day of reckoning has arrived/' wrote one 
 Booth authority, commenting on this sudden cessa- 
 tion of stage appearances. "Wilkes' hoarseness was 
 not due to a bronchial infection resulting from a 
 severe cold but was the reprisal from the lack of 
 early study and training in voice control/' 15 
 
 Whether the affliction was indirectly due to a lack 
 of training or merely the direct result of bronchitis is 
 of slight importance — the end result was to be the same. 
 It was trouble enough to spell ruin to any stage career 
 and adequately proved the keen observation made earlier 
 by the Boston reporter. 
 
 Another New Orleans newspaperman thought Booth 
 was suffering from a handicap but hoped for a better 
 engagement the next year: 
 
 "Mr. J. Wilkes Booth repeated his personation 
 of the 'Corsican Brothers' last night," he told his 
 readers, "and to-night he finishes his engagement 
 as he began with 'Richard III.' Actors are not over 
 prone to praise each other, but we have heard a 
 good actor say that J. Wilkes Booth had quite as 
 decided theatrical talent as any member of his tal- 
 ented family. It is a matter of regret that a physical 
 disability (we trust temporary) prevented his en- 
 gagement from being so gratifying to himself or his 
 friends as v/as desirable, and we look for his return 
 here next season under more favorable auspices." 1 * 
 
 Scorning any advice, Wilkes went ahead playing with 
 little or no rest. Late in April he drew divided comment 
 in Boston, where he had had throat difficulty two years 
 before. Wrote one astute reporter: 
 
 —18— 
 
"Mr. Booth played the part of 'Evelyn' at the 
 Museum last evening with a tact, grace and appre- 
 ciation of the character such as few but himself 
 can exhibit upon the stage, the only drawback be- 
 ing the cold which restrains his voice. [Italics by 
 the author.] The company, too, put their best feet 
 foremost, and the large audience was kept in ex- 
 cellent humor throughout the evening." 17 
 
 By this time Booth's condition had become such that 
 he would have to do something about it at once. 
 
 Knowing in his heart that his theatrical days were 
 numbered, though never admitting this to his friends, the 
 actor must have wondered how he could best maintain 
 himself in a field outside his profession. He fully recog- 
 nized that his tastes in clothing, food, accommodations, 
 and the luxuries of life, were in a class calling for an 
 income well above the average. By his own admission his 
 income from the theatre had exceeded $20,000 in some 
 years and in the 1860's this was a magnificent sum. 15 
 
 As a proud,haughty and successful young actor, Wilkes 
 was in a position where circumstances dictated imme- 
 diate action, yet he must select his new line of business 
 with much care. It must present the possibility of high 
 returns without menial labor. It must be something he 
 could talk about to his friends and family without fear 
 of probing questions. It would be better if the site of the 
 endeavor were removed from the theatrical tour routes; 
 this would serve the triple purpose of saving many ex- 
 planations, allowing time and a place for the restoration 
 of his health, and automatically provide an excuse for 
 the halting of his stage appearances. The likelihood also 
 existed that Booth wanted to get away from the stage 
 
 —19— 
 
routine long enoug to think and plan his future activity 
 against Lincoln. 
 
 To find some means of securing an income, with the 
 source filling most of these qualifications, was a large 
 order for anyone in 1864. Dashing John Wilkes Booth, 
 with a consuming desire for continued fame and fortune, 
 found himself faced with a dilemma calling for perfect 
 acting. 
 
 -20— 
 
TROUBLE 
 
 From the very outbreak of the Civil War, Wilkes 
 Booth sided with the Confederacy. As early as 1861, 
 while playing in Albany, he went about that city de- 
 nouncing the North and its policies; finally he attracted 
 so much unfavorable notice that the treasurer of the 
 theatre where he was engaged was delegated to warn 
 the actor to use more care and common sense. In effect, 
 Wilkes was warned to keep his remarks more in line 
 with public opinion. 19 This blunt warning must have in- 
 flamed him still more against the North and its leaders. 
 
 Wilkes was often antagonistic towards his brother 
 Edwin over the war situation and their words became 
 so heated that Edwin, in desperation, banned war con- 
 versation while Wilkes was in his home. Wilkes even 
 fought physically with John Sleeper Clarke, his brother- 
 in-law, after Clarke had made a disparaging comment 
 about Jefferson Davis. 20 
 
 The full rage of the actor was vented on President 
 Lincoln. In April, 1863, Wilkes was arraigned before 
 Colonel H. L. McConnell at St. Louis and charged with 
 treasonable utterances against the government. After 
 paying a fine and taking the oath of allegiance, he was 
 released to continue the circulation of his ardent Seces- 
 sionist opinions. 81 
 
 Wherever Wilkes went, there went with him an air 
 of insolence — insolence against the President, the North- 
 ern cause, and all those who supported it. His sympathy 
 for the South grew to be a part of him and there were 
 none who knew him well who did not fully recognize 
 his position at a Southern zealot. 
 
 —7\— 
 
THE OIL COUNTRY 
 
 The year 1859 stands out as an important one in the 
 industrial history of our country, because in August of 
 that year, Colonel Edwin L. Drake, a former merchant 
 and railroad conductor, struck oil by drilling a well near 
 Titusville, in northwestern Pennsylvania. 22 
 
 Drake was selected as the representative of a firm 
 founded by New York City and New Haven men, and 
 he was picked because he had made a small investment 
 in the company and happened to be readily available. 
 
 The region of his drilling experiment was an agricul- 
 tural and lumbering section with the population small 
 in number and well scattered. His shallow-drilled well 
 was the first real attempt to secure oil commercially; 
 because the well was so far removed from the cities, 
 news of its success traveled slowly. It was fully two 
 months before metropolitan papers made proper men- 
 tion of Drake's astonishing find. 23 
 
 The first prospectors to follow in Drake's footsteps 
 were men from the immediate vicinity of Titusville, 
 skillful and inventive, but with practically no capital 
 for the purchase of drilling tools, hemp, adequate tank- 
 age, and for larger derricks, steam boilers, and coal for 
 fuel which would all be needed later. 
 
 It took considerable time for the country to discover 
 that the new product, after simple distillation, was a far 
 better illuminant than "coal oil" or the more expensive 
 "sperm oil." It took less time for factory managers to 
 proclaim that petroleum provided the perfect lubricant. 
 What held up the news of the importance of oil and its 
 
 —■22— 
 
many uses, was the fact that the public was too excited 
 about secession and the pending Civil War; there was no 
 time for discussion on the merits of a new industry. 
 
 About a year after the first wells started to yield, oil 
 commenced receiving more attention from the large city 
 newspapers and a few magazines. This sudden publicity 
 was due to the interest focused on the oil region by the 
 many drastic fires destroying life and property. 24 Quick 
 riches obtained by a few of the early drillers, the striking 
 of some phenomenally larger "gusher" wells, and the 
 mistaken prediction that the Civil War would soon end, 
 all contributed to increase interest in oildom. 
 
 After the large wells of 1861 and 1862 were struck, 
 new and larger refineries were erected within the petro- 
 leum country. Now came the beginning of a period of 
 lurid tales dealing with events in petrolia. Few of the 
 many articles were accurate, but the stories of poverty- 
 stricken farmers becoming wealthy over night, of team- 
 sters made rich after selling their small interest in a 
 successful well, and the usual legends which became 
 current as activity increased, made good reading for a 
 nation growing tired of the drabness of war. Reports 
 of paupers-turned-princes caused people who had ac- 
 cumulated war profits to seek an investment outlet for 
 their funds and many delved deeply into speculation in 
 oil companies. 
 
 This chain of events created an excellent condition 
 for the formation of stock companies. Thousands of 
 firms came into being, and, while many were reputable, 
 many more were speculative organizations formed only 
 for the purpose of robbing an innocent public. Shares 
 were often priced so low that people who could ill afford 
 
 —23— 
 
to purchase anything but the necessities of life "took a 
 fling" and hoped to be among the lucky few. 25 
 
 Prior to 1864, no books had been published telling in 
 detail of the oil territory. Knowledge was by word-of- 
 mouth, through the newspapers and a few magazines, 
 and by the prospectus sheets and pamphlets of the stock 
 companies. The one exception was a small pamphlet 
 written by Thomas A. Gale and titled 7he Wonder of the 
 'Nineteenth Century. Hock Oil in Pennsylvania and 
 Elsewhere, which had been printed at Erie, Pa., in 1860. 
 Its circulation was very limited but the contents were 
 fairly accurate. 26 
 
 During 1 864 there was issued in Pittsburgh a volume 
 called 7he Oil Regions of Pennsylvania by F. M. L. Gil- 
 lelen. As the first work of any size about the oil region, 
 it attracted unusual attention and wielded considerable 
 influence. The author stressed the importance of water 
 in relationship to the location of wells, and published 
 complete sectional maps of the Allegheny River and its 
 tributaries, pointing out the best navigable course and 
 describing the adjoining lands. The book was eagerly 
 read by avid oil investors and strengthened the opinion, 
 generally held at the time, that petroleum was found near 
 waterways, hence most lease-holders desired such sec- 
 tions. 
 
 The contents of this volume cast considerable doubt 
 upon the character of the author as it strongly points 
 to his having been a plagiarist. Gillelen's river lore was 
 lifted bodily from an earlier but virtually unknown book 
 by E. L. Babbitt, called 7he Allegheny Pilot, which he 
 published at Freeport, Pa., in 1855. Babbitt, by turn a 
 photographer, engraver, printer, and finally the owner 
 
 —24— 
 
of a small oil refinery, personally traversed the Allegheny 
 River to collect his data. 27 
 
 The chief reason crude petroleum was thought to be 
 close to rivers stemmed from the fact that the first wells 
 happened to be drilled along the waterways. Transporta- 
 tion difficulties caused this distribution. Roads were few 
 and very bad and movement by water was essential; 
 flatboats hauled by horses brought equipment upstream 
 when the water was low. 28 
 
 When crude oil had to be floated downstream to 
 market, "pond freshets" were used. This was a trick 
 learned from the lumber trade, and consisted of storing 
 water behind the dams of the many grist mills along 
 the stream until a sufficient volume had accumulated. 
 The dams were then cut, one after another, and resulted 
 in a rushing mass of deep water powerful enough to move 
 the heavily loaded barges rapidly but also dangerously. 
 With such obvious advantages for water transport, and 
 other means of travel lacking, it is not surprising that 
 oil property with water running through or nearby com- 
 manded premium prices. 29 
 
 —25- 
 
MR. SIMONDS 
 
 John Wilkes had spent considerable time in Boston, 
 not only while playing there in dilierent theatres with 
 various troupes, but also when visiting at the home of 
 his brother Edwin. Edwin and his first wife, the attrac- 
 tive Mary Davlin, lived in nearby Dorchester. 
 
 From 1861 through part of 1864, the span during 
 which Wilkes was most frequently in Boston, one of the 
 tellers at the Mechanics Bank there was Joseph H. Sim- 
 onds, a well-built man of about thirty-three. 30 He was 
 an immaculate dresser, had sandy hair, a mustache, and 
 seemed rather austere in appearance. He had a deep in- 
 terest in the stage and an intense desire to advance to 
 a position more affluent than a bank teller. 
 
 With his ardent interest in the theatre, Simonds natur- 
 ally became acquainted with the popular young Booth. 
 When Wilkes decided to invest some of his income in 
 Boston real-estate, he sought out Simonds as his agent. 
 The banker had knowledge of current markets and of 
 financial affairs in general to combine with his familiarity 
 with Boston. This enabled him to know many properties 
 available at advantageous prices and made him an ex- 
 cellent deputy. The final sums involved in the transac- 
 tions were not large, but demonstrated to Booth the 
 trustworthiness of Simonds. 
 
 -26— 
 
BOOTH ENTERS OIL 
 
 John Booth played at Ben DeBar's St. Louis Theatre 
 from January 4 to January 17, 1864. 31 Either just before 
 this engagement, while enroute to St. Louis, or just after 
 it, while returning East, Booth was persuaded to visit 
 the Pennsylvania oil region. As the chief excitement at 
 the time centered around the village of Franklin, in Ven- 
 ango County, he headed there. Two acquaintances from 
 Cleveland arrived with him. These friends were John 
 Ellsler, manager of the Cleveland Academy of Music, 
 and Thomas Y. Mears. 32 Thirty years later, Franklinites 
 described Mears as a "prize-fighter and gambler" and 
 as ff a sort of medium tough/' 33 
 
 Soon after arriving at Franklin and inspecting the terri- 
 tory, Booth formed an oil company with the Cleveland 
 men as partners. Their stage backgrounds made the 
 name selected, the Dramatic Oil Company, most fitting. 84 
 It is likely the concern was organized informally among 
 the trio, for the records of the Prothonotary of Venango 
 County show no evidence of the firm name having been 
 recorded. 85 Oil region attorneys explain this by stating 
 that in those hectic days, with all the attending excite- 
 ment and confusion, many partnerships came into being 
 without legal papers being either prepared or filed. 
 Most of these informal agreements were rigidly adhered 
 to by the members. 
 
 Booth probably thought his opportunity in oil might 
 be the answer to his problem of a future business and 
 income. The property finally selected by the company 
 was three and one-half acres of the Fuller farm, a mile 
 south of Franklin, and bordering the Allegheny River. 
 
 —27— 
 
The land was on the east side of the river and no streams 
 passed through it; however, productive wells close by 
 made the location appear favorable. 86 
 
 Unbounded faith and confidence should have been 
 and no doubt was felt by these new speculators; their 
 site was good, and at least Ellsler and Booth had suffi- 
 cient capital to finance a trial well. This was important 
 as it must be remembered that numerous early oil oper- 
 ators had been greatly handicapped by lack of capital, 
 and, as a result, had been forced to sacrifice their in- 
 terests to get money to finish their wells. 
 
 The newly formed partnership hired an experienced 
 driller, Henry Sires, to drill the initial hole. Mears first 
 introduced him to Booth while Sires was busily working 
 on another well. When Sires apologized for his hands 
 being covered with grease and oil, Wilkes replied, "Never 
 mind, that's what we are after." 37 
 
 Believing that he had made an impressive start in the 
 right direction, Booth resumed his professional work, 
 and his next long engagement was during March at New 
 Orleans' St. Charles Theatre. As previously noted, the 
 effort was too much for him, but after a short rest we 
 find him in Boston playing at the Boston Museum during 
 most of May and terminating his run there on May 27. 
 
 —28— 
 
BACK TO FRANKLIN 
 
 While playing in Boston, the new oilman urged Sim- 
 onds to accompany him to the oil country and manage 
 the property for the company. Simonds needed only 
 slight urging; he was seeking betterment and could not 
 have missed reports of the strange happenings among the 
 Pennsylvania hills. It would have indeed been singular 
 had he not desired to show his ability and to share in 
 the excitement with Booth. The actor and banker jour- 
 neyed to Franklin together, and on May 30, three days 
 after his Boston finale, we find Booth renting a saddle 
 horse from liveryman Ralph M. Brigham. He rode out 
 to inspect the lease and well. 38 
 
 Accommodations in the crowded village were hard 
 to find and upon arriving, visitors discovered the hotels 
 packed. Rooms in private houses were not readily avail- 
 able and it was necessary to wait for them until vacancies 
 occurred. Alfred W. Smiley, who soon became a friend 
 of Booth's, explains what happened next in these words : 
 
 "Our first acquaintance was due to the fact that 
 for a short time we occupied the same room at the 
 United States Hotel. H. B. Smith, a clerk in one 
 of the railroad offices, and myself shared a double 
 room at the hotel, that is, a room in which there 
 were two beds. The hotels were all crowded in 
 those days and Smith and I, to accommodate the 
 landlord, frequently doubled up to let in some good 
 fellow for a day or two, when not able to get in 
 elsewhere. 
 
 "On this occasion the proprietor, W. H. Wat- 
 kins, had requested us to let in a couple of gentle- 
 men for just a few days. The newcomers to our 
 —29— 
 
room were John Wilkes Booth and J. H. Simonds, 
 who in the meantime I had been introduced to. 
 
 "Booth and Simonds, instead of staying there 
 only a couple of days, remained there for about ten 
 days, when they secured rooms at Mrs. Webber's 
 on Elk Street, but took their meals at the United 
 States Hotel/" 9 
 
 Simonds and Booth must have watched the well closely 
 but trouble was their only reward. Drilling progress was 
 slow, and while the partnership group waited and hoped 
 for the best, they considered a name for the well. Finally 
 they elected to call it 'The Wilhelmina" after Mear's 
 wife. 
 
 Booth and his friends walked daily from their quarters 
 at Mrs. Webber's to the United States Hotel for meals. 
 The walk took them past the harness shop of Mr. Wat- 
 son on Liberty Street; the shop was on the ground floor 
 and the living quarters upstairs. Mrs. J. T. P. Watson 
 used to place her baby son, Joe, in the shop window 
 to keep him amused and away from mischief. Booth de- 
 veloped the habit of stopping to play with the boy every 
 time he passed and soon got to whistling as he ap- 
 proached the shop, thus attracting the child's attention. 
 Very often he would leave a silver dollar, a closed pocket 
 knife, or other pocket articles for the boy to play with 
 for half a day. Wilkes' every action indicated that he 
 was a great lover of children. 40 
 
 For an oil "boomtown" Franklin was rather well be- 
 haved, but confusion was common although never ter- 
 minating in murder and seldom in robbery. Booth and 
 Smiley encountered adventure one night in an unexpected 
 form, and Smiley relates the incident well: 
 
 —30— 
 
"Booth was a trained athlete and very strong 
 and active. I was also pretty strong and active, being 
 then twenty-one years old and did not fear any 
 common man in a rough and tumble. I recall an 
 incident, however, when we both got the worst of 
 an encounter. The occasion was at a dance at the 
 Marshall House, located over the Allegheny River, 
 kept by one Sim Marshall, whither we had gone 
 one evening out of curiosity; as far as the party 
 was concerned our curiosity was entirely satisfied 
 as we were both entertained handsomely. 
 
 ff On the night of the aforesaid there was lying 
 near the bridge several steamboats and a large num- 
 ber of lumber fleets, and the crowd assembled at 
 the dance was rather a motley one; there being in 
 attendance a goodly number of deckhands from 
 the steamboats and fresh water sailors from the 
 lumber fleets. A row started, probably accidental, 
 and in our desire to see how things were moving, 
 we crowded in quite close to where the mill was 
 being pulled off. This attracted the attention of 
 several of the waltzers who, as the sequel will show, 
 decided that our dudish appearance did not war- 
 rant our eagerness to get so close to the scene of 
 action. To end this story, they deliberately went 
 for us regardless of how much they soiled our 
 clothes, and after charging several times, they threw 
 us out with orders not to return into the house. 
 
 "We did not request that the order be counter- 
 manded, but struck a bee line for uptown, with the 
 understanding between us that we would keep our 
 dance experience to ourselves. It leaked out, how- 
 ever, and we were often nagged by our friends/ 341 
 
 —31— 
 
ANOTHER INVESTMENT 
 
 In 1864, Boston oil men had organized a stock as- 
 sociation to secure drillable area in the oil region. They 
 first took the name of the Boston Oil Well Company 
 but in a short time changed it to the Botolph Oil & 
 Mining Company. 42 
 
 Along Pithole Greek, about seventeen miles up the 
 Allegheny River from Franklin, oil operators had been 
 leasing land since 1862. No testing had been done, but 
 prospectors liked the looks of the country and were 
 willing to gamble on it. On this virgin sector the Boston 
 firm looked with favor and for $15,000 they purchased 
 the Hyner (or Hiner) Farm, bordered by Pithole creek. 
 
 Booth became interested in some unknown manner, 
 and paid $1,000 for a share in the property, but during 
 his stay in Pennsylvania no effort was made to drill the 
 territory. 43 Had a test well been sunk, it might easily 
 have changed the entire life course for John Wilkes 
 Booth, and altered the history of America. 
 
 Simonds had now become manager of the Dramatic 
 Oil Company lease, and by mid-summer manager of the 
 property of the Boston association in the Pithole region. 
 Booth had estimated correctly that the one thing he 
 would have in Franklin was plenty of leisure time. He 
 spent some of it reading, and probably inwardly was 
 pleased by Franklin's leading newspaper, the strongly 
 anti-Lincoln Venango Spectator. Vitriolic words against 
 the President were many with such phrases as "Lincoln's 
 Double Dealing" and "Mr. Lincoln Will Never Win the 
 War" and "Lincoln Proposes a Disunion Peace" being 
 common headlines. Booth's Franklin cronies were ardent 
 
 —32— 
 
supporters of the administration and knowing this, the 
 actor did not express his secessionist opinions often nor 
 loudly. 44 
 
 At least once Wilkes came close to serious trouble 
 among the oil crowd. While crossing the Allegheny River 
 by ferry, Titus Ridgway, a carpenter, was a fellow-pas- 
 senger. Ridgway started the altercation by making some 
 offensive remark about Southerners, to which Booth re- 
 plied with biting sarcasm against Lincoln. Ridgway im- 
 mediately characterized the Lincoln comment as, "A 
 damned lie!" Wilkes said, "I will never allow a man to 
 call me a liar!" and at the same time pulled a pistol from 
 his pocket. As he did this, the carpenter grabbed a river 
 pushing-pole tipped with a metal spike, aimed it at Booth, 
 and swore he would run him through. At this crucial 
 moment, other passengers jumped between the men and 
 finally succeeded in calming both belligerents. Mr. Mac- 
 Amirch, who was running the ferry on the eventful day, 
 wrenched the pole from the hands of Ridgway. 46 
 
 Days were spent by Booth and the other speculators 
 loafing around the real-estate offices where farmers were 
 constantly repairing to lease their acres for the highest 
 fee. Some days the operators would cover considerable 
 territory, on foot or on horse, in their eternal search for 
 promising farms. To pass the long evenings, Booth and 
 some friends rented a second floor room and congre- 
 gated there; the men who gathered were a genial group 
 of optimists, all in Franklin to have a tussle with petro- 
 leum. Besides Booth, there were others versed in Shake- 
 speare, notably Frank Bailey, a Pittsburgh oilman. Com- 
 edy was provided by John Garmiley, also of Pittsburgh, 
 by "Tatty" Patterson, and a Mr. Barton. John Wilkes 
 
 —33— 
 
took an active part among this circle of oil adventurers, 
 yet it is remarkable that Franklin people who were part 
 of the group, and knew the informal membership list 
 thoroughly, were positive he never laughed at the antics. 
 Smiles crossed his face often, but never anything like 
 a real laugh. 46 
 
 At the same time, two brothers thought quite dif- 
 ferently of Booth. One was E. \V. Smiley, chief clerk of 
 the Pennsylvania Senate for twenty-five years, and own- 
 er and editor of the Citizen Press newspaper in Franklin. 
 Often he sat and talked with Jo Simonds and Booth 
 at the Sunday School Bible Class in the old Frankin 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. At these meetings, Wilkes 
 took no part in discussions although he appeared at- 
 tentive. The other brother, H. Stearns Smiley, used to 
 deliver messages and telegrams to the actor, but was 
 afraid to approach him because ff . . . . of the look he 
 always gave me/' 47 
 
 Another youngster of that day, Elisha W. Smith, de- 
 livered newspapers regularly to Simonds, Booth, and 
 Moses Colman, later to become Simonds' business 
 partner. What impressed him was Simonds' methodical 
 ways; he always wrote down in a small memo book all 
 purchases made, no matter how small they were. This 
 was quite typical of a careful banker. 48 
 
 Illness still plagued John Wilkes for late in August of 
 1 864, his sister Asia wrote to a close friend of hers, saying 
 that, "Wilkes is quite sick." This affliction, whatever 
 it might have been, was apparently serious enough for 
 some of his immediate relatives to have been acquainted 
 with it. 49 We do not know if it was a recurrence of his 
 bronchial trouble or not. 
 
 —34 — 
 
LAST VISIT 
 
 Booth was a frequent traveler to undisclosed destina- 
 tions and his third and last visit to petrolia was made in 
 September, 1 864, after he had spent some time visiting in 
 Baltimore. 
 
 By this date the well had proved a failure and little 
 oil could be secured; the quantity would not have paid for 
 the pumping. 60 Henry Sires, in charge of actual operations 
 on the lease, reported, "The well cost Booth and his as- 
 sociates a great deal of money and they got almost no 
 oil." They did meet trouble common to many drillers in 
 the 1 860's — casing breaking loose, the bailer lost in the 
 hole, and tools jamming. Thomas Mears' son, Frank, 
 told a reporter in later years, " The Wilhelmina Well' 
 yielded twenty-five barrels of crude daily but this was 
 not thought sufficient, hence the well was "shot" with 
 explosives to increase production. Instead of accomplish- 
 ing that, the blast utterly ruined the hole and the well 
 never yielded another drop. 61 " 
 
 In September, a decision was reached to buy the land 
 interest in the river property. The manager stated in 
 1 865 that the partners had contributed equally in buying 
 this interest, but another claim is that Ellsler and John 
 Wilkes had disagreed on policy. If this were the case, 
 Booth might have contributed more than his share in 
 exchange for all or part of Ellsler's portion but no records 
 indicate such a transaction. 52 This additional expense 
 was necessary to protect the investment of the group. 
 Their drilling rights, based on a down-payment and 
 royalty agreement, meant they did not yet own the land 
 in fee simple, hence reclamation by the original owner 
 
 —35— 
 
was possible if no crude were produced within the time 
 stipulated. 
 
 Wilkes suddenly lost all interest in oil. His recent 
 Baltimore trip seemed to mark the turning point; he had 
 changed his mind about the petroleum business and had 
 resolved upon some other activity more important to 
 him. On September 17, 1864, Simonds had prepared, by 
 Wilkes' request, all papers necessary to close out the 
 Booth interests in the Allegheny River property. This 
 was deeded two-thirds to brother Junius and the other 
 third to Simonds, who explained it as being, "... in 
 consideration of my services, for which I never received 
 any other pay." 53 By mutual consent Simonds was named 
 trustee and on his advice all development work was 
 suspended. 
 
 Just prior to Booth's departure from the oil country, 
 his temper flared up while he was sitting in a barber 
 shop waiting to have his hair cut. Cale Marshall, a col- 
 ored man, entered the shop of James Lawson and began 
 to rejoice loudly over the news of a great new victory 
 for the Union army. After a few moments of this, Booth 
 pointed his finger at the negro and said sternly, "Is that 
 the way you talk among gentlemen, and with your hat 
 on too?" The negro, himself hot-headed, replied, "When 
 I go into a parlor among ladies, I take my hat off, but 
 when I go into a bar-room or a barber shop or any 
 other public place, I keep my hat on." 
 
 Booth's face had turned white and he shoved his hands 
 towards his hip pocket. Tom Mears was sitting next to 
 him and he knew what Wilkes carried in that pocket. 
 Leaping from his chair, he pinioned Booth's arms against 
 his side. Assisted by another man, the two got Booth 
 
 —36— 
 
out of the shop and marched him off down the street. 
 Lawson always maintained the negro would have been 
 shot had it not been for the prompt action by Mears." 
 
 INTERIM 
 
 Booth told Simonds he was going to New York. He 
 did go there briefly, but the next definite trace we find 
 of him is far from New York or Franklin. He was in 
 Montreal, Canada, living near the St. Lawrence Hotel, 
 the known headquarters for those Southerners often 
 termed the "Canadian Cabinet" of the Confederacy. 
 
 There is no doubt about this Canadian sojourn. Several 
 people identified him, and on October 27 he purchased 
 a bill of exchange from Robert A. Campbell, a teller at 
 the Ontario Bank of Montreal. The sum was slightly 
 more than sixty-one pounds sterling. 55 While in Mon- 
 treal, he packed his wardrobe and made arrangements to 
 have it shipped South by steamer. 
 
 For the next five months Wilkes had little connection 
 with the theatre. With brothers Edwin and Junius he 
 did play in "Julius Caesar" at the Winter Garden Thea- 
 tre, New York, on November 75. But frequent trips to 
 Baltimore and other places in Maryland took much of 
 his time. Between early September, 1864, and the end 
 of that year, John Wilkes made at least four trips to 
 Baltimore and other points in Maryland. While in Charles 
 County, he reputedly met Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, who 
 later was to figure in his flight. 
 
 As 1865 opened, we find John Wilkes residing in 
 Washington but away from that city often for several 
 
 —37— 
 
days at a time. No one is sure exactly where he traveled 
 but he stayed at no one place for any length of time. 
 On March 18, he appeared at Ford's Theatre in Wash- 
 ington for the benefit performance of a fellow-actor in 
 'The Apostate." It was his last appearance on the stage 
 as a member of a legitimate stock company, but unfor- 
 tunately it was not quite his last time on any stage. 
 
 —38— 
 
TRAGEDY 
 
 It is unnecessary to repeat here the well-known facts 
 leading to the assassination. Thousands of words have 
 been written giving in detail the actor's last act. From 
 the minute he shot Lincoln, in Ford's Theatre on the 
 evening of April 14, 1865, his transition from an admired 
 young performer into the image of the American Judas 
 became complete. 
 
 What no one has been able to say with certainty is 
 exactly what caused Booth to change from his scheme 
 of abduction to assassination, for ample evidence exists 
 to show that his initial plan had been to kidnap Lincoln. 66 
 
 True, the kidnapping plans had gone awry, and his 
 few conspirators were showing their poor fibre by drop- 
 ping away from his leadership; but it was equally true 
 the kidnapping plot had never had a fair trial and might 
 have been successful. 
 
 Booth grew more angry at Lincoln day by day. The 
 feeling was aggravated by the fall of his beloved Rich- 
 mond and the surrender of General Lee. Most likely it 
 was also assisted by excessive alcohol. Said John Deery, 
 a long-time friend of John Wilkes", and owner of the 
 billiard parlor next t6 Washington's Grover Theatre : 
 
 'Tor a period of about ten days before the as- 
 sassination, he visited my place every day, some- 
 times in the afternoon, sometimes in the evenings. 
 At this time he was out of an engagement and drink- 
 ing quite freely, noticeably so, even for him, I 
 thought. At times he seemed a bit crazed, appar- 
 ently on account of the frequency of his potations. 
 . . . During that last week at Washington he some- 
 
 —39— 
 
times drank at my bar as much as a quart in the 
 space of less than two hours of an evening .... 
 
 "I believe Booth was as much crazed by the liquor 
 he drank as by any motive when he shot Lincoln/' 57 
 
 Mackey had questioned the people he interviewed 
 in Franklin in 1894 about Booth's drinking habits. The 
 answers indicated Booth was far from a teetotaler and 
 suggest Deery's opinion could be far more accurate than 
 it has been thought. H. M. Irwin remembered the actor 
 as not a hard drinker but he drank moderately; how- 
 ever, Booth's ability to withstand the bad effects of al- 
 cohol was great and Irwin pointed that factor out care- 
 fully. 58 One of Booth's closest friends explained only by 
 saying that, "Booth was a hard drinker of the strongest 
 brandy. Sometimes he drank rum." 59 Another man rec- 
 ollected seeing John Wilkes, ". . . one night in front of 
 the old Bailey corner. Booth was as drunk as he could 
 possibly get and was covering the whole sidewalk in a 
 rendition of Richard III. He carried a broom stick in 
 his hand which he wielded as the rendering of the part 
 demanded, and the exhibition was very strong and made 
 more than one bystander overlook Booth's condition 
 in their admiration for his acting of the part." 60 
 
 Of much interest in recent years has been the poor 
 protection given Lincoln. The guard he wanted for the 
 theatre on that fatal April 14, Major Thomas T. Eckert, 
 was denied him by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton on 
 a flimsy excuse; the one he got was John F. Parker, a 
 member of Washington's Metropolitan Force and an in- 
 competent who had previously been charged with mis- 
 conduct and lack of responsibility. 61 In place of being 
 accompanied to the play by General and Mrs. Grant, 
 
 —40— 
 
the Lincoln's had Miss Clara Harris and Major Henry 
 R. Rathbone as their guests. 62 Tad Lincoln happened to 
 be among the audience at Grover's Theatre when news 
 of the tragedy was announced from that stage. 
 
 Lincoln knew assassination always lurked nearby. 
 Alan Hynd, author and journalist, had exclusive access 
 to the archives of the Pinkerton National Detective 
 Agency a few years ago. In these records he found that 
 Allan Pinkerton, the greatest detective of his time, 
 warned Lincoln against the playhouses. "Sir," Pinkerton 
 exhorted, <( \ beg of you, no matter what the circumstances, 
 never attend the theatre/' 83 
 
 Prior to his second inauguration, President Lincoln 
 warned people they should be careful in allowing ladies 
 to attend the ceremony because of possible danger. 64 
 Charles A. Dana, the Assistant Secretary of War, knew 
 Lincoln had received many letters threatening death, 
 therefore the President had the possibility called to mind 
 constantly. 65 On April 14, Lincoln wrote General James 
 H. Van Allen of New York, telling him, "I expect to 
 adopt the advice of my friends and use precaution/' 66 
 His precautions should have been stronger, but he was 
 a trusting man and the end of the war lulled him into 
 a false security. Recent writers have pointed out that 
 while Lincoln was personally fearless and suspicious of 
 none, yet he was nearly always guarded. 67 Generally, 
 Lincoln was protected, but not always wisely. 
 
THE NEWS— AND REACTION 
 
 To the cities, news of the assassination was conveyed 
 the next morning, and while accounts varied, the tragic 
 words were fairly accurate. The two o'clock edition of 
 Jhe New Jork Herald for the morning following the 
 crime, was the first to carry the news, but first to name 
 John Wilkes as the murderer was 7he Washington 
 Chronicle for April 15. The oil country papers printed 
 the news in long black-bordered columns on their front 
 pages as soon as possible. A Meadville, Pa., paper carried 
 the news April 18 and a Franklin paper the day follow- 
 ing. As there was no daily paper printed in the petro- 
 leum country at this time, this delay was not excessive. 68 
 
 News of the national disaster reached northwestern 
 Pennsylvania the morning after the shooting. An English 
 oil historian, v/ho summarized how the word came to 
 Franklin, based it on a report he had from the redoubt- 
 able Smiley. Early on the morning of April 15, Smiley 
 was sitting in the railroad ticket office talking with H. B. 
 Smith, his friend and roommate. Smith, an expert tele- 
 grapher, was selling tickets and listening to the dots and 
 dashes at the same time. And then: 
 
 "He suddenly turned and asked me if I heard 
 what was going on over the wire. I replied that I 
 had not been paying any attention to what was 
 going on, and asked him what it was. 
 
 "He turned pale and replied, f My God, Smiley, 
 President Lincoln was shot last night in a theatre 
 in Washington by John Wilkes Booth, a theatrical 
 performer. Can it be possible it is the John Wilkes 
 Booth that was here last summer — the fellow we all 
 knew so well?' 
 
 —42— 
 
"The excitement was intense and everyone who 
 had been acquainted with Booth, myself included, 
 were closely watched and questioned/' 69 
 
 Within a few days an officer arrived in Franklin. 
 Without Smiley's knowledge, the officer inspected his 
 trunks and his room, but the young man was not impli- 
 cated in any way. Several days later Smiley headed to- 
 ward the new oil field at Pithole. 
 
 From the first examination of Lincoln, made within 
 the theatre box by an Army surgeon who was in the 
 audience, Dr. Charles A. Leale, it was known the Presi- 
 dent was doomed. Other physicians supported the opin- 
 ion of Leale and the correctness of their prognosis was 
 evident when Lincoln died the following morning just 
 after seven o'clock. 70 
 
 The government instituted immediate and vigorous 
 search for Booth. Private detectives, soldiers, and Federal 
 operatives were urged to do their best and were spurred 
 on by the rewards offered. 
 
 The flight of Booth and David Herold was marked 
 by interruptions. First they stopped at John Lloyd's 
 tavern at Surrattsville (now Clinton, Maryland) and 
 picked up a carbine, field glasses, and a bottle of whis- 
 key; Lloyd had expected them as the gun had been left 
 with him April 11. They next stopped at the home of 
 Dr. Samuel Mudd, selected because Booth had previously 
 met him during one of his frequent sojourns into Mary- 
 land. The doctor bound Booth's left leg in splints; it had 
 been fractured in his leap from the theatre box to the 
 stage when his spur caught in the folds of a flag dec- 
 orating the front of the box. 
 
 After leaving the vicinity of Bryantown, Md., the fugi- 
 
 —43— 
 
tives headed for a nearby swamp, became lost, and were 
 directed by a negro to the home of Samuel Cox, a strong 
 secessionist. Cox enlisted the aid of his foster-brother, 
 Thomas A. Jones, and for five nights and six days Jones 
 hid and cared for the men. He supplied food, news- 
 papers, personal news, and finally a boat to enable the 
 hunted pair to cross the Potomac River into Virginia. 
 It took them two nights to cross as on their first trial 
 they got lost again and ended up in another swamp 
 where they wasted a full day. 
 
 Once in Virginia, they arrived at the residence of Dr. 
 Richard Stewart. Frightened, he passed them on to a 
 negro named Lucas. The next morning Lucas drove them 
 to Port Conway, on the banks of the Rappahannock 
 River. Soon, three Confederate cavalrymen, returning 
 from the war, came upon them and the entire band 
 crossed the river by ferry. The soldiers left Booth and 
 Herold at the farm of a friend, Richard H. Garrett. 
 
 Under the direction of Colonel Lafayette C. Baker, 
 Chief of the Secret Service, a group of twenty-five cavalry- 
 men had been rushed by boat to the lower Potomac 
 River area. Without much trouble they found Booth's 
 trail, and at Bowling Green captured Willie S. Jett, the 
 ex-Confederate who had arranged for Booth to remain 
 at Garrett's. He was forced to lead a detachment back 
 to Garrett's, and through young John Garrett the soldiers 
 discovered the location of the men they were seeking. 
 Their tobacco barn hiding place was immediately sur- 
 rounded. 
 
 Knowing they were caught, Davy Herold quickly 
 lost confidence and surrendered; the angry assassin sent 
 him from the shed and he was pulled to temporary safety 
 
by Yankee soldiers. After making futile requests for a 
 fighting exit chance to the officer commanding the group, 
 Colonel E. J. Conger, Booth discovered the soldiers had 
 fired the straw and debris at the rear of the shed. 
 
 And now, something happened that has not been 
 clear since that morning of April 26, 1865. Either Booth 
 shot himself, realizing he was doomed, or else Sgt. Boston 
 Corbett, disobeying orders, shot Wilkes from his post 
 near the back of the barn. 71 Whatever actually took 
 place, the fallen man was placed on the porch of Gar- 
 rett's farmhouse and there he died. The minute the badly 
 injured man died, a myth was born — the myth of the es- 
 cape of John Wilkes Booth from his pursuers, and his 
 existence for years afterwards. 72 
 
 —45— 
 
CONFUSION 
 
 As might have been expected, while Booth was in flight, 
 false rumors and arrests were common. At Pittsfield, 
 Massachusetts, a reputable citizen named J. L. Chapman 
 was arrested so often for Booth that he resigned himself 
 to remaining home, hoping the assassin would soon be 
 captured. 
 
 Provost Marshall Coulter of Greensburg, Pa., arrested 
 a man because of his resemblance to the actor and re- 
 leased him only after the Mayor of Pittsburgh had sent 
 someone who knew Booth personally to make proper 
 identification. 
 
 Another curious incident happened, of all places, at 
 Franklin! Colonel James Bleakley, owner of the Inter- 
 national Bank, had hired a new cashier, one Colonel 
 J. H. Cain. Unfortunately, Cain arrived in town April 
 16 and was promptly picked up by local officers as he 
 entered the post office. They thought certain they had 
 Wilkes. The new cashier did look like Booth, but Colonel 
 Bleakley was able to secure his release after proper ex- 
 planation. 73 
 
 Booth was also "recognized" in three other Pennsyl- 
 vania towns, in Brooklyn, at two spots in Maryland, and 
 in Ohio, Illinois, and Maine. The nation was convinced 
 that Booth was traveling fast and furiously in many 
 directions. 
 
 Much speculation resulted when a Meadville, Pa., 
 paper published the following: 
 
 "Pittsburgh, April 15. 
 
 ff Mr. Duncan, a reliable citizen of Pittsburgh, 
 has just returned from Meadville, and mentions a 
 —46— 
 
singular circumstance in connection with the assas- 
 sin Booth. While stopping at the McHenry House, 
 on the 4th of June last, Booth wrote on a pane of 
 glass with his diamond ring, the following words: 
 'Abe Lincoln departed this life August 13th, 1864, 
 
 by the effects of poison/ Booth's name was written 
 on the hotel register in the same hand writing. 
 Several of his friends, at different times occupied the 
 same room. A complete register has been kept of 
 all names of the occupants of that room since June 
 
 last/" 4 
 
 There was never any proof that the writing scratched 
 on the pane was the same as Booth's. A maid discovered 
 the marked window which was removed by R. M. U. 
 Taylor, manager of the hotel. With Booth's signature 
 cut from the register, it was presented to Miss Mary Mc- 
 Henry, daughter of James McHenry for whom the hotel 
 was named. 
 
 The McHenry House register disappeared long ago, 
 and there is no way of knowing exactly how often Booth 
 stayed there. Miss McHenry presented both the scratched 
 pane and the signature to the government in 1879. 
 
 After Booth's death, confusion over mistaken identity 
 ceased and the press started to provide bewildering and 
 conflicting statements regarding all phases of John 
 Wilkes' life. No phase of his life escaped unscathed. 
 Over a period of years, papers, pamphlets, and a wide 
 variety of books have especially confused Booth's ac- 
 tivity in oil behind a maze of errors and half-truths. 
 Indeed, it seems that no part of his hurried life was 
 treated more erroneously than the period he spent in 
 northwestern Pennsylvania. The errors are worthy of 
 repetition only to clarify them. The true statements, long 
 
 —47— 
 
available, have passed nearly unnoticed, perhaps ably 
 camouflaged by the mistakes. 
 
 Five days after the assassination, a Franklin paper 
 printed this: 
 
 "The supposed assassin, John Wilkes Booth, 
 spent several months in this place last summer and 
 fall," the reporter wrote, "and is well known to 
 many of our citizens. He was engaged in the oil 
 business and we understand has large interests here 
 now. Those who knew him best say he was mild 
 and retiring in his disposition and displayed none 
 of the qualities of the desperado he has shown him- 
 self to be." 75 
 
 It is evident the Franklin editor did not know 'The 
 Wilhelmina" well had failed nor that Booth had assigned 
 his holdings. In a region where every new well was care- 
 fully watched for indications of success, it is surprising 
 this failure was not more generally known. 
 
 On April 75, Joseph Simonds gave a written statement 
 to the Provost Marshall at Meadville, Pa., who was 
 Captain D. V. Derrickson. Wrote Simonds, knowing 
 his letter would be turned over to the highest officers 
 in the War Department: 
 
 "Franklin, Pa. 
 April 25th 1865 
 
 "In accordance with your request I am happy to 
 give you correct information with regard to the prop- 
 erty of J. Wilkes Booth in this section, more especial- 
 ly as newspaper rumor has assigned to him ex- 
 tensive and valuable interests here. 
 
 "The first time he was ever in Venango County 
 was in January 1864 when he made a small invest- 
 ment in connection with two gentlemen of Cleve- 
 —48— 
 
land in a lease on the Allegheny River directly op- 
 posite Franklin he owning an undivided third in- 
 terest in the same. During the summer the lease was 
 placed in my hands for management and at that 
 time on the occasion of his second visit here in June 
 last he made an investment of $1000 in a property 
 on Pithole Creek owned by an association of gen- 
 tlemen in Boston the management of whose affairs 
 here were also placed in my hands. From neither 
 of these interests did he ever derive a single dollar 
 benefit. 
 
 "In September he made his third and last visit 
 here during which time a purchase of the land in- 
 terest in the Allegheny River property was consum- 
 mated he furnishing his third of the purchase money 
 and by agreement between all the owners the con- 
 veyance was made in my name as Trustee and at 
 my suggestion the accounts settled, and operations 
 suspended as in my opinion, the work did not prom- 
 ise to prove remunerative. 
 
 "This was no sooner consummated than he re- 
 quested me to prepare deeds conveying all his title 
 and interest in the Allegheny River property to his 
 brother, Junius Brutus Booth, two thirds and to my- 
 self one third, and all his interest in the Pithole 
 property to his sister, he giving as a reason that 
 his oil speculations had proved unprofitable and he 
 wished to dispose of every interest he had in this 
 section as they served to draw away his mind and 
 attention from his profession to which he intended 
 to devote all his faculties in the future. This re- 
 quest I complied with and as soon as they were 
 executed he left for New York since which time I 
 have never seen him. 
 
 "Thus you will see that so far from his having 
 realized a large fortune from Oil Speculations as 
 rumor has averred his were a positive loss, he never 
 —49— 
 
having owned but two small interests and neither 
 of these have as yet been any source of profit, al- 
 though both have now become moderately valu- 
 able. This is all that he ever owned in the Venango 
 Oil Region or was interested in, unless he has pur- 
 chased since I saw him oil stocks in the cities, of 
 which I know nothing, but my impression is that 
 such is not the case. The stories of the newspapers 
 of the large fortune made by him in this section 
 were coined in the brain of some romance-writer. 
 His whole investment would not amount to more 
 than six thousand dollars from which he never re- 
 ceived a dollar return. 
 
 "\ have endeavored to make this statement as 
 clear and concise as possible and you are at liberty 
 to use it as you may see fit resting assured that you 
 will be stating the truth in denying the exaggerated 
 rumors which fill the prints with regard to his great 
 fortune, which I have the impression will be found 
 to be nothing more than what he has gained in his 
 profession/' 
 
 The balance of Simonds' letter, here published for the 
 first time, shows how deeply he was touched by the sad 
 tragedy of the assassination. He concluded: 
 
 "You will excuse my writing more concerning 
 this terrible affair. There is a private war, which 
 his relatives and friends suffer in addition to the 
 grief that all are sharers in, which is none the less 
 poignant that it can have no sympathy. Sudden, 
 sharp and terrible was the blow upon all his true 
 friends, (and he had many) and it was one which 
 at first could not be believed, cannot yet be real- 
 ized and is a sorrow which time can never heal. 
 
 "God bless our whole country and bring her 
 safely through every peril to peace and prosperity — 
 
 —50— 
 
again a happy and united nation; and, may we not 
 without a thought detrimental to her highest in- 
 terests, pray that He in His infinite love and good- 
 ness will forgive the unhappy author of this his last 
 and greatest calamity, though man never can/' 76 
 
 On May 13, Simonds made another explanation and 
 this was later published in Pitmann's 7be Assassination 
 of Vresident Lincoln and Jrial of the Conspirators. In 
 such form it was readily available to the public but it too 
 has been overlooked. The agent testified: 
 
 "\ was acquainted with J. Wilkes Booth in his 
 lifetime, and was his business agent, particularly 
 in the oil region. I did some little business for him 
 in the city of Boston, but it was very little, and 
 was entirely closed up before I left there. 
 
 "Mr. Booth's interest in the oil speculations was 
 as follows : He owned a third undivided interest in 
 a lease of three and one half acres on the Allegheny 
 River, near Franklin. The land interest cost $4,000. 
 He paid $2,000 — that being one-half of it. He also 
 purchased, for $1,000, an interest in an association 
 there owning an undivided thirtieth of a contract. 
 That is all he ever absolutely purchased. There was 
 money spent for expenses on this lease, previous 
 to his purchase of the land interest. He never realized 
 a dollar from any interest possessed in the oil re- 
 gion. His speculations were a total loss. 
 
 ff The first interest he acquired in any way was 
 in December, 1863, or January 1864. 1 accompanied 
 him to the oil regions in June, 1864, for the pur- 
 pose of taking charge of his business there. The 
 whole amount invested by him in this Allegheny 
 River property, in every way, was about $5,000, 
 and the other investment was about $1,000, mak- 
 ing $6,000 in all. 
 
 —51— 
 
 
"His business was entirely closed out there on 
 the 27th of September, 1864. One of the convey- 
 ances was made to his brother, Junius Brutus Booth, 
 which was without compensation; but a considera- 
 tion was mentioned in the deed. The other transfer 
 was to me, and it was done in consideration of my 
 services, for which I never received any other pay. 
 There was not a dollar paid to J. Wilkes Booth at 
 all for these conveyances and he paid all the ex- 
 penses on the transfer and the conveyances.'" 77 
 
 Constable S. A. McAlevy, who had taken Simonds 
 to Washington at the request of the Provost Marshall 
 for the 20th Pennsylvania District, told the authorities 
 he thought Booth's agent guiltless of any complicity, and 
 after Simonds had supplied his information and state- 
 ment, he was allowed to return to Franklin. 78 
 
 George A. Townsend, a young reporter anxious to 
 make a name for himself, really started the fantastic tale 
 of Booth's wealth from oil when he penned these few 
 words in 1 865 : 
 
 'The oil fever had just begun/' Townsend re- 
 vealed, "he hired an agent, sent him to the western 
 districts and gave him discretionary power; his in- 
 vestments all turned out profitable. 
 
 "He gave eighty dollars eight month's ago for a 
 part investing with others in a piece of western oil 
 land. The certificate for this land he gave to his 
 sister. Just before he died his agent informed him 
 that the share was worth fifteen thousand dollars." 78 
 
 Townsend was neither a precise reporter nor a careful 
 historian; his writings are full of errors. None of the 
 investments turned out profitably nor is there any record 
 of the actor investing a paltry $80 in oil land only to 
 
 —52— 
 
have it turn out to be worth fifteen thousand dollars 
 in a few months. 
 
 The initial issue of the first daily paper in the oil re- 
 gion, two months after the tragic shooting, reported 
 under "Oil News/' that: 
 
 "The Homestead well, on the Hyner farm, oppo- 
 site the Morey (late Copeland) Farm, Pithole is 
 now flowing 500 barrels of oil per day. The pro- 
 duct of the well before dropping the sucker rods 
 was 80 barrels per day. They were partly taken out 
 on Wednesday last and the well increased to 150 
 barrels. The remaining part being removed, on Sat- 
 urday last the well flowed 500 barrels and it is 
 probably the most productive well in the oil region 
 of Pennsylvania. The owners of the well are Boston 
 parties. Their property consists of 25 acres in fee 
 of the Hyner farm on which the above well is lo- 
 cated. John Wilkes Booth purchased one thirteenth 
 interest in this territory in August 1864. The price 
 of the entire interest was $15,000. Booth in Novem- 
 ber last transferred his interest to Joseph Simonds. 
 He was very particular about the assignment in due 
 form of law, and carried the assignment to the 
 Registry office himself. 
 
 "We are credibly informed that the Homestead 
 well in which Booth was interested was destroyed 
 by fire on the day he assassinated President Lin- 
 coln." 80 
 
 The date of Booth's purchase of the well-interest was 
 June rather than August and he purchased one thirtieth 
 interest in the well and not one thirteenth. This article 
 marks the first appearance in print of the story attrib- 
 uting the burning of the Homestead well to the night 
 of the assassination. Truth shatters the tale completely; 
 
 —53— 
 
the well was not struck until June, 1865, and it never 
 did burn. 
 
 For seventeen years this fantastic tale was forgotten 
 only to re-appear in a petroleum magazine in 1882, in 
 this form: 
 
 "In 1864 J. Wilkes Booth, the great actor, and 
 assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, purchased 
 a one-thirteenth interest in the Homestead well at 
 Pithole, paying therefore $15,000. The interest was 
 afterwards bought by Mr. Jo. H. Simonds of this 
 city. The well, though small when compared with 
 its contemporaries, was a fair producer, as it yielded 
 twenty barrels a day. On the very day that the 
 unfortunate 'crank' shot the great President the well 
 caught fire, and everything connected with it was 
 consumed. On the morning following the dastardly 
 de^d, when gloom had expanded its unpleasant pin- 
 ions until they covered the greater portion of the 
 earth, the well was visited by a large number of 
 people who seemed to agree as to the providentiality 
 of the coincidence. Of course it is humanizing the 
 Creator to ascribe such proceedings to Him; but, at 
 the same time, it is impossible for human minds 
 to otherwise interpret the source of such results." 81 
 
 Outside of the fact that the magazine writer erred 
 in the purchase price and the size of Booth's interest, 
 that Simonds did not later buy the interest from the 
 actor, and that the property did not burn, the article is 
 correct. It seems strange to-day that Simonds, or some 
 other resident of the oil country who knew the truth, 
 made no attempt to correct such obvious errors. 
 
 Five years later, in September 1 887, the same magazine, 
 Ihe Petroleum Age, printed a signed article much like 
 the above but slightly longer and with a few additional 
 
 —54— 
 
details. Essentially it contained all the same errors and 
 probably v/as seen by Simonds who lived in Bradford 
 at the time the magazine was being edited and printed 
 there" 
 
 An oil country editor, and a one-time resident of 
 Franklin, printed a volume in 1896 that confused the 
 Booth picture still more. 
 
 "One morning in April, 1865/' wrote John J. 
 McLaurin, Cf he (Booth) left Franklin, telling Mr. 
 Simonds he was going east for a few days. He car- 
 ried a satchel, which indicated that he did not ex- 
 pect his stay to be prolonged indefinitely. His ward- 
 robe, books and papers remained in his room. 
 Nothing was heard from him until the crime of the 
 century stilled all hearts and the wires flashed the 
 horrible news of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. 
 . . . That he contemplated it before leaving Franklin 
 the weight of evidence tended to disprove. He made 
 no attempt to sell any of his property, to convert 
 his lands and wells into cash, to settle his partner- 
 ship accounts or to pack his effects. He had money 
 in the bank, wells bringing a good income and im- 
 portant business pending/' 88 
 
 McLaurin had access to more exact information in his 
 position and he certainly drew incorrect references from 
 the fact Booth left town with a satchel. He has him 
 leaving Franklin in April, 1865; he had left seven months 
 earlier. Mrs. Webber, Wilkes' landlady, told her grand- 
 son Booth left nothing behind him. Contrary to Mc- 
 Laurin's account is Simonds' careful statement explaining 
 the disposition of Booth's property. This was a poor 
 piece of reporting and the wide circulation of the book 
 in three different editions, did not help clarify the matter. 
 
 —55— 
 
For a period of forty years, little was heard of the 
 record of Booth in Pennsylvania. In 1937, writer John 
 T. Flynn reported that while Wilkes was in the oil 
 country he spent several weeks at Pithole City where 
 he lived at the United States Hotel. 84 Flynn has the actor 
 visiting a town before it was in existence and proof ap- 
 pears in an Oil City newspaper under date of June 14, 
 1865: 
 
 'The new town of Pithole, laid off on the Thos. 
 Holmden Farm, is growing at a fast rate. On Fri- 
 day last there was only one building in process of 
 erection. Our latest intelligence from that point 
 states that nearly two entire streets are already built 
 up, and a large number of houses still in process of 
 erection. 
 
 Booth would have encountered trouble in locating 
 Pithole in 1 864 and could not possibly have stayed there. 
 
 A year later, in 1938, the diary of Asia Booth Clarke, 
 John's sister, was revealed for the first time and we learn 
 what she had written years before of his activity in pe- 
 troleum : 
 
 "He acted continuously, traveled much, and ac- 
 cumulated a great deal of money He bought land 
 and speculated in oil wells. Success attended all his 
 undertakings/' 86 
 
 Of all people who should have known better, Asia 
 was the outstanding one, but she seemed desirous of 
 endowing Wilkes with the best possible success story. 
 As historian for her family, Asia has not been too 
 meticulous with the facts and many people have criti- 
 cized her mistakes. 
 
 The best-known and generally one of the most careful 
 
 —56— 
 
writers on all phases of early Pennsylvania oildom was 
 deluded into accepting the story that Wilkes purchased 
 a thirteenth interest in the Homestead well for one 
 thousand dollars. But he does brand the tale of the burn- 
 ing of the well as apocryphal. 87 
 
 The fabric from which the story of Booth's activity 
 as a highly successful oil operator has been woven 
 through the years, rots away as the various phases are 
 examined. He wanted an income not dependent on the 
 theatre and petroleum seemed a likely possibility. But 
 there can be no doubt of his failure as an entrepreneur 
 in rock oil. As late as February, 1865, the actor received 
 this missive from his former agent: 
 
 "Your strange note of the 16th rec'd/' penned 
 
 Joseph Simonds, "I hardly know what to make of 
 you this winter — so different from your usual self. 
 Have you lost all your ambition or what is the mat- 
 ter. Don't get offended with me John but I cannot 
 but think you are wasting your time spending the 
 entire season in Washington doing nothing where 
 it must be expensive to live and all for no other pur- 
 pose beyond pleasure. 
 
 "If you had taken 5 or 10,000 dollars and come 
 out here and spent the season living here with us, 
 traveling off over the country hunting up property 
 I believe we both could have made considerable 
 money by it. It is not too late yet for I believe the 
 great rush for property is to be this Spring and if 
 you are not going to act this season come out here 
 John where at least you can live prudently and 
 where I really believe you can make money. Come 
 John immediately. We have plenty of room at our 
 house now. 
 
 "You must not tell such extravagant stories John 
 about me. We work very hard and from the office 
 —57— 
 
derive so far a very comfortable income but nothing 
 even compared to what you used to make acting — 
 large indeed though compared to what we formerly 
 recM We have not got rich yet John and when I 
 do you will be the first one to know of it. But I do 
 v/ish you had come out here and staid this winter 
 and still wish you would come now. It would be 
 more profitable than living in Washington. . . . 3>88 
 
 Simonds knew Booth very well indeed. He perceived 
 that Wilkes had changed in some manner but could not 
 fathom the nature or cause of that change. Too, he 
 realized the actor was wasting his time and had no reg- 
 ular income, and perchance he was cognizant of the fact 
 that John's voice was not strong. 
 
 Simonds had gauged the pulse of the oil rush cor- 
 rectly for in the Spring of 1865 the greatest period of 
 speculation in oil, land, and well-interests, started with 
 the discovery of the new field at Pithole. Simonds had no 
 trouble making a comfortable living for himself at Frank- 
 lin and later at Bradford — all from petroleum or related 
 activity. 89 
 
 The letter also indicates Simonds knew Booth was 
 telling "tall tales" of his wealth made from good oil 
 luck. In communicating these stories he must have men- 
 tioned the agent's name, and in some way the news 
 reached Simonds for he mildly cautioned John against 
 continued false references. 
 
 —58— 
 
AFTERMATH 
 
 The Booth family destroyed everything belonging to 
 their errant Wilkes as soon as possible after they heard 
 of the disaster. The destruction was carried out in later 
 years too, when it could not be done at once; an ex- 
 ample was Edwin Booth's burning John Wilkes' costumes 
 when they came to his hands through a friend who had 
 purchased them at an auction sale. 
 
 In November, 1864, Wilkes had left an envelope in 
 Philadelphia with his sister Asia for safekeeping. Two 
 months later he called for the package briefly and then 
 returned it. When Asia and her husband, John Clarke, 
 opened the envelope, among some United States and 
 Philadelphia bonds were found two letters, one being 
 the famous c To whom it may concern" message. They 
 found also an assignment of Pennsylvania oil land for 
 brother Junius. 90 This represented the two-thirds interest 
 in the Franklin lease of which Simonds had received the 
 balance for his management work. 
 
 The manner in which the oil property was trans- 
 ferred is interesting. The land belonged to the heirs of 
 one Robert Wallace. As his three children were not of 
 age at his death, a guardian, David S. Smith, was ap- 
 pointed to handle the estate. This guardian sold the 
 land to Thomas Y. Mears and his wife, Wilhelmina 
 Theresa, in 1864. On September 79 of the same year, 
 Mears and his wife deeded the property to J. Wilkes 
 Booth, Joseph H. Simonds, and John Ellsler; they each 
 owned a one-third interest. 91 
 
 After Booth decided to leave the oil country, he and 
 Joseph Simonds jointly conveyed to Moses J. Colman 
 
 —59— 
 
(or Coleman), one-third of Booth's total interest in the 
 property, or one-ninth interest of the total ownership. 
 Simonds' name and signature had to be included be- 
 cause in the earlier deed he was mentioned as acting as 
 trustee for all the owners. 92 
 
 On the same day, October 21, 1864, Colman turned 
 this one-ninth interest over to Simonds; in effect, Booth 
 had given Simonds one-third of his share and had made 
 the transfer through Colman. 93 To terminate his petro- 
 leum holdings, Wilkes now conveyed to his brother Jun- 
 ius his remaining equity, or two-ninths of the entire prop- 
 erty. 94 
 
 These four deeds confirm the story told by Simonds 
 in testimony following the assassination, and also sup- 
 port the affidavit of John Sleeper Clarke, husband of 
 Asia Booth. Suspension of activity on this oil lease halted 
 further oil possibilities and in 1868 and 1869 the land 
 was assessed in the name of the Dramatic Oil Company. 
 However, the property was sold at the Venango County 
 Treasurer's Sale on June 28, 1870 to L. H. Fassett. 95 
 
 What happened to the Pithole well-interest Wilkes 
 had owned? We should be able to rely on Junius Booth's 
 statement, made after his arrest following the crime, 
 and as accurate as Junius could state the facts, because 
 he was afraid of being in great trouble. He said that 
 Wilkes, ". . . told me some time ago that he had given 
 her (Rosalie) some shares in oil stock and that it had 
 turned out much more valuable than he had any idea 
 of." 96 This is entirely likely as this remark of John's was 
 made in February, 1865, and the discovery well in the 
 Pithole oil field was struck the preceding month. News 
 of the new find spread like wild-fire. 97 
 
 —60— 
 
Simonds included in his letter to the War Depart- 
 ment the statement that Wilkes gave, ". . all his interest 
 in the Pithole property to his sister." It is safe to con- 
 clude that sister Rosalie was indicated in this case too. 
 
 The stock must have been in Rosalie's hands following 
 the assassination, but it was never sold or transferred. 
 Following the disaster, the Booth family washed their 
 hands of everything and anything John Wilkes had 
 touched. 
 
 Try as they might, and every effort was made, those 
 interested in placing the blame for Lincoln's death were 
 unable to implicate the highest Confederate leaders; 
 they could not prove these men had knowledge of 
 Booth's intent to kill. It was also suggested by some that 
 the actor was urged to his deed by unscrupulous Cath- 
 olics, but such anti-Catholicism can only be classified 
 as the rambling of "crank literature." 98 
 
 Highly placed Union leaders, among them Secretary 
 of War Edwin Stanton and Vice-President Andrew Jack- 
 son, were said to be in the background of a deep plot 
 to remove Lincoln, but again there was never any proof 
 offered in this respect. 
 
 A few have argued that Booth was a Mason and the 
 seed for his crime came from the inner circles of that 
 fraternity. But Lincoln was also a Mason, and in any 
 event, no proof would be available in any form to sub- 
 stantiate such a claim against Freemasonry." 
 
 The best interpretation seems to be that Booth killed 
 Lincoln due to his personal hatred and in the honest 
 belief that by removing the President, he was greatly 
 aiding the South. His anger mounted higher and higher 
 as disaster increased for the Confederacy, and grew too 
 
 —61— 
 
strong for him to contain; he relieved it by resorting to 
 drastic and direct revenge. 
 
 Outside of Booth's mistaken ideas of how he and 
 the South might better their positions in the war picture, 
 about the worst that can be said against the actor was 
 that he was known to have been a member of the 
 "Knights of the Golden Circle," a treasonable organ- 
 ization plotting against the Federal government. 100 
 
 Henry Arlington, a Philadelphian who had known 
 Wilkes in that city, encountered him in Baltimore and 
 gives his version of Wilkes' initiation into this secret 
 order. The details, contained in an anonymously written 
 volume, do not sound convincing and must not be re- 
 garded as fact. 101 However, there is no doubt of Booth's 
 actual membership in a "Castle" of this society. 
 
 The handsome assassin was also accused of spending 
 considerable time with blonde Ella Turner, originally a 
 native of Richmond, but who had come to Washington 
 and resided with her sister on Ohio Avenue. 102 She is 
 said to have been his mistress for a period of several 
 years. 
 
 A trace or two of the actor's stay in the land of grease 
 can still be found there. A slender short stick or riding 
 crop, mounted with a silver head, and given by Wilkes 
 to a friend, rests in a museum along with an autographed 
 picture of the lad. These items can be seen at the Drake 
 Well Museum near Titusville, Pa., and they were pre- 
 sented by R. M. Smiley of Knox, Pa., whose father re- 
 ceived them from Booth. 
 
 Still standing in Franklin, and in a good state of 
 preservation, is the house where Booth stayed. The pres- 
 ent owner will gladly show you through the place but 
 
 —62— 
 
the house is not identified in any special way and the 
 occupant is not proud that an assassin once lived there. 108 
 In 1879 a comprehensive "History of Venango County, 
 Pennsylvania" was prepared; for that date it was an 
 excellent piece of work. Wilkes Booth is not mentioned 
 in it for Franklin had readily forgotten what it wished 
 to forget. 104 And yet, the memory of Booth is not totally 
 erased. There still lives in Franklin a gracious old lady 
 who has passed the century mark. As a young lady of 
 twenty years, Martha Vincent knew Booth personally 
 and has said that, "Booth was a very attractive young 
 man and well liked by both the young men and young 
 women while he was here." Mrs. Bridges, her married 
 name, now 104 years old, has told members of her 
 family : 
 
 "When news of the assassination of Lincoln 
 reached Franklin, it caused great consternation, one 
 of the reasons which was of course the town- 
 people's knowledge of and liking for Booth. At that 
 time there was a tailoring establishment here, con- 
 ducted by two brothers. They were the particular 
 intimates of Booth. When informed of the circum- 
 stances of Lincoln's death, they immediately draped 
 their door with crepe and closed the store to busi- 
 ness to express their horror and sorrow and also 
 perhaps in fear of what might be done to them on 
 account of their intimacy with Booth." 105 
 
 Strange people came to the world's first oil region 
 from every walk of life imaginable and from some defi- 
 nitely not imaginable. Some made money and others 
 lost all; some have gone down in history as pioneers, 
 inventors, and philanthropists, and others have merely dis- 
 appeared. But only one became infamous as an assassin. 
 —63— 
 
'7 was needed — the name of a JMartyr sublime, 
 lo vindicate Qod in this terrible time. 
 
 Robert Henry Newell 
 
riot* 
 
 1 . The writer, accompanied by Mr. C. F. Wallace, 
 Jr., of Erie, Pa., visited the Baltimore City Court- 
 house where, with the assistance of Clerk J. F. Pruss, 
 we found the record of the marriage of Junius B. 
 Booth to Mary Ann Holmes, dated May 10, 1851. 
 The record is on a small card and the license was 
 number 1026. These cards have a place for the name 
 of the minister, but no name was shown. 
 
 This record conflicts with the statement of Asia 
 Booth Clarke, Juinus' daughter, who wrote that 
 her parents had been married in London during 
 January, 1821, at the residence of a Mrs. Chambers 
 who was interested in Booth's acting career. 
 
 One of the public explanations of the Booth mar- 
 riage tangle, and perhaps the earliest to receive any 
 wide distribution, was an article by Colonel F. A. 
 Burr titled, "Junius Brutus Booth's Wife Adelaide," 
 which appeared in Jhe New york Press on August 
 9, 1891. 
 
 Others were also interested in the Booth marriages. 
 Writing as President of the Hartford Historical So- 
 ciety from Darlington, Me., under date of Septem- 
 ber 25, 1891, to his friend, Dr. G. W. Archer at 
 Emmorton, Md., Dr. W. Stump Forward indicates 
 that with the aid of a Dr. Quinan, he discovered 
 the divorce of Booth from his first wife. He tried 
 without any luck to get information from members 
 of the Booth family, and finally had to draw the 
 conclusion that, "This tardy divorce affected the 
 legitimacy of his last (Junius') wife's children — 
 hence their silence." (Source — Unpublished letter 
 in the Theatre Collection, Municipal Museum of 
 the City of Baltimore. Dr. W. Stump Forward to 
 Dr. G W. Archer.) 
 
 —65— 
 
2. This farm property was acquired by the elder Booth 
 in 1824. There v/ere no buildings on the land so 
 he rented a log house that stood in an adjoining 
 field. Finally he purchased the house and moved 
 it to his own land. Booth built 'Tudor Hall/' the 
 present house on the property, but never lived in 
 it; he died in 1852 and the house was not finished 
 until the following year. 
 
 When inspected by the writer during February 
 and March, 1945, the place was in need of much 
 repair. Mrs. Ella V. Mahoney lives there with her 
 daughter, Miss G. H. Kyle. The farm was sold by 
 Mary Ann Booth to Mrs. Mahoney's first husband, 
 Samuel A. L. Kyle, in 1878. Mrs. Mahoney told 
 the writer she hoped soon to publish a book called, 
 f The House that Booth Built/' being the first com- 
 plete record of his country place. 
 
 See also : Mahoney, Ella V. — Sketches of Tudor 
 Hall and the Booth Family. Published by the author. 
 Belair, Md., 1925. 
 3.Sheetel, James W.— "J. Wilkes Booth at School." 
 The New York Dramatic Mirror. February 26, 
 1916. 
 
 4. Clarke, Asia Booth — Booth Memorials. New York, 
 Carleton. 1866. p-131. 
 
 5. Townsend, George Alfred — Life, Crime and Cap- 
 ture of John Wilkes Booth. New York. Dick and 
 Fitzgerald. 1865. p-21. 
 
 6. Lewis, Lloyd — Myths After Lincoln. New York. 
 Harcourt, Brace and Company. 1929. p-146. 
 
 7. Wilson, Francis— John Wilkes Booth. Boston. 
 Houghton Mifflin Co. 1929. p-17. Quoted by per- 
 mission of the publishers. 
 
 8. New York Herald. June 27, 1909. 
 
 9. Madison Daily Courier. Madison, Indiana. May 
 10, 1861. 
 
 10. The Daily Advertiser. Boston. May 19, 1862. 
 
1 1. Letter in Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 }X The New Orleans Times. March 19, 1864. 
 
 13. The New Orleans Times. March 21, 1864. 
 
 14. The New Orleans Times. March 27, 1864. 
 
 15. Kimmel, Stanley — The Mad Booths of Maryland. 
 
 Indianapolis. Bobbs-Merrill Co. 1940. p-181. Used 
 by permission of the publishers. 
 
 16. The Daily Picayune. New Orleans. April 3, 1864. 
 
 17. The Boston Transcript. Boston. April 27, 1864. 
 
 18. The .Evening Star. Washington, D.C. April 20, 
 
 1865. 
 
 19. Phelps, H. P. — Players of a Century. Albany, N. Y. 
 J. McDonough. 1880. p-326. 
 
 20. New York Herald Magazine Section. v June 27, 
 1909. 
 
 21. Kimmel, Stanley — The Mad Booths of Maryland. 
 p-1 75. 
 
 22. Drake is believed to have struck oil August 27, 
 1859. Historians offer at least six different dates, 
 each supported by some evidence making that date 
 plausible. 
 
 23. One of the first papers to carry news of Drake's 
 discovery well was The Daily Pittsburgh Gazette, 
 Pittsburgh, September 30, 1859. 
 
 24. The fire causing the greatest loss of life was the 
 burning of the Little & Merrick well, at Rouseville, 
 near Oil City, in April, 1861. Among those killed 
 in this disaster was the Honorable Henry R. Rouse 
 of Warren County, a noted lumber and oil oper- 
 ator. 
 
 For details of this tragedy see, 
 Henry, J. T. — The Early & Later History of Pe- 
 troleum with Authentic Facts in Regard to its De- 
 velopment in Western Pennsylvania. Philadelphia. 
 Jas. B. Rodgers. 1873. 
 
 See also, 
 
 —67— 
 
The Venango Spectator, Franklin, Pa. April 24, 
 1861. 
 
 25. Stock prospectus sheets and pamphlets all extolled 
 the producing territory of the firm and distorted 
 the facts. Some of these companies had no land, 
 no wells, no royalty interests, and in fact nothing 
 but an office and engraved stock certificates. 
 
 26. Dr. Paul H. Giddens, in his able bibliography titled, 
 "The Beginning of the Petroleum Industry/' wrote 
 that this book, <( . . . is probably the first printed 
 account of any size upon the oil development from 
 August, 1859, until June, I860." 
 
 27. Most of E. L. Babbitt's original maps of the river 
 were destroyed in a fire before the engraved plates 
 could be made and he was forced to repeat much 
 of his work a second time. The writer has inspected 
 the few original maps not burned, and now owned 
 by a grandson, L. Rex Babbitt, of Buffalo, N. Y. 
 
 28. Bone, J. H. A.— Petroleum and Petroleum Wells. 
 Philadelphia. J. B. Lippincott & Company. 1865. 
 p-70. 
 
 29. Dobbs, A. S.— "What A Pond Freshet Is." Warren, 
 Pa. The Warren Mail. January 24, 1863. 
 
 30. Boston City Directories for 1861 through 1865. 
 
 31. Letter from Mildred Boardman, St. Louis Public 
 Library, St. Louis, Mo. March 30, 1944. 
 
 32. Mackey interviewed Mears' son in Cleveland in 
 1894. According to the son, who did not impress 
 Mackey, r Thomas Y. Mears was a Southerner by 
 birth, born in Louisiana, but his sympathy was 
 with the North. He could not see that the South 
 was in the right although a Southern born. His 
 father owned a large plantation and had many slaves. 
 On the death of the father, Mears succeeded to all 
 these possessions. He liberated all the slaves and 
 came North. Two of the slaves came with him 
 and remained with him for a long time." 
 
 —68— 
 
If Thomas Mears had such a background, and if 
 he held the views attributed to him by his son, 
 he was indeed a strange companion for Wilkes 
 Booth. 
 
 33. Mackey Papers. Interviews with S. M. Reid and 
 W. C. Rheem. 
 
 34. The Titusville Herald. Titusville, Pa. August 22, 
 1934. 
 
 35. Letter from Roy P. Nelson, Prothonotary of Ven- 
 ango County, Franklin, Pa. October 19, 1943. 
 
 36. McLaurin, John J. — Sketches in Crude Oil. Harris- 
 burg, Pa. J. Horace McFarland Co. 1896. p-96. 
 
 37. Mackey Papers. Interview with Henry Sires. 
 
 38. Mackey Papers. Interview with Ralph M. Brigham. 
 Brigham told Mackey he always rented saddle 
 horses to John Wilkes and his account book 
 showed he had charged Booth for the use of a 
 horse May 30, 1864. 
 
 39. Smiley, Alfred W.— A Few Scraps, Oily & Other- 
 wise. Oil City, Pa. Derrick Publishing Co. 1907. 
 p-77. 
 
 40. Mackey Papers. Interview with Mrs. J. T. P. Wat- 
 son. 
 
 41. Smiley, Alfred W. — A Few Scraps, Oily & Other- 
 wise. pp-80-82. 
 
 42. "Crocus" (Leonard, Charles C.) — The History of 
 Pithole. Pithole City, Pa. Morton, Longwell & Co. 
 1867. p-19. 
 
 43. The Petroleum Age. Bradford, Pa. Vol. 1, No. 2. 
 January, 1882. 
 
 44. The Venango Spectator. Franklin, Pa. April 26, 
 1865. 
 
 45. Mackey Papers. Interviews with O. B. Steele and 
 Mr. MacAmirch. 
 
 . 46. Mackey Papers. Interview with R. M. Brigham. 
 47. Mackey Papers. Interviews with E. W. Smiley and 
 H. Stearns Smiley. 
 
 —69— 
 
48. Mackey Papers. Interview with Elisha W. Smith. 
 
 49. Unpublished letter, Theatre Collection, Peak's Mu- 
 nicipal Museum, Baltimore, Md. Asia Booth Clarke 
 to Jean Anderson. Aug. 25, 1864. 
 
 50. All sources agreed the well was a financial loss. 
 A Franklin attorney, the sheriff, several oil pro- 
 ducers, and the actual driller of the hole told 
 Mackey virtually the same story. 
 
 51. Mackey Papers. Interview with Frank I. Mears. 
 
 52. Statement of Junius Brutus Booth, Jr. May 3, 1865. 
 War Records Office, National Archives, Wash- 
 ington, D. C. 
 
 53. Pittman, Benn (Editor) — The Assassination of 
 President Lincoln and Trial of the Conspirators. 
 Cincinnati. Moore, Wilstach & Baldwin. 1865. 
 p-45. 
 
 54. Mackey Papers. Interview with James Lawson. 
 
 55. Pitmann, Benn (Editor) — The Assassination of 
 President Lincoln and Trial of the Conspirators. 
 p-45. 
 
 56. In a letter left with John S. Clarke, his brother- 
 in-law, and first printed in Jhe ^Washington Even- 
 ing Star, April 20, 1865, he had written, ff Nor do 
 I deem it a dishonor in attempting to make for her 
 {here he means the Confederacy) a prisoner of 
 this man to whom she owes so much misery." 
 
 57. The Sunday Telegraph. New York. May 23, 1909. 
 
 58. Mackey Papers. Interview with H. M. Irwin. 
 
 59. Mackey Papers. Second interview with Alfred W. 
 Smiley. 
 
 60. Mackey Papers. Interview with John A. Wilson. 
 
 61. Eisenschiml, Otto — Why Was Lincoln Murdered? 
 Boston. Little, Brown Co. 1937. p-16. 
 
 62. Miss Harris was the daughter of U. S. Senator Ira 
 Harris of Albany, N. Y. Major Rathbone was his 
 step-son and twenty-eight years old at this time. 
 
 63. Permission to use this quotation granted by Mr. 
 
 —70— 
 
Alan Hynd, 530 Park Avenue, New York, N. Y. 
 Allan Pinkerton founded the detective agency bear- 
 ing his name in 1850. During the Civil War, he 
 worked with the U. S. Secret Service under the 
 name of Major E. J. Allen. 
 
 64. Lincoln told John R. Briggs, husband of the author- 
 ess Susan Edson Briggs (Olivia), "Don't let your 
 wife come to my inauguration. It is best for our 
 women to remain indoors on that day, as the 
 bullets may be flying." 
 
 65. Clark, Allen C. — Abraham Lincoln in the National 
 Capitol. Washington, D. C. W. F. Roberts Co. 
 1925. p-92. 
 
 66. Oldroyd, Osborn H.— Words of Lincoln. Wash- 
 ington, D. C. Published by the author. 1895. p-179. 
 
 67. See, 
 
 Bryan, George S. — The Great American Myth. 
 New York. Carrick & Evans, Inc. 1940. pp-51-74. 
 
 See also, 
 Baringer, William E. — A House Dividing. Spring- 
 field, 111. Abraham Lincoln Association. 1945. pp- 
 292-296; 299-301. 
 
 68. The first daily newspaper in the oil regions was 
 Jbe Jitusville Herald, Titusville, Pa., and the first 
 issue was dated June 14, 1865, or exactly two 
 months after Lincoln's assassination. 
 
 69. Henry, James Dodds — History and Romance of 
 the Petroleum Industry. London and Tonbridge. 
 Bradbury, Agnew & Co. Ltd. 1914. p-300. 
 
 70. Eisenschiml, Otto — The Case of A. L. , Aged 
 
 56. Chicago. Privately printed. 1943. p-42. 
 
 71. DeWitt, David Miller — Assassination of Abraham 
 Lincoln and Its Expiation. New York. The Mac- 
 millan Co. 1909. p-84. 
 
 72. For those who desire to read of Booth's reputed 
 escape, the following are recommended: 
 Alexander, T. H. — "Booth, Lincoln Assassin, Lived 
 
 —71— 
 
Died in Tennessee." The Evening Tennesseean. 
 Nashville, Tenn. January 22, 1932. p-1. 
 Bates, Finis L. — The Escape and Suicide of John 
 Wilkes Booth. Memphis, Tenn. Historical Publish- 
 ing Co. 1907. 
 
 Babcock, Bernie — Booth and the Spirit of Lincoln. 
 New York. Grosset & Dunlop. 1925. (Fiction based 
 on Bates' volume.) 
 
 Forrester, Izola — This One Mad Act. Boston. Hale, 
 Cushman & Flint. 1937. 
 
 Woods, Rufus — Weirdest Story in American His- 
 tory. Wenatchee, Wash. World Publishing Co. 
 1944. 
 
 For those seeking evidence of Booth's death at 
 Garrett's, the following articles from 7he Bear- 
 born Independent are recommended : 
 Hathaway, Carson G. — What The Mark of the 
 Scalpel Tells.' February 7, 1925. 
 Black, F. L. — Did Lincoln's Assassin Escape? March 
 21, 1925. 
 
 Black, F. L. — The Flight of Lincoln's Assassins. 
 April 4, 1925. 
 
 Black, F. L. — The Pursuit & Capture of Booth. April 
 11, 1925. 
 
 Black, F. L.— John St. Helen as John Wilkes Booth. 
 April 18, 1925. 
 
 Black, F. L.— David E. George as J. Wilkes Booth. 
 April 25, 1925. 
 
 Black, F L.— Identification of J. Wilkes Booth. 
 May 2, 1925. 
 
 73. Mackey Papers. Interview with Colonel J. H. Cain. 
 
 74. The Crawford Democrat. Meadville, Pa. April 25, 
 1865. 
 
 The following letter was sent by S. D. Page of 
 the McHenry House to the Honorable E. M. Stan- 
 ton, Secretary of War, under date of April 25, 
 
 1865: 
 
 —72— 
 
"Sir- 
 Recent dispatches, referring to a former and 
 futile attempt upon the life of the late Abraham 
 Lincoln by poison, have induced me to write 
 you regarding a circumstance occurring at this 
 hotel, where I have been cashier for a year and a 
 half. Sometime ago the following words were 
 observed to have been scratched upon a pane 
 of glass in room No. 22 of this house, evidently 
 done with a diamond: 'Abe Lincoln departed 
 this life August 13, 1864, by the effects of 
 poison/ I give this just as it appears upon the 
 glass. In view of recent events, it was deemed 
 best to take the pane of glass out and preserve 
 it, and we have it safe. As to the date of the 
 writing, we cannot determine. It was noticed 
 some months ago by the housekeeper, but was 
 not thought particularly of until after the assas- 
 sination, being considered a freak of some in- 
 dividual who was probably partially intoxicated. 
 My theory now is, that the words were writ- 
 ten in prophecy or bravado by some villain who 
 was in the plot, and that they were written be- 
 fore the date mentioned, August 13. As to who 
 was the writer, we can, of course, give no definite 
 information. J. Wilkes Booth was here several 
 times during last summer and fall, on his way 
 to and from the oil regions. He was here upon 
 the 10th and again upon the 29th of June, 1864, 
 but does not appear to have been assigned that 
 room, still he may have been in it in company 
 with others who did occupy it. 
 
 Upon the 10th the room was assigned to W. 
 H. Crowell and J. C. Ford, of Irvine, Pennsyl- 
 vania; and upon the 29th, to R. E. Glass and J. 
 W. King, of New York. Should you consider 
 the matter of sufficient importance to desire it, 
 —73— 
 
I will give you a list of the persons occupying 
 the room in question for a long time preceding 
 the above date, as you may request. 
 
 With a hearty desire to do all in my power 
 to bring to light and to punishment the author 
 of this terrible crime, 
 
 I remain, very respectfully, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 (Signed) S. D. Page." 
 
 75. The Venango Spectator. Franklin, Pa. April 19, 
 1865. 
 
 76. Letter of J. H. Simonds, Franklin, Pa., to Capt. D. 
 V. Derrickson, April 25, 1865. Washington, D. C. 
 War Records Office, National Archives. 
 
 77. Pitmann, Benn (Editor) — The Assassination of 
 President Lincoln and Trial of the Conspirators. 
 p-45. 
 
 78. Mackey Papers. Interview with Squire S. A. Mc- 
 Alevy. 
 
 79. Townsend, George Alfred — The Life, Crime & Cap- 
 ture of John Wilkes Booth pp. 23-24. 
 
 See, 
 Hindes, Ruthanna — George Alfred Townsend. 
 Wilmington, Del. Hambleton Publishing Co. 1946. 
 
 80. The Titusville Herald. Titusville, Pa. Vol. I, No. 1. 
 June 14, 1865. 
 
 81. The Petroleum Age. Bradford, Pa. Vol. I, No. 2. 
 January 1882 p-46. 
 
 82. Crum, A. R.— "A Pithole Legend of John Wilkes 
 Booth." The Petroleum Age. Bradford, Pa. Vol. VI, 
 No. 8, September 1887. p-1733. 
 
 83. McLaurin, John J. — Sketches in Crude Oil. p-104. 
 
 84. Flynn, John T.— God's Gold. New York. Har- 
 court, Brace and Co. 1937. p-120. 
 
 85. The Oil City Register. Oil City, Pa. June 14, 1865. 
 
 86. Clarke, Asia Booth— The Unlocked Book. New 
 York. G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1938. p-113. 
 
 —74— 
 
87. Giddens, Paul R— The Birth of the Oil Industry. 
 New York. The Macmillan Company. 1938. p-128. 
 
 88. Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate Gen- 
 eral, National Archives. Washington, D. C. 
 
 89. After Booth left Franklin, Simonds ran his first 
 advertisement in 7be Venango Spectator under the 
 name "Jo. H. Simonds & Co." This was September 
 28, 1864 and Simonds proclaimed his firm as 
 "Agents for the Purchase and Sale of Petroleum 
 Lands, Leases, interests in oil wells, etc. Office 
 Corner Liberty & High Streets, Franklin, Venango 
 Co., Pa. Parties wishing to purchase or sell real es- 
 tate of any kind will find it for their interest to 
 deal through this office. All business attended to 
 promptly and faithfully." 
 
 The first issue of this paper following the assas- 
 sination, dated April 19, 1865, was also the first 
 to contain Simonds' advertisement as the oil re- 
 gion representative for Beer's Atlas of the Oil Re- 
 gions. Soon Simonds had a partner, Moses J. Cole- 
 man; they conducted their business until about 
 1875 when Simonds moved to Bradford, Pa., site 
 of a new oil boom. There he was employed by 
 Whitney & Wheeler, oil operators and owners of 
 the Tuna Valley Bank. Unmarried, Simonds lived 
 at the St. James Hotel, next door to the bank, 
 and today the location of the Hotel Emery. 
 
 In 1944 the writer interviewed Charles L. Wheel- 
 er, Jr. at Bradford. His father had been the one and 
 only President of the Bradford Oil Exchange and 
 was friendly with Simonds. The elder Wheeler 
 had once been a theatre man in New York. Simonds 
 gave Wheeler a group of theatre programs he had 
 collected. They passed from father to son who 
 presented them to H. B. Schonblum, a Bradford 
 banker. On examination of these programs, none 
 carried the name of Booth. 
 —75— 
 
Mr. Wheeler, Jr. told me/'I do remember Simonds 
 was a bachelor and very neat. He always dressed 
 well. He had a sandy-colored mustache. Of course 
 my father knew Jo Simonds well; I knew him only 
 as a youngster knows a much older man. He must 
 have been 55 at this time/' 
 
 As a youngster, Wheeler Jr. worked as a clerk 
 on the floor of the petroleum exchange and saw 
 Simonds daily. He did not remember him dabbling 
 in any oil speculation but thought he was often on 
 the floor as the representative of Whitney & 
 Wheeler. (The 'Wheeler' of this banking firm was 
 from Buffalo and not related to the Wheeler who 
 was President of the Exchange or his son.) This 
 surmise regarding Simonds is no doubt correct as 
 he is listed as a member of the Exchange for 1883, 
 1884, and 1885. (See, Charter, By-Laws, Confer- 
 ence Rules and List of Members of the Bradford 
 Oil Exchange. Ashby & Vincent.. Erie, Pa. 1884. 
 See also, The Petroleum Age, Bradford, Pa. Vol. 
 IV, No. 1, February 1885. Also, Whiteshot, Charles 
 A._The Oil Well Driller. Mannington, W. Va. 
 Published by the author. 1905. p-125. 
 
 90. Affidavit of John Sleeper Clarke. May 6, 1865. 
 War Records Office. National Archives. Wash- 
 ington, D. C. 
 
 91. Deed, Thomas Y. Mears ux to Joseph H. Simonds 
 al. Venango County Courthouse. Franklin, Pa. 
 Deed book Z, p-309. 
 
 92. Deed, J. Wilkes Booth et al to M. J. Colman. Ve- 
 nango County Courthouse, Franklin, Pa. Deed 
 book CC, p-366. 
 
 93. Deed, Moses J. Colman to Joseph H. Simonds. 
 Venango County Courthouse. Franklin, Pa. Deed 
 book CC, p-367. 
 
 94. Deed, J. Wilkes Booth et al to Junius B. Booth. 
 
 —76— 
 
Venango County Courthouse. Franklin, Pa. Deed 
 book CC, p-365. 
 
 95. Attorney H. Carl Wasson of the firm of Nesbit & 
 Wasson, Franklin, Pa., supplied this information. 
 He has also traced the property up to 1885 at 
 which time it was assessed to Simonds and Ella 
 H. Colman, wife of Moses J. Colman, who was in 
 business with Simonds. Mr. Wasson took con- 
 siderable interest in this search and spent much 
 time on it. 
 
 96. Statement of Junius Brutus Booth, Jr. May 3, 1865. 
 War Records Office. National Archives. Wash- 
 ington, D. C. 
 
 97. Handbook of Petroleum. Oil City, Pa. Derrick 
 
 Publishing Co. 1898. I, p-44. 
 
 98. McCarty, Burke — The Suppressed Truth About 
 the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Chicago. 
 Gopher Agency. 1924. 
 
 99. Forrestor, Izola — This One Mad Act. Boston. Hale, 
 Cushman & Flint. 1937. 
 
 100. Holt, J. — Report of the Judge Advocate General 
 on the 'Order of American Knights/ or 'Sons of 
 Liberty/ Government Printing Office. Washing- 
 ton. 1864. 
 
 See also, 
 Milton, George Fort — Abraham Lincoln and the 
 Fifth Column. New York. Vanguard Press. 1942. 
 Chapter 4. 
 
 101. Anonymous — The Great Conspiracy. Philadelphia. 
 Barclay & Co. 1866. pp-25-27. 
 
 102. Leech, Margaret — Reveille in Washington. New 
 York. Harper & Brothers. 1941. p-360. 
 
 103. Mrs. Frieda Schuessler owned the former Webber 
 house at 1301 Buffalo Street, Franklin, Pa., until 
 her death late in 1945. She told the writer even 
 though the house was unmarked, many people 
 stopped to see it every year. 
 
 —77— 
 
104. Newton, J. H. (Editor) — History of Venango 
 County, Pennsylvania, and Incidentally of Petro- 
 leum, Etc. Columbus, Ohio. J. A. Caldwell. 1879. 
 
 See also, 
 Babcock, Charles, A. — Venango County, Penna.; 
 Her Pioneers and People. Chicago. J. H. Beers & Co. 
 Two volumes. 1919. 
 
 105. Communications from Mr. J. M. Bridges, Franklin, 
 Pa., May 18, and May 1% 1946. 
 
 —78— 
 
PHOTOGRAPHS 
 
Author's Collection 
 
 JOHN WILKES BOOTH 
 
 LAST PHOTOGRAPH 
 
 On April 10, 1865, Booth traveled to Baltimore with 
 some friends and shortly after arriving, he had this pic- 
 ture taken at a photographer's on Baltimore Street. He 
 probably went to the studio of Leach & Edkins. After 
 the death of Charles P. Lusby, who was later Leach's 
 partner, Lusby's son found the plate and presented it to 
 Mr. E. L. Bangs who made this picture from it. 
 
Courtesy £. J. Mackey 
 
 BOOTH S FRANKLIN, PA. HOME 
 
 (Jrom a picture taken about 1894) 
 
 Booth lived at Mrs. Sarah Webber's while in the oil 
 country. She is shown standing in front of her home 
 The actor's room was on the second floor front, in rhe 
 right corner. Joseph Simonds lived here too; his room 
 was on the lower floor, right rear corner. This house 
 still stands and is in good repair. 
 
Author's Collection 
 
 A FAVORITE POSE 
 
 John Wilkes Booth presented this photograph to 
 George Smith Houston when the latter was a Congress- 
 man representing Alabama. In 1874 Houston was elected 
 Governor of Alabama. 
 
Mather photo 
 Brake Well Museum 
 
 HOMESTEAD WELL, HYNER FARM, 
 PIT HOLE, 1865 
 
 This is the well in which Booth purchased an undi- 
 vided thirtieth interest for $1,000. The well was not 
 finished until after his death. Oil was found June 3, 1865, 
 and the well produced until October 6, 1865. During 
 that period, the total yield was over 28,000 barrels. 
 
Author's Collection 
 
 JOSEPH H. SIMONDS 
 
 Booth's manager in the oil region testified for the gov- 
 ernment after the assassination. He was a successful 
 Franklin business man who later moved to Bradford, 
 Pa., where he was employed by a bank and handled oil 
 transactions. 
 
PETROLEUM LANDS, LEASES. INTERESTS IN OIL WELLS, &r 
 
 WiirflVt CAREFUL ATENTION TO ALL BUSINESsTnTRUSTEDTO THEIR CARE: 
 
 .A,,,,/,/,; .?/, JhuuzsM /its- 
 
 **~ ^ Ji*^*s n*s 4&<. yrfce^^, &>t~- y*Jx^&p~ <yC^+ists&; J^^**SdL^ 
 
 Jl>i~&*siM/ r*^ yZd&rC. ^Lcyo/O *-t-v-n^V bfy- »*** +y*-*-c^~y a^CZ^-^^ *Z £c*xJ*Gi^-*~^ 
 **»- /J tiA^~ -^to -»-»^- ^-.^ ~~Ct^*t*. fc**-/ ^ cistK*,^/ **ffm-*^-* ■ -Ayt^ty cyi^m.^ a-^—~* 
 
 £iy *~T^ i/^-iy^ <*> A^f^ o£*/{^~> d<^-4^^. dLs <Jcj£/.^~~'£^s J^y 
 
 •*<-«-*^C ^-J. y&T^yt-^C A^^L -C*ytA <S^y**Sh 'AyC-lyty' ^CKyf^J^UT t-^i^C^/i. ■^ZZ-^LS 
 
 National Archives 
 
 Letter of Simonds to Captain Derrickson telling of 
 Booth's petroleum investments and his financial loss while 
 in the oil business. Reproduced for the first time. 
 
why Booth retired unwillingly from the 
 stage, contains considerable references to 
 aid the reader, and the photographs, pub- 
 lished for the first time, lend pictorial 
 interest to the text. 
 
 The author was born and raised in the 
 heart of the oil country. He learned much 
 of the oil business from his grandfather, 
 his father, and other relatives engaged 
 in it. 
 
 After finishing at Penn State (1934), 
 and doing graduate work on petroleum 
 technology there, he was a special inves- 
 tigator against malpractice in the oil 
 industry in New England and Eastern 
 Canada, employed by the Pennsylvania 
 Grade Crude Oil Association. In 1940 he 
 joined the staff of the West Penn Oil 
 Company. Late in 1942 he joined the 
 Red Cross where he served as a Field 
 Director with various Army units until 
 January of 1946. Since that time he has 
 returned to his former employment. 
 
 In 1941 he wrote Oil Mania, a brief 
 history of the oil fields, and in 1946 
 served as editor for the rare The History 
 of Pit hole. Frequent articles relative to 
 historical oildom and semi- technical pres- 
 ent day petroleum problems have come 
 from his pen. 
 
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 Utile In ~Atmerlca 
 
 by WILLIAM CARTER WHITE 
 
 Boston Post: "Alone in its field, it is 
 well documented, copiously illustrated, and 
 full of intriguing information, musical and 
 otherwise." 
 
 Winston'Salem (N. C.) Journal-Senti- 
 nel: "If you are a music lover, this volume 
 will make a valuable and often referred to 
 addition to your library." $3 
 
 ZJIte ZJwetfth oUl&clple 
 
 H&citti 
 
 by MART KOUES SACHS 
 
 St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Thirty years 
 of research and writing have culminated in 
 this play. Its first version won a national 
 contest in 1927. A rewritten version was 
 produced in 1928 by the St. Louis Little 
 Theater and a California theater group. 
 The final work is book'length. The play, 
 which develops a new concept of Judas, 
 required years of study of the lives of 
 Jesus and the Apostles." $2.50 
 
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