Did Abe Lincoln's Assassin Escape?

[John317]

DNA May Solve Mystery

Dec 23, 2010 – 2:01 PM

David Lohr

Contributor

Descendants of John Wilkes Booth have agreed to exhume his brother's body for DNA testing in an attempt to determine whether the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln escaped capture and eluded justice, as the family has been told.

"I'm absolutely in favor of exhuming Edwin," Joanne Hulme, a Booth family historian, told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "Let's have the truth and put this thing to rest."

The descendants of John Wilkes Booth hope to answer the question of whether he escaped after assassinating President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.Booth, an actor from Maryland, shot and killed Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Most believe he was tracked down 10 days later and shot inside a tobacco barn in rural Virginia by Union soldiers and buried in an unmarked grave in Baltimore's Green Mount Cemetery.

That, however, is not the story that has been passed down in the Booth family. According to family members, Booth escaped capture and lived for 38 more years.

That story was also made popular in the 1907 book "The Escape and Suicide of John Wilkes Booth," written by Finis L. Bates. In the book, Bates suggested a Booth look-alike was mistakenly killed at the farm. Booth then assumed the name John St. Helen and committed suicide in 1903 in Enid, Okla.

In an effort to end the speculation, Hulme and her family want to compare DNA from Booth's brother, Edwin, to that of a bone specimen at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington. The bone is from the man who was gunned down inside the barn.

Before an exhumation of Edwin Booth in a cemetery in Cambridge, Mass., the family wants to get permission from the museum to obtain the DNA sample from the bone specimen. A panel of judges will make the final decision.

The museum's public relations department did not immediately returned a message today to AOL News.

Historian Nate Orlowek is also eager to get to the bottom of the story. He's spent decades investigating the case.

"If the man who killed our greatest president got away, and a giant hoax was perpetrated on the American people, then we should know about it," he told the Inquirer.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Quote:

"If the man who killed our greatest president got away, and a giant hoax was perpetrated on the American people, then we should know about it," he told the Inquirer.

Why? After all these years, why? Maybe he was really a Mason and an illuminati. Let's let the conspiracy factor begin. After all, we're just stupid Americans who believe whatever the media feeds us.

Let's start digging up all the assassins in America. Oh heck. Let's just start digging everyone up so we can really see who our ancestors were. A nice genealogical grant from the Feds ought to cover the cost.

[Guest]

I have two shovels, if someone else needs one.

[phkrause]

Thanks for the post John. This could become very interesting in many ways. I guess it would be good to know for sure, but like Rudywoofs mentioned, "now after all these years". Oh well!

I wasn't aware that he was our greatest President! But I would have no problem voting to that effect. :)

[John317]

I think it's important to know if they killed the right person or if the assassin escaped justice. Until we were able to analyze DNA, we couldn't tell, but now we should be able to know one way or the other.

They probably call Lincoln "our greatest president" because most historians rate him that way. I believe Lincoln was our greatest president because of the way he led us through the Civil War. We came very close to becoming two different nations. In fact, without Lincoln, I'm sure we would be today. For a while Lincoln thought he was going to lose the election of 1864, and if he had lost it, the Democrats under former General McClellen were prepared to throw in the towel.

[phkrause]

I think it's important to know if they killed the right person or if the assassin escaped justice. Until we were able to analyze DNA, we couldn't tell, but now we should be able to know one way or the other.

They probably call Lincoln "our greatest president" because most historians rate him that way. I believe Lincoln was our greatest president because of the way he led us through the Civil War. We came very close to becoming two different nations. In fact, without Lincoln, I'm sure we would be today. For a while Lincoln thought he was going to lose the election of 1864, and if he had lost it, the Democrats under former General McClellen were prepared to throw in the towel.

I agree with you about Lincoln, I feel the same about GWB. The right person at the right time. I didn't agree with everything he did, but I believe that he was the right person at the time. I'm glad Gore didn't get in or any other candidate from either side.

[Kountzer]

It is already established that the Lincoln assassination was orchestrated by the RCC out of Quebec. Lincoln knew of it. They made a few unsuccessful attempts before. One of the conspirators managed to leave the country, with help. He was given asylum in the Vatican. He even became a member of the Swiss guard. Etc...

[John317]

I couldn't agree more with you, pk. I doubt Gore would have done much of anything about 9/11 until he first got the OK from the UN--- about 2 years later, maybe. And that would have been to apologize profusely for making the terrorists angry.

[John317]

... One of the conspirators managed to leave the country, with help. He was given asylum in the Vatican. He even became a member of the Swiss guard. Etc...

Do you know the name of that conspirator?

Was Paine part of that conspiracy? If the RCC was the one who came up with the plan, they sure selected the wrong group of people to do it.

[phkrause]

I couldn't agree more with you, pk. I doubt Gore would have done much of anything about 9/11 until he first got the OK from the UN--- about 2 years later, maybe. And that would have been to apologize profusely for making the terrorists angry.

Not saying that I agree with Bush's decission, so maybe with Gore's inactivity they might of found out other info. Having said that I doubt that. LOL

[Dr. Shane]

I doubt Gore would have done much of anything about 9/11 until he first got the OK from the UN--- about 2 years later, maybe.

I disagree. Gore was beating his chest and making a case to invade Iraq without UN approval in 1998. I think he would have rushed the response. Bush didn't rush into either Afghanistan or Iraq. I think Gore would have made even more mistakes than Bush did.

[Kountzer]

John Surrat. His Mom was hanged for her part in the plan.

[John317]

You could be right about that, Shane. You probably know more about Gore than I do. In any case, it does look like Bush was the right man at the right time for the position. I thought that at the time, and I know many others did as well. Bush made mistakes on other things, but as far as the war against the terrorists is concerned, I think he did a great job. I believe history will judge that Bush did right by the country taking the action he did. I'll never forget those first few weeks after 9/11 how Americans came together.

[John317]

Oh sure, I know who she was. I didn't recall what happened to her son John. I'm not sure he was a major player in the assassination. I've read a number of books about it. One of the best, just in terms of reporting, was Jim Bishop's The Day Lincoln Was Shot.

What was John's part in the conspiracy?

[phkrause]

Oh sure, I know who she was. I didn't recall what happened to her son John. I'm not sure he was a major player in the assassination. I've read a number of books about it. One of the best, just in terms of reporting, was Jim Bishop's The Day Lincoln Was Shot.

What was John's part in the conspiracy?

John here's a link to some stuff on John Surratt

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lincolnconspiracy/surrattj.html

[John317]

Thanks-- very interesting. He was tried and the jury was hung.

[Kountzer]

Thanks-- very interesting. He was tried and the jury was hung.

...I doubt the hung jury was a coincidence.

[doug yowell]

Thanks-- very interesting. He was tried and the jury was hung.

That's odd. The jury gets hung and the alleged conspirator goes home??

[doug yowell]

I have two shovels, if someone else needs one.

150 years later I think we need more like a skip loader.----By the way,did you know that 9/11 was an inside government job? I suspect that it was orchestrated by the same shadowy group that was on the grassy knoll, and built the studio that Neil Armstrong jumped around on.

[John317]

You may very well be right. I wouldn't be surprised. I wish we had more evidence about it.

[John317]

Interesting that you mention the grassy knoll. I've been there a number of times. The first time was in the summer of 1968 when I was hitch-hiking through Texas and the driver dropped me off about midnight. I had no idea where he let me off, but after walking a couple of minutes I suddenly looked up and recognized the School Depository building. I knew then where I was because I recogized it from all the photographs I'd seen over the last 5 years. I found a good, dry place to sleep that night-- near the top of the grassy knoll back where some people said they saw a shooter among some trees.

I believe Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin.

[Jeannieb43]

I doubt Gore would have done much of anything about 9/11 until he first got the OK from the UN--- about 2 years later, maybe. And that would have been to apologize profusely for making the terrorists angry.

If Gore had been president, 9/11 probably would not have happened. It's well documented that the intelligence report came through to Condoleeza Rice that terrorists were planning to fly planes into a high rise building. She discounted it out of hand because it was so unrealistic [to her way of thinking]. She did not pass it along to the boss.

If Gore had been in office, he would have had a different secretary of state.

[John317]

That's a thought. It would certainly have been a different Secretary of State, but I wonder if the other one would have done anything different. Maybe so. I've read that not too long before 9/11, there were others in the government or military who thought about planes being used in the way Rice said she'd never considered before.

[bonnie]

That's a thought. It would certainly have been a different Secretary of State, but I wonder if the other one would have done anything different. Maybe so. I've read that not too long before 9/11, there were others in the government or military who thought about planes being used in the way Rice said she'd never considered before.

Gee,let's go back to the Clinton-Gore team and the chances they had.

[Guest]

Gee,let's go back to the Clinton-Gore team and the chances they had.

Exactly! As if it couldn't have happened on their watch. Or on Gore's for that matter. They had the best chances of anybody to stop Al Qaeda and Bin Laden. And did nothing.