WAS JOHN WILKES BOOTH A PAID ASSASSIN????

[L.C. BAKER]

It is an odd route if you do not understand it's design,but it is not randomly selected. Somewhere on this route there was a large pay day awaiting Mr. John Wilkes Booth.
L.C. Baker

 

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[Rebel - KGC]

View attachment 875076

It is an odd route if you do not understand it's design,but it is not randomly selected. Somewhere on this route there was a large pay day awaiting Mr. John Wilkes Booth.
L.C. Baker

In the "Free-States", eh...?

 

[L.C. BAKER]

In the "Free-States", eh...?

Strange path for a Rebel to take while escaping isn't it

 

[L.C. BAKER]

I imagine his instructions were complete:

A) Kill Lincoln

B) Escape to safety

C) Collect Gold

D) Change Name and live happily ever after......

 

[L.C. BAKER]

This is where he reached safety and healed up.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

In 1861 Albert Pike travelled to Indian Territory and negotiated an alliance with Cherokee Chief Stand Watie. Prior to the beginning of hostilities, Pike helped Watie to become a Thirty-second Degree Scottish Rite Mason. Watie was also in the K.G.C., and he was later commissioned a colonel in command of the First Regiment of Cherokee Mounted Rifles. In May 1864 Chief Watie was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in the Confederate States Army making him the only Native American of this rank in the Confederate Army. Watie's command was to serve under CSA officers Albert Pike, Benjamin McCulloch, Thomas Hindman, and Sterling Price. They fought in engagements in Indian Territory, Kansas, Arkansas, Texas, and Missouri.
Booth was among friends once he reached the Cherokee reservation.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Strange path for a Rebel to take while escaping isn't it

JWB a REBEL...? LOL!

 

[Texas Jay]

John Ravenswood aka John Wilkes Booth in Brownwood, Texas - 1871

I found this story many years ago when I first
read "Frontier's Generation" by Tevis Clyde Smith (Sr.), 1931, pages
46, 47, 48, & 49. I post it only for the entertainment of our
members so you will know more about Brown County's colorful frontier
past. I do not have any other information to either validate this
legend or invalidate it.

***

"And now we approach the Booth legend. Perhaps you have forgotten
the details of the story; let us go into it briefly:
Booth was not killed at the Garrett place by Boston Corbett; he made
his escape, drifted down to Mississippi, hid at the home of an uncle
until the broken bones in his leg knitted together: then he journeyed
to the Pacific slope, went from there to the South Seas, to India, to
Ceylon, back to North America, and to Mexico, where he became
embroiled in political intrigue; he would have lost his life there,
but someone saved him because he was a Catholic. Booth, disguised as
a priest, escaped from the country; he came to Texas, settled at
Granbury under the name of John St. Helen, and went into the saloon
business. But Booth took little interest in his saloon; he received
much money from some mysterious source, and spent most of his time
reciting Shakespeare. Becoming seriously ill, and thinking he was
about to die, he confessed to Judge Finis L. Bates of Granbury that
he was not John St. Helen, but in reality John Wilkes Booth. Bates
thought him delirious; Booth recovered, and moved to the Indian
Territory, where he took the name of David E. George. He committed
suicide at the Grand Avenue Hotel, in Enid, during the month of
January, 1903. Before his death, he told several people that he was
John Wilkes Booth. The Enid Wave printed the following story January
17, 1903.

'David E. George, a wealthy resident of the Territory, who committed
suicide here, on his death bed announced himself to be John Wilkes
Booth, the assassin of President Lincoln. He stated that he had
successfully eluded the officers after shooting Lincoln and since had
remained incognito. His statement caused an investigation. Surgeons
examined the body and stated the man to be of the age Booth would be
at this time, and that his leg was broken in the same place and in
the same manner as that of Booth after jumping from the president's
box at Ford's Theatre following the assassination. All the time
George has received money regularly from unknown sources. He had
previously attempted suicide at El Reno. It was at El Reno that Mrs.
Harper, who was mentioned in George's dying statement, had befriended
him and had listened to a similar supposed death bed confession. No
reason for the suicide is known. George maintained to the last to
his attendants that he was John Wilkes Booth, and his general
appearance closely resembles that of Booth.'

Bates, reading of George's death, took the train for Enid, and
identified David E. George as John St. Helen; he then had George
mummified, and placed on exhibition throughout the nation as the
assassin of President Lincoln. At the same time, he set to work on a
book, "The Escape and Suicide of John Wilkes Booth", which he
published in 1907. The book was read with avid interest throughout
the United States; Bates sold 75,000 copies.
The story died down, to leap into print from time to time. In 1920,
according to the Dearborn Independent, Bates tried to sell them the
body of George for one thousand dollars. The Independent took little
stock in Bates' story; deciding to investigate the facts, they sent a
reporter over the ground traversed by Bates; the reporter wrote his
observations, and the Independent editor filed them away. In 1924,
the story broke into print again, and in 1925, the Independent
published its 'exposure' of the legend. The series of articles, six
in number, were written by F.L. Black. Black claims that Booth was
killed at the Garrett place in Virginia; he says that it is all hokum
about no one knowing where Booth is buried - that he is interred in
the family burial plot; and he claims that the government, contrary
to Bates' statements, paid something like $75,000 in rewards to the
men who had a hand in the killing of the president's assassin.
There are two sides of the story. Many people believe Bates, others
discredit his version as a myth.
Boothng to stories appearing in the local newspapers in December,
1922, is supposed to have spent the year 1871 in Brownwood; while
here, he went under the name of John Ravenswood. One day, he told
several friends that he was hiding under a pseudonym. 'My name is
not John Ravenswood,' he said; 'it is, in reality, John Wilkes
Booth.' Later, when he expressed a desire to go to the Indian
Nations, these friends, to show their sympathy for him, gave him a
horse, and money with which to buy supplies along his route. So John
Ravenswood left Brownwood; he never appeared here again. Instead, he
went to the Indian Nations, and committed suicide at Enid in 1903.
The author of this newspaper article concludes by asking if anyone in
this section remembers a man by the name of Ravenswood, who visited
this country between the years of '68 and '72.
Five days later, he gets startling results. A Brownwood woman, who
says she is a cousin of Booth's, tells him that Booth was not killed
by Corbett; Booth escaped, fled to Mexico, then came to Texas, where
he lived under the name of Ravenswood. While in the Lone Star state,
Booth ran a grocery store; then, he went to Oklahoma, and adopting
the name of Joseph Johnson, entered the dry goods business. On March
4, 1913, he died from pneumonia; a short time before his death, he
revealed his identity to his wife.
This woman tells the reporter that she knows beyond a shadow of a
doubt that Booth died in Enid in 1913; she has read letters from
Booth to another one of his cousins, Olivia Booth. These letters
must have been widely circulated, and Booth must have had a host of
cousins, because I have read of about fifty of these close relations
who have been favored by a glimpse at John's correspondence. But
regardless of this, according to the newspaper man, his informant has
vouched for the truth of the story, so there you are.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to find this lady, so I have not
traced this particular phase of the legend to my complete
satisfaction. But I have asked a number of oldtimers who were living
here in the sixties and the seventies if they remember a man named
Ravenswood. They reply that they do not - and all of them have
uncommonly sharp memories."

***
~Texas Jay
My Knights of the Golden Circle website: Home - Knights of the Golden Circle - be sure to check out our Photos section and Blog where you'll find more about John Wilkes Booth.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

I found this story many years ago when I first
read "Frontier's Generation" by Tevis Clyde Smith (Sr.), 1931, pages
46, 47, 48, & 49. I post it only for the entertainment of our
members so you will know more about Brown County's colorful frontier
past. I do not have any other information to either validate this
legend or invalidate it.

***

"And now we approach the Booth legend. Perhaps you have forgotten
the details of the story; let us go into it briefly:
Booth was not killed at the Garrett place by Boston Corbett; he made
his escape, drifted down to Mississippi, hid at the home of an uncle
until the broken bones in his leg knitted together: then he journeyed
to the Pacific slope, went from there to the South Seas, to India, to
Ceylon, back to North America, and to Mexico, where he became
embroiled in political intrigue; he would have lost his life there,
but someone saved him because he was a Catholic. Booth, disguised as
a priest, escaped from the country; he came to Texas, settled at
Granbury under the name of John St. Helen, and went into the saloon
business. But Booth took little interest in his saloon; he received
much money from some mysterious source, and spent most of his time
reciting Shakespeare. Becoming seriously ill, and thinking he was
about to die, he confessed to Judge Finis L. Bates of Granbury that
he was not John St. Helen, but in reality John Wilkes Booth. Bates
thought him delirious; Booth recovered, and moved to the Indian
Territory, where he took the name of David E. George. He committed
suicide at the Grand Avenue Hotel, in Enid, during the month of
January, 1903. Before his death, he told several people that he was
John Wilkes Booth. The Enid Wave printed the following story January
17, 1903.

'David E. George, a wealthy resident of the Territory, who committed
suicide here, on his death bed announced himself to be John Wilkes
Booth, the assassin of President Lincoln. He stated that he had
successfully eluded the officers after shooting Lincoln and since had
remained incognito. His statement caused an investigation. Surgeons
examined the body and stated the man to be of the age Booth would be
at this time, and that his leg was broken in the same place and in
the same manner as that of Booth after jumping from the president's
box at Ford's Theatre following the assassination. All the time
George has received money regularly from unknown sources. He had
previously attempted suicide at El Reno. It was at El Reno that Mrs.
Harper, who was mentioned in George's dying statement, had befriended
him and had listened to a similar supposed death bed confession. No
reason for the suicide is known. George maintained to the last to
his attendants that he was John Wilkes Booth, and his general
appearance closely resembles that of Booth.'

Bates, reading of George's death, took the train for Enid, and
identified David E. George as John St. Helen; he then had George
mummified, and placed on exhibition throughout the nation as the
assassin of President Lincoln. At the same time, he set to work on a
book, "The Escape and Suicide of John Wilkes Booth", which he
published in 1907. The book was read with avid interest throughout
the United States; Bates sold 75,000 copies.
The story died down, to leap into print from time to time. In 1920,
according to the Dearborn Independent, Bates tried to sell them the
body of George for one thousand dollars. The Independent took little
stock in Bates' story; deciding to investigate the facts, they sent a
reporter over the ground traversed by Bates; the reporter wrote his
observations, and the Independent editor filed them away. In 1924,
the story broke into print again, and in 1925, the Independent
published its 'exposure' of the legend. The series of articles, six
in number, were written by F.L. Black. Black claims that Booth was
killed at the Garrett place in Virginia; he says that it is all hokum
about no one knowing where Booth is buried - that he is interred in
the family burial plot; and he claims that the government, contrary
to Bates' statements, paid something like $75,000 in rewards to the
men who had a hand in the killing of the president's assassin.
There are two sides of the story. Many people believe Bates, others
discredit his version as a myth.
Boothng to stories appearing in the local newspapers in December,
1922, is supposed to have spent the year 1871 in Brownwood; while
here, he went under the name of John Ravenswood. One day, he told
several friends that he was hiding under a pseudonym. 'My name is
not John Ravenswood,' he said; 'it is, in reality, John Wilkes
Booth.' Later, when he expressed a desire to go to the Indian
Nations, these friends, to show their sympathy for him, gave him a
horse, and money with which to buy supplies along his route. So John
Ravenswood left Brownwood; he never appeared here again. Instead, he
went to the Indian Nations, and committed suicide at Enid in 1903.
The author of this newspaper article concludes by asking if anyone in
this section remembers a man by the name of Ravenswood, who visited
this country between the years of '68 and '72.
Five days later, he gets startling results. A Brownwood woman, who
says she is a cousin of Booth's, tells him that Booth was not killed
by Corbett; Booth escaped, fled to Mexico, then came to Texas, where
he lived under the name of Ravenswood. While in the Lone Star state,
Booth ran a grocery store; then, he went to Oklahoma, and adopting
the name of Joseph Johnson, entered the dry goods business. On March
4, 1913, he died from pneumonia; a short time before his death, he
revealed his identity to his wife.
This woman tells the reporter that she knows beyond a shadow of a
doubt that Booth died in Enid in 1913; she has read letters from
Booth to another one of his cousins, Olivia Booth. These letters
must have been widely circulated, and Booth must have had a host of
cousins, because I have read of about fifty of these close relations
who have been favored by a glimpse at John's correspondence. But
regardless of this, according to the newspaper man, his informant has
vouched for the truth of the story, so there you are.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to find this lady, so I have not
traced this particular phase of the legend to my complete
satisfaction. But I have asked a number of oldtimers who were living
here in the sixties and the seventies if they remember a man named
Ravenswood. They reply that they do not - and all of them have
uncommonly sharp memories."

***
~Texas Jay
My Knights of the Golden Circle website: Home - Knights of the Golden Circle - be sure to check out our Photos section and Blog where you'll find more about John Wilkes Booth.

GOOD to "see" ya, again... TJ!

 

[L.C. BAKER]

That is some what along the lines of what I have already heard. It is interesting to see it told by someone new. I would say there is some truth in it. thanks for sharing it with us.
L.C. Baker

 

[Texas Jay]

Good to see you again too, Rebel. And it's great to see that L.C. Baker is keeping the KGC forum going strong.
~Texas Jay

 

[L.C. BAKER]

I am reaching out for help to decipher these K.G.C. symbols. I have found a fountain of help on this sight. It seems I have always got something new to try in the field now. It's just a matter of time before we solve the map. I use the term "MAP" loosely. I still have a lot of things to figure out.
Thanks for the help, L.C. Baker

 

[Rebel - KGC]

I am reaching out for help to decipher these K.G.C. symbols. I have found a fountain of help on this sight. It seems I have always got something new to try in the field now. It's just a matter of time before we solve the map. I use the term "MAP" loosely. I still have a lot of things to figure out.
Thanks for the help, L.C. Baker

HH! GOOD LUCK!

 

[L.C. BAKER]

We have enough hard evidence to cast new light onto Booth's escape and pay off. This is to say, proof that the gold was gathered and traveled to New York City by the Knights of the Golden Circle for use in undercover operations in the later part of 1864 and the spring of 1865, less than 6 months before the assassination of President Lincoln. The gold could have been pooled with other funds that were coming from other directions to New York to be used for the same purpose. The K.G.C. had many castles in many states. all with Knights that had gold to give. The gold had to come from donors due to the siege of Atlanta and the South's bank roll was on the run in a train to who knows. What we do know for sure is there were only so many K.G.C. operations going on at that time. Just a short while after General Lees surrender to U.S. Grant. "I would venture to say one K.G.C. operation". All other K.G.C. operations would seem meaningless to the Rebel Cause after the surrender. It had to be BIG and catastrophic to the Union or what was the use?
We have a letter that was kept for 150 years. That in it's self is amazing to say the least.(Truth always comes out) It was written by a Knight and mailed to another in the South. In that letter he tells the man who received the letter, that upon his arrival in a new state, that he should contact another Knight that lived there and to be discreet about doing so. The letter goes on to brag the person up a bit, but it's short and sweet.The letter remained in the possession of a Knight that neither wrote nor received the letter and it was found years after his death.
We need the "LUCK" to find the GOLD Thanks Rebel Just my 2cents LOL
L.C. Baker

 

[Rebel - KGC]

We have enough hard evidence to cast new light onto Booth's escape and pay off. This is to say, proof that the gold was gathered and traveled to New York City by the Knights of the Golden Circle for use in undercover operations in the later part of 1864 and the spring of 1865, less than 6 months before the assassination of President Lincoln. The gold could have been pooled with other funds that were coming from other directions to New York to be used for the same purpose. The K.G.C. had many castles in many states. all with Knights that had gold to give. The gold had to come from donors due to the siege of Atlanta and the South's bank roll was on the run in a train to who knows. What we do know for sure is there were only so many K.G.C. operations going on at that time. Just a short while after General Lees surrender to U.S. Grant. "I would venture to say one K.G.C. operation". All other K.G.C. operations would seem meaningless to the Rebel Cause after the surrender. It had to be BIG and catastrophic to the Union or what was the use?
We have a letter that was kept for 150 years. That in it's self is amazing to say the least.(Truth always comes out) It was written by a Knight and mailed to another in the South. In that letter he tells the man who received the letter, that upon his arrival in a new state, that he should contact another Knight that lived there and to be discreet about doing so. The letter goes on to brag the person up a bit, but it's short and sweet.The letter remained in the possession of a Knight that neither wrote nor received the letter and it was found years after his death.
We need the "LUCK" to find the GOLD Thanks Rebel Just my 2cents LOL
L.C. Baker

MOST states had their own KGC GRANDMASTER; Albert Pike appeared to be the SUPREME COMMANDER, related to A&ASR/SJ. AP went ALL over the USA after the CONFEDERATE WAR, checking the "GRID LINES".

 

[L.C. BAKER]

I have read somewhere about his journey the last two years he was alive. He went all over supposedly under the Freemason disguise to set up the Scottish Rite. It was always my belief he was checking out something during that last trip around the USA.
Baker

 

[Rebel - KGC]

I have read somewhere about his journey the last two years he was alive. He went all over supposedly under the Freemason disguise to set up the Scottish Rite. It was always my belief he was checking out something during that last trip around the USA.
Baker

LOL! He WAS... Canada, TOO!

 

[L.C. BAKER]

He was a man beyond his time that is for sure. The more I learn about him and all that he accomplished in his lifetime by a self taught manner, I am astounded! We are mere ripples in his wake as humans. The self discipline and long hours he spent in the archives are unimaginable.
L.C. Baker

 

[Rebel - KGC]

He was a man beyond his time that is for sure. The more I learn about him and all that he accomplished in his lifetime by a self taught manner, I am astounded! We are mere ripples in his wake as humans. The self discipline and long hours he spent in the archives are unimaginable.
L.C. Baker

True...

 

[L.C. BAKER]

From Finis Bates book. Shows that the Knights of the Golden Circle were prepared to recieve and aid Booth in his escape.
L.C. Baker