Want to come heckle BoothieBarn authors Dave & Kate Taylor in person? Here are some of our public speaking engagements planned for the future.
Date: Saturday, April 6, 2019
Location: Perryville branch of the Cecil County Library (500 Coudon Blvd. Perryville, MD 21903)
Time: 1:00 pmm
Speech: The Making of an Assassin: The History of John Wilkes Booth
Speaker: Dave Taylor
Description: How did John Wilkes Booth go from celebrated actor to villainous assassin? In his speech, Dave will recount the life of John Wilkes Booth and what led him to the Presidential box at Ford’s Theatre.
Cost: Free
Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Location: Lynchburg Civil War Round Table (4009 Murray Place, Lynchburg, Virginia 24501)
Time: 7:45 pm
Speech: The Making of an Assassin: The History of John Wilkes Booth
Speaker: Dave Taylor
Description: How did John Wilkes Booth go from celebrated actor to villainous assassin? In his speech, Dave will recount the life of John Wilkes Booth and what led him to the Presidential box at Ford’s Theatre.
Cost: Cost for the talk is $5. Guests are also welcome to come for the buffet dinner starting at 7:00 pm but the cost for that is $25. Information can be found at: https://www.historicsandusky.org/lcwrt
Date: Saturday, April 27, 2019
Location: Surratt House Museum (9118 Brandywine Road, Clinton, MD 20735)
Time: 7:00 am – 7:00 pm
Speech: John Wilkes Booth Escape Route Bus Tour
Speaker: Dave Taylor
Description: The 12 hour bus trip which documents the escape of the assassin through Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.
Cost: $85. Registration information can be found at: http://www.surrattmuseum.org/booth-escape-tour
Date: Sunday, May 5, 2019
Location: Thomas Stone National Historic Site (6655 Rose Hill Rd, Port Tobacco, MD 20677)
Time: TBD
Speech: Frederick Stone: A Life of Service and Secrets
Speaker: Dave Taylor
Description: Frederick Stone was the great nephew of Thomas Stone, one of the Maryland signers of the Declaration of Independence. Though he never knew his illustrious relative, Frederick lived for a time at his great uncle’s estate of Haber-de-venture before being educated in the law. His lifetime of public service would lead him from lawyer to commissioner to delegate to judge. Along the way, however, Frederick Stone became involved in one of the most traumatic events in our nation’s history: the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. In his speech, researcher Dave Taylor will explore the life of Frederick Stone and the secrets he carried with him about the death of Abraham Lincoln.
Cost: Free
Date: Sunday, June 2, 2019
Location: Tudor Hall (17 Tudor Ln, Bel Air, MD 21015)
Time: 2:00 pm
Speech: “Born Under an Unlucky Star”: The Childhood of John Wilkes Booth
Speaker: Dave Taylor
Description: In this speech, Dave will examine the boyhood of John Wilkes Booth – his familial relationships, his time growing up at Tudor Hall and in Baltimore, and his early education. More information can be found at: http://spiritsoftudorhall.blogspot.com/2016/11/make-plans-to-visit-tudor-hall-in-2017_7.html
Cost: $5.00 cash for the talk and a tour of Tudor Hall
Date: Sunday, July 7, 2019
Location: Tudor Hall (17 Tudor Ln, Bel Air, MD 21015)
Time: 2:00 pm
Speech: “Brides of Bluebeard”: The Women Who Loved John Wilkes Booth
Speaker: Kate Taylor
Description: John Wilkes Booth was a Romeo both on and off the stage. In her speech, Kate will address some of the romantic relationships that defined the handsome actor who went on to assassinate President Lincoln. More information can be found at: http://spiritsoftudorhall.blogspot.com/2016/11/make-plans-to-visit-tudor-hall-in-2017_7.html
Cost: $5.00 cash for the talk and a tour of Tudor Hall
Date: Sunday, September 15, 2019
Location: Tudor Hall (17 Tudor Ln, Bel Air, MD 21015)
Time: 2:00 pm
Speech: “Brides of Bluebeard”: The Women Who Loved John Wilkes Booth
Speaker: Kate Taylor
Description: John Wilkes Booth was a Romeo both on and off the stage. In her speech, Kate will address some of the romantic relationships that defined the handsome actor who went on to assassinate President Lincoln. More information can be found at: http://spiritsoftudorhall.blogspot.com/2016/11/make-plans-to-visit-tudor-hall-in-2017_7.html
Cost: $5.00 cash for the talk and a tour of Tudor Hall
Date: Sunday, October 13, 2019
Location: Tudor Hall (17 Tudor Ln, Bel Air, MD 21015)
Time: 2:00 pm
Speech: “Born Under an Unlucky Star”: The Childhood of John Wilkes Booth
Speaker: Dave Taylor
Description: In this speech, Dave will examine the boyhood of John Wilkes Booth – his familial relationships, his time growing up at Tudor Hall and in Baltimore, and his early education. More information can be found at: http://spiritsoftudorhall.blogspot.com/2016/11/make-plans-to-visit-tudor-hall-in-2017_7.html
Cost: $5.00 cash for the talk and a tour of Tudor Hall
Additional speeches and information will be posted when available. Past speaking engagements can be seen here: https://boothiebarn.com/about/
If you are interested in having either Dave or Kate speak to your group about any aspect of the Lincoln assassination story, click to Contact Us or email to BoothieBarn@gmail.com
Another fascinating post, Dave. I am one of those who believes Spangler was innocent. I think it was mostly a case of guilt by association (Booth being his friend). In the “The Lincoln Assassination: Crime and Punishment, Myth and Memory” edited by Harold Holzer, Craig L. Symonds, and Frank J. Williams, Ed Steers writes, “The tribunal judges simply did not believe that Booth could have managed to escape from the theater without some sort of help, and the hapless Spangler had provided it.” I don’t think the rope they found had anything to do with anything, and the altercation with Ritterspaugh (if it occurred as Ritterspaugh said) was due to Spangler not seeing the identity of the man who jumped and then darted across the stage. Years later Harry Hawk admitted in an interview that he actually said the words Ritterspaugh attributed to Spangler. I think Spangler did favors for his friend, Booth but was not complicit in the assassination plan. Just my opinion.
At Surratt House, we display a similar cane (they are actually walking sticks) that was made by a prisoner-of-war at the Union’s camp for Confederates in Maryland’s St. Mary’s County. It is not as elegant as Mudd’s, but it is intricately constructed of graduated wooden rings with a rounded wooden knob held together with a round plug of wood.
One thinks of the tedious work that it took to construct each of those rings and can imagine the monotony of life in camps such as Maryland’s Point Lookout, which is located on a peninsula of land where the Potomac reaches the Chesapeake Bay.
Any idea if the fancy silver heads to this walking sticks were added after Dr. Mudd came home? I just don’t see such materials being available at Ft. Jefferson unless they could be special ordered from the mainland. But would prisoners have such advantages? The quality of these, the inlaid table, and the boxes is exquisite, but I just can’t fathom how the government allowed these heinous criminals the time to produce such fine work.
Laurie, I think it’s possible the engraved head might have been added later espeically since it’s dated 1869. But in regards to the other works of carpentry, I think all the items could have been made on the island using driftwood, island trees, and the lumber brought to the island. Since they had a carpentry shop on the island, it makes sense to me that they would keep it stocked with basic supplies. The only ornate items I’ve seen added to most of the doctor’s items have been shells.
I should have added quotes around the word “heinous” since that’s what they were considered by many in that time. I am more sympathetic to these men than what I seemed to post here.
Also, I just feel that the work done was tedious and time consuming. Perhaps Mudd and Spangler were producing things for the officers and their families as well – or even for sale by those officers on the mainland?