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 4, 2020
Location: Colony South Hotel and Conference Center (7401 Surratts Rd, Clinton, MD 20735)
Time: TBD
Speech: The Prisoners of Shark Island: Fort Jefferson and the Lincoln Conspirators
Speaker: Dave Taylor
Description: In his speech, Dave will discuss what prison life was like for Dr. Mudd, Samuel Arnold, Michael O’Laughlen, and Edman Spangler, the four Lincoln assassination conspirators who were sent to the isolated Dry Tortugas for their role in the crime of the century.
Cost: Dave’s speech is one of seven that will be presented during the Surratt Society’s annual Lincoln Assassination Conference. The cost for the whole conference (which includes meals and the day of speeches) is $200.
Date: TBD Saturday(s) in April, 2020
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: Dave is one of the narrators for the Surratt House Museum’s John Wilkes Booth Escape Route Tour. The 12 hour bus tour documents the escape of the assassin through Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Information on how to register can be found here: http://www.surrattmuseum.org/booth-escape-tour
Cost: $85
Date: Sunday, June 14, 2020
Location: Tudor Hall (17 Tudor Ln, Bel Air, MD 21015)
Time: 2:00 pm
Speech: Burying the Booths: Their Final Days and Funerals
Speaker: Dave Taylor
Description: The Booth family of Tudor Hall left an indelible mark on theater and American history. As each Booth shuffled off this mortal coil their deaths were widely commented on in the press. In his speech, Dave Taylor will recount the deaths and final resting places of the various members of the Booth family noting how the nation reacted to the passing of a theatrical dynasty forever tainted by a horrendous crime. More information will 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, August 23, 2020
Location: Tudor Hall (17 Tudor Ln, Bel Air, MD 21015)
Time: 2:00 pm
Speech: Lights, Camera, Assassination: John Wilkes Booth on Stage and Screen
Speaker: Kate Taylor
Description: John Wilkes Booth’s theatrical career came to a fiery end in 1865. However, his infamy still lives in modern media, both on stage and on screen. Can an actor’s choices influence opinions about Booth’s character? Does the inclusion of Booth in someone else’s story change the narrative? How is Booth used as a trope in plot lines where he, arguably, doesn’t belong? And are there repercussions to popular media giving Booth the remembrance he so desired in life. Join Kate Taylor as she explores John Wilkes Booth in the modern media. More information will 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: TBD Saturday(s) in September, 2020
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: Dave is one of the narrators for the Surratt House Museum’s John Wilkes Booth Escape Route Tour. The 12 hour bus tour documents the escape of the assassin through Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Information on how to register can be found here: http://www.surrattmuseum.org/booth-escape-tour
Cost: $85
Date: Sunday, October 4, 2020
Location: Tudor Hall (17 Tudor Ln, Bel Air, MD 21015)
Time: 2:00 pm
Speech: Lights, Camera, Assassination: John Wilkes Booth on Stage and Screen
Speaker: Kate Taylor
Description: John Wilkes Booth’s theatrical career came to a fiery end in 1865. However, his infamy still lives in modern media, both on stage and on screen. Can an actor’s choices influence opinions about Booth’s character? Does the inclusion of Booth in someone else’s story change the narrative? How is Booth used as a trope in plot lines where he, arguably, doesn’t belong? And are there repercussions to popular media giving Booth the remembrance he so desired in life. Join Kate Taylor as she explores John Wilkes Booth in the modern media. More information will 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: Saturday, October 17, 2020
Location: St. Mary’s Bryantown Cemetery (13715 Notre Dame Pl, Bryantown, MD 20617)
Time: 1:00 pm
Speech: A Grave Tour of Dr. Mudd’s Cemetery
Speaker: Dave Taylor
Description: While many people have visited St. Mary’s Bryantown in order to see the grave of Dr. Samuel Mudd, the cemetery is also the final resting place of many of Mudd’s relatives and neighbors. At least 15 residents of St. Mary’s testified regarding Dr. Mudd at his 1865 trial and each one had an interesting tale to tell. As part of the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House Museum’s monthly speaker series, Dave Taylor will host a walking tour of St. Mary’s Cemetery. Learn about the stones and bones that rest in St. Mary’s Bryantown and how they connect to the doctor who set the leg of an assassin.
Cost: Free, but donations for the Dr. Mudd House Museum are always appreciated.
Date: Sunday, October 18, 2020
Location: Tudor Hall (17 Tudor Ln, Bel Air, MD 21015)
Time: 2:00 pm
Speech: Burying the Booths: Their Final Days and Funerals
Speaker: Dave Taylor
Description: The Booth family of Tudor Hall left an indelible mark on theater and American history. As each Booth shuffled off this mortal coil their deaths were widely commented on in the press. In his speech, Dave Taylor will recount the deaths and final resting places of the various members of the Booth family noting how the nation reacted to the passing of a theatrical dynasty forever tainted by a horrendous crime. More information will 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
Great find, Dave.
Pretty cool Dave.
Did you arrange to meet Ed Steers? He lives just outside the heart of downtown. Check my history, but I think the Berkeley Castle was built by a native of Prince George’s County, Maryland, and finally, make sure you eat crab cakes at Tari’s — some of the best I have ever had, and that’s coming from a Southern Marylander. In the summer, there’s a great place for homemade ice cream.
We’re actually at Tari’s right now Laurie. We already ordered though and didn’t get the crab cakes. Next time. Also I didn’t know Dr. Steers lived here. Had I know we certainly would have invited him and his wife to dinner. Again, next time.
Right after you told me this, Laurie, I knew you were right. Not only did the Berkeley Springs bookstore have this signed Mudd book, but also Ed Steers’ His Name is Still Mudd. You can’t find that book in most places anymore so it makes perfect sense that it would still be in his local bookstore. They also had the Assassination Encyclopedia and Blood on the Moon, too.
In 1980, when my wife and I visited the Mudd home, I purchased a copy of Nettie’s book. It is signed by 12 grandchildren beginning with Christine Mudd Clementa and ending with Dr. Richard D. Mudd. The edition I have has a brown cover. After purchasing the book we embarked on a pleasant tour narrated by Louise Mudd Arehart. Near the end of the tour I mentioned I was an American history teacher who conducted a yearly mock trial with my students. I noted that some of the students questioned the beard story, and that I also had my suspicions. This was not said in a belligerent manner; rather I was simply interested in hearing the family’s side of the story. In my own mind, I meant no harm. However, the result of bringing up the topic was an abrupt end to the tour. We were firmly and briskly led out the door. So what had been a pleasant tour ended on a sour note. It is something we’ve never forgotten. My wife, who said nothing and has no interest whatsoever in the Lincoln assassination, still recalls it as clearly as I do.
From what I understand Roger, most folks in the field see being kicked out of the Mudd house as a rite of passage. So wear it like a badge of honor, my friend.
Funny about the abrupt end to Roger’s tour of the Mudd house. The tour my wife and I took ended when I pointed out, in a non-confrontational way, that the photo of “Lincoln” in the little museum was of another bearded man, not Lincoln.
So the lesson seems to be, just nod and smile at the Mudd House. 😛
It may be different there now. When Patty and I visited, the tour was given by Dr. Mudd’s grand-daughter, as astonishing as that sounds. I’m sure that she’s no longer giving tours, if she’s even still with us.
But since she was somewhat testy, I didn’t buy any of her crochet work in the gift shop!!!