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Civil War Blog

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John S. DeSilva – Machinist and Mine Supervisor

Posted By on November 13, 2012

The name of John DeSilva appears on the Lykens G.A.R. Monument as a 2nd Lieutenant of the Civil War who joined the Heilner Post, G.A.R., No. 232, after it was initially organized.   After researching him, it became apparent that he was the same person who was a mine supervisor in the Lykens-Wiconisco area.

The story of John DeSilva begins with the biographical sketch that appeared in Schuylkill County Pennsylvania Genealogy in 1916:

John S. DeSilva, late of Mahanoy City, was one of the most widely known residents of Schuylkill County, maintaining business, social and church connections which drew him into close relation with many of his fellow men.  Possessed of practical ability and unusual intelligence, he combined strong qualities of leadership with personal characteristics that won confidence and friendship in all circles, and his name commanded respect wherever known.

Mr. DeSilva was born at Pottsville, Schuylkill County, 7 December 1838, son of John E. DeSilva.  The father was a native of the city of Lisbon, Portugal, and members of the family are well known in South America.  John E. DeSilva was a gunman for many years, stationed on board the Constitution, and saw service in all parts of the world.  When he settled in America, he lived at Philadelphia for a time, later in Pottsville, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, and he died at Ashland, this county.

John S. DeSilva was given a good public education and then learned the trade of machinist, which he followed for a short time.  When yet a young man he became superintendent of coal mines in Schuylkill County, being so engaged in the employ of various independent operators, and when their holdings were bought by the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company he was retained in the same capacity. Mr. DeSilva’s shrewd judgment and executive ability were recognized factors in the success of the collieries he supervised, and he had a high reputation throughout the anthracite fields.  He continued with the Philadelphia and Reading Company until 1902, after which he served two years as a deputy revenue collector in this district, extending his already wide acquaintance in Schuylkill County.  He was as well known in other connections as in business.  Fraternally, he was a Mason, belonging to Mahanoy City Lodge, No. 357, F. & A. M., and to Mizpah Chapter, No. 252, R. A. M.  He also held membership in the P. O. S. of A. and the G.A.R., taking a very active part in the latter organization as a member of Severn Post, G. A. R., of Mahanoy City, which he served as commander.

During the Civil War he fought on the Union side under three enlistments, the first in the three months’ service and the second for nine months in the 129th Pennsylvania Regiment [129th Pennsylvania Infantry].  Mr. DeSilva was also prominent in Church and Sunday School work, a leading member of the First Presbyterian Church of Mahanoy City, which he served as elder and trustee, filling both offices at the time of his death, 11 March 1911.

In 1871, Mr. DeSilva married Ella Richardson, who survives him, residing in their old home at Mahanoy City, where she is highly respected.  Mrs. DeSilva is a daughter of Isaac W. Richardson and Sarah [Black] Richardson, both of whom came form England, Mr. Richardson settling at Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, soon after his arrival.  Their son, the late Col. W. F. Richardson, became very prominent in military circles in this state, for many years holding the position of keeper at the Harrisburg Arsenal, and at the time of his death he had the rank of colonel in the Pennsylvania National Guard.  He was a thirty-third degree Mason, one of the founders of Zembo Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. of Harrisburg.

Finding the military records of John DeSilva was not as easy.  The clue given in the biographical sketch was that he had served in the 129th Pennsylvania Infantry – but no such person was found under “DeSilva.”   However, a John Silver was found, who served in Company A, as a 1st Sergeant – who was later promoted to 2nd Lieutenant:

The Pension Index Card (below) show that John Silver was the alias for John DeSilva, and that in addition to the 129thPennsylvania Infantry, he also served in other Pennsylvania regiments which are noted below.  His death date of 20 March 1911 is given on the card.

The following information was obtained from census records, draft records, and military records, all available at Ancestry.com.

John S. DeSilva was born in Pottsville, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, 7 December 1838.  His mother’s name is unknown.  In 1860 he was living in Minersville, Schuylkill County, and working as a machinist.  On 21 April 1861 he was mustered int to the 5th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, as a Private, and at the completion of his 3-months service was mustered out on 25 July 1861.  On 13 August 1862, he was mustered into service in the 129th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A, as a Sergeant and on 19 January 1863, was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant.  He was mustered out on 18 May 1863.  In July 1863, at the time of the Civil War Draft, he was living in Foster Township, Schuylkill County, and working as an engineer.  In response to the Emergency of 1863, he served in the 39th Pennsylvania Infantry (Militia), Company K, as a 1st sergeant, from July 1863 until discharge on 2 August 1863.

In 1870, John S. DeSilva was living in the household of James Hingham, a miner, in Mahanoy City, Schuylkill County; John S. DeSilva was then boss at a colliery.  For a time in the early 1870s when he married Ella R. Richardson, the couple lived in Philadelphia.  In 1880, John S. DeSilva lived in Mahanoy City, and was superintendent at a colliery.  He has not been located in the 1890 veterans’ census.  From 1900 to his death on 20 March 1911, he lived in Mahanoy City, and before retirement worked as a machinist.  He is buried at the Charles Baber Cemetery, Pottsville.

Readers are urged to contributed additional information about John S. DeSilva.

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Pension Index Cards are from Ancestry.com.  Pennsylvania Veterans’ Index Card is from the Pennsyvlania Archives.

The biographical sketch is from Schuylkill County Pennsylvania Genealogy – Family History & Biography in Two Volumes (Chicago, J.H. Beers & Company, 1916), Vol. I, p. 380-381.  It is presently not available as a free digital download, although Volume II is available at the Internet Archives.

Shamokin and Coal Township All Wars Memorial

Posted By on November 12, 2012

The Shamokin-Coal Township All Wars Memorial is located in Shamokin in the 200 block of East Independence Avenue, on the north side of the Avenue, across from the Shamokin-Coal Township Public Library.  It consists of a stone slab into which is cut an eagle, the emblems of the four branches of the armed services and an inscription as follows:

ARMY – NAVY – AIR FORCE – MARINES

In memory of all veterans of Shamokin and Coal Township – veterans of all wars living and dead who served their country – if we are again called on to serve we will be there- we will serve as our fathers and forefathers did – at Valley Forge, Yorktown, New Orleans, Vicksburg and San Juan Hill – we will serve as our fathers did in the Argonne Forest, at Normandy, Anzio, Guadal Canal and Korea – and we will serve as our troops did in Cuba, the Berlin Wall and Viet Nam – so help us God.

Remember when?

Erected through the efforts of the citizens of Shamokin and Coal Township.

The G.A.R. Star-Flag Holder pictured above is one of several at the memorial recognizing those who served in the Civil War.  In addition, Vicksburg and New Orleans are parts of the inscription – both locales of actions during the Civil War, Vicksburg being exclusive to the Civil War and New Orleans the site of actions in two wars.  It is not stated why these battles were chosen as representative of the Civil War, there being many other places and battles where Shamokin veterans fought which are better known and where Shamokin and Cola Township residents died.

This is not the Civil War Monument for Shamokin.  That monument is on East Lincoln Street and will be featured at another time on this blog.

Col. Edward C. Williams – Veteran of Two Wars

Posted By on November 11, 2012

Edward C. Williams (1820-1900)

On 16 February 1900, Col. Edward Charles Williams died in Snyder County, Pennsylvania.  His obituary, which was published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, 17 February 1900, touted his accomplishments as a soldier in two wars:

FAMOUS SOLDIER PASSES AWAY

General E. C. Williams, of Snyder County, Dies at a Ripe Old Age

HIS REMARKABLE RECORD

Was First to Raise “Old Glory” Over the Citadels of Chapultepec and Mexico

Special to the Inquirer.

SELINSGROVE, Pennsylvania, 16 February 1900. — General E. C. Williams, a renowned soldier, the hero of two wars and a prominent citizen of Snyder County, died at his home in Chapman this morning, at the advanced age of 80 years.  He has been bedfast since 1 January, and his demise was due to old age.

During the Mexican War General Williams served as Captain in the Second Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was the first to hoist the American flag over the City of Mexico after its capture.  The historic flag used on this occasion he had secured from the State Librarian at Harrisburg previous to his departure, and it was one that had been made by Betsy Ross and by her presented to General George Washington on the eve of the Battle of Trenton.

General Williams was the first man to be mustered into the service of the United States when the Civil War broke out, having been sworn into the service by General Seneca G. Simmons, a United States recruiting officer, three days before Fort Sumter was fired upon.  He served in the army with distinction, and was breveted Brigadier General for gallantry on the field.

The interesting story revealed by the obituary – that Edward C. Williams was the first to answer the call to service when the Civil War broke out – prompted further research.  A biography of Col. Edward Charles Williams was discovered in the Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County, along with a portrait of him which appears at the top of this post:

Edward Charles Williams, son of CharlesWilliams and Rebecca [Adams] Williams, was born February 10, 1820, in the city of Philadelphia. His father was a native of Philadelphia; his mother, of Mount Holly, New Jersey, of Scotch parentage. The son was educated in the public schools of his native city, then organized under the old Lancasterian system. He learned the trade of a bookbinder with Jacob Snyder, completing it with Robert P. DeSilver. He shortly after came to Harrisburg, where he established himself in business, firm of Clyde & Williams, bookbinders and stationers. For several years they did the State binding and also published several important works.

In December, 1846, upon the call for volunteers for the war with Mexico, Mr. Williams raised a company called the Cameron Guards, which were accepted and formed a part of the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment. Previous to going to Mexico he had been connected several years with the old Dauphin Guards, one of the finest military organizations in the State, and was in service during the Philadelphia riots of 1844.

Upon Captain Williams’ return from Mexico he was elected as an Independent, in 1850, to the office of Sheriff of Dauphin County, serving the full term.

When the Rebellion broke out and a demand was made for more troops, Governor Curtin sent for General Williams, who had been commissioned several years prior brigadier general of the Dauphin County Militia, and at once directed the organization of Camp Curtin, full particulars of which will be found in “Dauphin County in the War for the Union.” General Williams had the honor of being the first volunteer mustered into the service for the defense of the Union. After organizing Camp Curtin, he organized Camp Slifer, at Chambersburg. He commanded a brigade during the three mouths’ service, was with Patterson in the Shenandoah and subsequently mustered out at Washington City. He was then appointed by President Lincoln, through Secretary of War Cameron, Colonel of the Lochiel Cavalry [9th Pennsylvania Cavalry], directed to raise twenty-four companies of that branch of the service, which he accomplished in a very short time. It was difficult to handle three battalions of raw cavalry, but by hard work General Williams got his command into splendid discipline and drill. He went into camp at Jeffersonville, Indiana, where he exchanged his Pennsylvania horses for good Kentucky stock. After inspection by General Buford, he was ordered to the front under General Buell. On reaching Green River, and when ready to cross the stream, General Williams was directed to take the advance, but the same evening the news of the capture of Fort Donelson obviating that movement, he was ordered back, and his command cut up and distributed over Kentucky and Tennessee. His own regiment, the 9th Cavalry [9th Pennsylvania Cavalry], became very popular in that section with all classes of people, owing to their good discipline and behavior.  General Williams was at Henderson with his regiment when Buell and Bragg made their march into Kentucky, was ordered to Louisville without delay, and from thence to Crab Orchard, where he prevented Kirby Smith’s cavalry from entering Kentucky at that point. His services in that campaign were indeed arduous. Owing, however, to a question of rank, in which not only he but the other officers in the volunteer service were concerned, he pre-emptorily resigned and returned to Pennsylvania.

He was twice married; first, 16 January 1843, to Selina Heltzel, daughter of John Heltzel, of Harrisburg; second, 5 June 1873, at Chapman, Pa., to Mrs. A. E. Hetzel.

While there are some vague dates in the above biographical sketch, the record at the Pennsylvania Archives is more clear and, as his Veterans’ Index Card shows (below), he did serve as the Colonel of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry from 21 November 1861 through his resignation on 9 October 1862.

Another item discovered for Col. Williams is his draft record (below).  In July of 1863, he reported that he had service in both the Mexican War and in the Civil War:

Click on document to enlarge.

At the time of the draft registration, he was living in Harrisburg and working as a bookbinder.

The Pension Index Card (above) notes a date of application of July 1898, indicating that Col. Williams waited until he was nearly 80 years old to apply.  His application was approved and for a short time he did collect, but there was no surviving widow.  Another Pension Index Card, available through Fold3, gives a “old war” pension application number of 15885.  Perhaps further research will clarify this.

In April 1865, Col. Williams was appointed to serve on a committee to welcome Pres. Abraham Lincoln to Harrisburg in celebration of the end of the war.  However, the assassination, turned the event into an “honor guard and mourning procession” when Lincoln’s body passed through Harrisburg on the way to burial in Springfield, Illinois.

The story of the planned celebration that never occurred was told by historian J. Howard Wert in the pages of the Harrisburg Patriot on the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth in February 1909.  A portion of the article is shown above with the name of Col. Williams highlighted in yellow.

Previously, on this blog, the murder of George Hoffman Jr. at a militia encampment in Gratz in 1856 was told (click here).  It was then noted that Brig. Gen. E. C. Williams (of the pre-Civil War militia) was present at the encampment when the murder took place.  Thus, he was a familiar figure to those in the Lykens Valley area when the Civil War began.  Williams had no trouble recruiting members for the companies of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Company B of that regiment was composed almost entirely of men from around Gratz.  After the war, Col. Williams was made head of the Dauphin County Monument Association – to erect a suitable monument for those who lost their lives in the war.  That was also previously reported on this blog (click here).

Col. Williams is buried at St. John’s United Brethren Cemetery, Snyder County, Pennsylvania.  Another soldier, Charles W. Ounifer (1846-1903) is named on his stone.  At this time, it is not known who that is.

Anyone with additional information about Col. Edward Charles Williams is urged to contribute it.

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Pension Index Cards are from Ancestry.com.  Pennsylvania Veterans’ Index cards are from the Pennsylvania Archives.  The Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County is available as a free download from the Internet Archive (click here).  Newspaper articles are from the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

The Machamer Boys of Wiconisco

Posted By on November 10, 2012

The names of four members of the Machamer family appear on the Lykens G.A.R. Monument which is located on North Second Street in the Borough of Lykens, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.  The four men are:  Henry Machamer, Isaac Machamer, Israel Machamer and David Machamer  The Machamer family had roots in Wiconisco.

HENRY MACHAMER (1836-1862)

It is possible that the Henry Machamer who is buried at the Asylum Burial Grounds in Washington, D.C. (stone pictured above), is the same Henry Machamer who is named on the Lykens G.A.R. Monument.  However, this needs further confirmation.  Working against the conclusion that it is the same person is the fact that there is no mention on the Lykens G.A.R. Monument that Henry died during the war.   This Henry Machamer served in the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company L, as a Private, enrolling and mustering in at Baltimore (see card below) and he supposedly died at the Military Asylum Hospital.

Not much more is known about him.   No Pension Index Card has been located and no other person of a similar name has been found as an enrollee in a Pennsylvania or Regular Army regiment.  The picture of the grave marker was located in Ancestry.com.

Records on Ancestry.com indicate that Henry Machamer was born in Wiconisco.

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ISAAC MACHAMER (about 1840 – 1864)

Isaac Machamer was killed in the Civil War.  There are two conflicting death dates in the records – 6 June 1864 and 11 June 1864.  He is buried in the Hampton National Cemetery, Hampton, Virginia.  The grave photo is from Ancestry.com.

Isaac Machamer was mustered into the 55th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company B, as a Private on 17 September 1861.  He died as a result of wounds received at Bermuda Hundred, Virginia.  Isaac’s enrollment took place in Berks County, Pennsylvania and he was mustered in at Harrisburg.  At the time, he was 21 years old, was a resident of Berks County, and was working as a laborer.  Well after his death was made known to his family, his mother Esther Machamer applied for survivor benefits (card below).

As is noted from the Pension Index Card, the mother’s application did not occur until 1875.  One of the reasons for this late application was that Isaac’s father, Charles “Karl” Machamer (who was the chief supporter of his mother) died in 1870.  Isaac’s mother’s maiden name was Esther “Hettie” Fisher.   Records in Ancestry.com indicate that Isaac was born in Wiconisco.

Isaac Machamer‘s name is spelled “Mauchmer,” “Mauchamer,” MacKnorr”, and “Macher” in various war and civil records.

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ISRAEL MACHAMER (1832-1868)

Israel Machamer, who is also found in the records as Isreal Mogherman, is buried in the Calvary Methodist Cemetery in Wiconisco.  He was born on 19 July 1832 and died 21 April 1868.  During the Civil War he served in the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company B, as a Private.  he was married to Carolyn Fisher.  He was previously featured in a blog post on the cemetery where he is buried (click here).

As shown on the Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Card, Israel Machamer enrolled in the military at Lykens in September 1861 and mustered into service in Harrisburg on 7 October 1861.  At the time, he was a 28 year old laborer with residence in Dauphin County.  At the end of his three year term, 24 December 1864, Israel was given the option to re-enlist, but he chose instead to accept an honorable discharge.

It should be noted here that there is another Israel Machamer (1819-1878) who is buried in Shamokin, Northumberland County.  The two should not be confused.

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DAVID MACHAMER (about 1841 – 1883)

As can be seen from the Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Card (above), David Machamer, who was 20 years old in 1861 when he enrolled in the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company G, at Lykens as a Private, was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania.  During the war he was captured and held as a prisoner, but the Pennsylvania Archives card does not give a date.  His discharge was on a Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability.  Other records indicate that the date of that discharge may have been 5 December 1864.

The Pension Index Card for the David Machamer who served in the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company G, notes that he applied for a pension in 1864 and the application was successful – apparently connected to serious wounds received.  The date his widow Mary Ann applied was in 1890 indicating that David died either in 1890 or before.  She received a widow’s pension which she collected until she died.  Another Pension Index Card, available from Fold3, gives David Machamer‘s death date as 7 July 1883 with the notation that a “minor supplement” was given to his widow.  This meant that at the time of David’s death, he had minor children under the age of sixteen who received support.  It is not known why Mary Ann, whose maiden name was Gehr, waited until 1890 to apply for a widow’s pension.

The 1890 Veterans’ Census for Philadelphia notes that Mary Ann was a widow, that David served in the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry, and that he was taken prisoner at Spotsylvania, Virginia.  David Machamer is said to be buried in the Glenwood Cemetery in Philaldelphia, although his grave marker has not yet been photographed.

At this time, research is still ongoing on David Machamer and anyone with information about him is urged to contact the Civil War Research Project (click here).

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There is no definite confirmation that all four of these men were brothers although there is the possibility that they were.  The certain connection with Wiconisco (and Lykens) is that Israel Macherman was buried in Wiconisco and he served in the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, a regiment composed heavily of men from in and around Lykens.  One of those men, William Thomas, was a diarist of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry and his diary was the basis of the book Yankee Cavalrymen.  All were said to have been born in Wiconisco.

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Pension Index Cards are from Ancestry.comPennsylvania Veterans’ File Cards are from the Pennsylvania Archives.

Jeannie Gourlay and Norman Harsell – The Film That Never Was

Posted By on November 9, 2012

Jeannie Gourlay, a Scottish-born actress, was a player in the stock company of John T. Ford at his Washington theatre on the night President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, 14 April 1865.  In the post yesterday, a time line was presented which gave several key dates in the life of Jeannie Gourlay.  After the assassination, Jeannie married Ford’s orchestra leader William Withers Jr. and within a two year period divorced him – then marrying a Scottish-born actor Robert Struthers, eventually settling near Milford, Pike County, Pennsylvania, raising a family, and remaining publicly silent on anything related to the assassination until after Robert Struthers died in 1907.  In 1910, is was widely reported in the newspapers that she returned to Washington to visit Ford’s Theatre.  Articles that appeared in the press in 1916, 1923, and 1928 (the year of her death) were presented to show an unusual story that emerged which placed her father, Thomas C. Gourlay, also a member of the Ford’s stock company, at the scene of the assassination by stating that it was he who led Laura Keene to the State Box and that it was he who helped carry Lincoln from the theatre and across the street to the Petersen House.

The one missing piece not presented yesterday will be presented today – the origin of the story told by the Gourlay-Struthers family.

On 11 April 1914, an article by Norman Harsell was published in the Los Angeles Times that told of Jeannie Gourlay‘s recollections of the Lincoln Assassination, as an heretofore untold story by an eyewitness.  The setting was Milford, Pike County, Pennsylvania.  In the article, Mrs. Jeannie [Gourlay] Struthers, then a widow, was visited by Hamilton Busbey, who was presented by Harsell as a journalist.  And the conversation between Struthers and Busbey was reported by Norman Harsell as two old people reflecting on events of old days gone by.  On the surface, the article seemed to be a legitimate interview conducted by Busbey.  The article was two pages in tabloid size.  It featured a picture of Jeannie and Hamilton Busbey – on her porch – as well as a picture of the young Jeannie as she looked when she appeared in the cast of Our American Cousin  – and a picture of the assassin, John Wilkes Booth.

First, some important statements from the article will be presented.  This will be followed by an analysis of its worth as an original or primary source of the eyewitness account of Jeannie [Gourlay] Struthers of the events of the night of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  A surprising conclusion will be revealed in the analysis.

The Article

After introductions, in which Busbey was presented as visiting Harsell in Milford (Harsell brought him around to meet Jeannie), Jeannie began talking to Busbey:

“Well I seldom talk any more of that fateful Friday night of 14 April 1865, but whenever I meet anyone who remembers Abraham Lincoln, I always feel a sorrowful satisfaction in talking over the last performance of “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre.”

Busbey asks if she was on the stage when the President was shot?

“No, I am sad to say I was not.  As I remember, I began the first scene of the third act.  Harry Hawk, as Asa Trenchard, followed in the second scene, and held the stage alone at the time of the shooting.  His words were probably the very last President Lincoln ever heard.  But, I have always felt that Booth selected the time I was acting my part to prepare for his attack.  My scene was between Asa Trenchard and Mary Meredith, I taking the part of the the latter, although on the official programme I appeared as ‘Mary Trenchard.’  It was a printer’s error.  We sat down near the center of the stage and Asa asked Mary’s permission to light a cigar.  I gave consent, and with the match with which he lit his cigar he also set fire to a document.  This document, according to the plot, was a will in which he was interested, or rather interested in having destroyed.  It was a vital point in the drama and held the rapt attention of the audience.  What more propitious moment could Booth have had to prepare for the shooting?  When I was speaking, I saw Booth standing near the Lincoln box.  As he had access to the theatre at all time, I though nothing of his being there.  He was a very handsome man, was Booth perhaps the handsomest I ever saw, and the very picture of health.  But I remember that as I saw him then I was shocked at his pallor and a wild look in his eyes.  It flashed across me he must be sick.

Mrs. Struthers then asked Busbey how he remembered Booth.  Busbey replied, there was a moment of silent reflection, and then Jeannie continued with her story:

“I can well recall 14 April 1865.  An early spring had clothed the hills with a coat of green and as I took my usual morning walk, I remember that the Judas trees and dogwoods were in bloom.  The sun was bright and I was very happy, as a benefit performance was scheduled on the programme to be given for ‘Miss Jennie Gourlay‘ on Saturday evening 15 April, when will be presented Boucicault’s great sensational drama, ‘The Octoroon.” You probably remember that Laura Keene had performed in ‘Our American Cousin‘ over 1000 nights, and the performance at which the assassination occurred was to have been her last, and it was given in her benefit.  The following night I was to have my benefit, but of course it never took place.  Not only I, but everyone seemed happy, for the war was over and the bloodshed had stopped.  North and South families were to be reunited, and the blessings of peace would help us to forget the sufferings and sorrows of war.

“In the box besides President and Mrs. Lincoln were Miss Harris and Maj. Rathbone.  Gen. and Mrs. Grant were to have been in the party, but something, I forgot what, detained them.  The President was seated in a rocking chair, and why shouldn’t a smile of gladness brighten his eye?  He sat there a victor, but he showed no sign of triumph, only a quiet smile of relief.  I don’t believe he looked for glory or homage.  His sympathetic heart was filled no doubt only with kindness and charity – then that awful bullet.”

Busbey interjected his feelings at this and an exchange followed between Jeannie and him over the character of Booth.  Jeannie reflected on Booth’s motives and there was some disagreement from Busbey.  Jeannie had the final word:

“But to us who knew him, it was hard to believe the worst of him.”

Jeannie then continued with her version of the assassination:

“Every now and then one friend or another sends me a clipping about what happened that night at Ford’s Theatre.  As a rule, these clippings are so untrue to fact that they disgust me.  Five of my family, counting myself, were in the theatre that night, so I know just about what took place.  My father [Thomas C. Gourlay] and sister [Margaret Gourlay] were behind the footlights with me.  My brothers Robert Gourlay and Thomas Gourlay had orchestra seats.  And isn’t it a strange coincidence that William Struthers, my brother-in-law, who was in the employ of A. T. Stewart, designed the catafalque upon which the body of Abraham Lincoln lay in state?….

“A few years ago after reading a newspaper sensation that spoke of Booth stabbing people right and left as he escaped, I wrote to my brother Thomas and asked him to write me just what he remembered.  I have his reply to my letter….”

Jeannie then proceeded to read the letter, with “permission” from Busbey:

“Brooklyn, New York, 28 January 1906

“My Dear Jennie:

“Yours of the 20th inst. inquiring about the Lincoln tragedy is at hand and in reply will say most assuredly I was present at the time of the occurrence and the affair is so impressed on my mind that I remember it as though it happened yesterday.  I have read many articles in reference to the assassination and have never in all read the exact details as they appeared to me, an eyewitness.  Brother Robert and I had arranged to go to the theatre that night, and when we returned home from our work Mr. Williamson’s son was at the house.

At this point in the letter-reading, Harsell footnoted that young Williamson’s father was Tad Lincoln‘s tutor and that Tad was at Grover’s Theatre at the time of the assassination.

“He was about the same age as Robert.  (It was the first and only time I ever saw him).  He had called, expecting father to obtain a pass for him.  Father told him to accompany Robert and me, so we all went together.

“When we got to the theatre it fell to my lot to do the passing.  We simply nodded to the ticket taker (who knew Robert and me).  I explained that Williamson was our cousin, when we were allowed to pass into the orchestra.  We took the first three seats on the right hand, the same side the President’s box was on.  Our seats were the first behind the reserved ones, but three or four rows from the dress circle.

“The play was ‘Our American Cousin,’ Laura Keene being the star.  The curtain had risen and I believe the first scene was almost through before the President and friends arrived.  When he was seen to enter, the whole audience arose and turned to welcome him.  After he entered he stood at the head of the center aisle, in the dress circle, with his hat in his right hand, bowing to the audience.  As he passed around to his box, we all resumed our seats and the play continued.

“The President sat back in his box where he could not be seen by the audience.  I believe it was the scene after your scene – the dairy scene – when a pistol shot was heard and immediately J. Wilkes Booth rushed to the edge of the box nearest the stage where Maj. Rathbone was sitting (who was one of the guests) with a large knife in his hand.  He slashed the major in the arm, who was then unable to intercept Booth, who dropped from the box, dropping in such a way as to break the force of his fall.  While dropping, he dragged one of the draped American flags to the stage; faced the audience, and in a dramatic attitude flourished his knife over his head, shouted: ‘Sic semper tyrannis!’ and then rushed off the stage on the side opposite the President’s box.

“As soon as Booth had disappeared, brother Robert (who knew Booth well) was one of the first to rise in his seat and shout: ‘It’s Booth! It’s Booth!

“I also remember seeing someone who occupied a seat in the lower box on the side Booth escaped from rush after him as he ran.

“Now, my dear Jennie, this is a correct statement, without any exaggeration, and about all any eyewitness could state.

“You surely must remember when we arrived home in the front parlor, discovering the clean cut in Mr. Withers’ coat, on his shoulder, and clear through to his shirt, unintentionally received from Booth’s knife pushing him aside in making his escape.  Also of Ned Spangler coming to our door and father not admitting him.

I know that Spangler was a kind-hearted, jovial fellow and liked by everyone.  Nevertheless, I believe he was drawn into the conspiracy at the last moment and while under the influence of drink.  His part, it was supposed, was to turn off the gas after the shot, but he was not able to get near enough to the box at the time on account of you and Mr. Withers standing near it conversing, while you were waiting to go on the stage again.

Now, to back up my suspicion of the above, will relate what was told to me by Brother Robert.  After the first act, Robert and Williamson went out to get a drink.  They went into the saloon adjoining the theatre and saw Booth and Spangler drinking brandy at the bar.  Robert declared that Booth filled his tumbler to the brim and drank it down.  I suppose Spangler did the same.

“Now, my dear Jennie, you have the most correct version of what happened in front.  Behind the scenes (where it was necessary for you to be) you can relate what happened there. Enough said. Trusting that you are all the same, and with kind remembrance to all, and particularly Robert, I remain,

“Your affectionate brother,

[signed] “Thomas P. Gourlay.”

Busbey asked whether that was how Jeannie recalled the tragedy and she replied that because she was behind the scenes, it was not her recollection of the event.

“I was behind the wings, near William Withers, the orchestra leader, and therefore was from a different viewpoint.  I remember hearing the report of a pistol, which was followed by a buzz-like sound from the pit.  I suspected nothing at first, but as the buzz grew louder, I though [sic] that some little innovation had been introduced and that the buzz expressed mild approval from the audience.

“You remember, as my brother states in his letter, that after Booth fired the fatal shot, he jumped to the stage.  In doing so, his spur caught in the folds of an American flag and threw him, breaking a bone in his leg.  As he stood on the stage, wild and desperate, fiercely trampling the flag to free himself, the truth was not realized, but when he cried, ‘Sic semper tyrannis’ and a moment or so later Mrs. Lincoln screamed, the audience in a dazed way began to comprehend the awful calamity that had occurred.  from the wings I saw Booth make his way painfully across the stage, and as he ran limping by us in the exit, he brushed me aside.  William Withers had blocked the passage in front of me, and as Booth passed him he cut into his clothing with his dagger, slashed him in the neck, made his way to the rear door, hobbled on his saddle horse and escaped.  About this time I began to realize the cause of all the confusion.

Then Mrs. Struthers opened a faded envelope and took out a picture of John Wilkes Booth which she reflected upon:

“Poor, misguided man…. He was not bloodthirsty, as commonly supposed; he was desperate.  A bone in his leg was broken; the mark of Cain was upon him; the loss of a second might mean his capture, and the vengeful wrath of a nation was at his heels.

“Brother Thomas, as you saw by his letter, believes Spangler was drawn into the conspiracy at the last moment while under the influence of drink.  Dear me, I can never think that,  Ned Spangler was a scene shifter, a harmless, good-natured sort of fellow without much sense.  I can’t believe Booth would have ever confided in such a man.  But as he held Booth’s horse that night when Booth rode up, and later drank with Booth, he may have been coaxed into the conspiracy.  Booth was so magnetic and persuasive that he could have twisted a weak-minded menial like Spangler about his little finger.

“There was a call for water from Mr. Lincoln’s box as the poor man lay stricken.  My father, who was one of the company, upon hearing the call, helped to support Laura Keene across the stage so that she could go to Mr. Lincoln’s aid.  He unlocked a door of a private passage and took her to President Lincoln’s side.  She raised his head in her arms and his blood trickled down her dress.  She turned his head slightly, and for the first time the wound was definitely located.  The blood that fell stained her hands, and a moment later as she sobbed with her hands to her face, it got on her face and hair.  Never will I forget the picture of this heretofore light-hearted, care-free comedienne, now blood-stained from head to foot, convulsed with sobs, acting her part in the most harrowing tragedy that ever took place in a theater.

“My father was one of the men who helped move President Lincoln from the theatre to the house opposite, where he died.  I can see them carrying that gaunt, awkward form from the aisles.  How my heart ached with pity for him; how I prayed for his recovery; how I deplored the cruelty that laid him low!  My tears were mingled with those of the nation, for we all loved honest Old Abe.  Great as he was, he was at heart only a big, brave, sympathetic friend to us all.

Then Jeannie’s handkerchief came out and tears were wiped away.

“I have now related about all there is to tell except I repeat the well-worn, oft-told facts that are to be found in the various stories of Lincoln’s life.”

Harsell then transitioned to Busbey and has Jeannie ask him to “tell us something about [his] experience in those times.”

Busbey recounted his experiences as a newspaper publisher during the war – in Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky – and his stint as a staff member of the pro-Southern Louisville Daily Journal, whose editor had two sons in the Confederate army.  After the  Union Army stationed in Louisville, Busbey said he wrote articles sympathetic to the Union cause, which saved the paper from being shut down.  On the night of the assassination, Busbey claimed he was awakened by the composing room foreman with the news that Lincoln and all of his cabinet had been murdered.  Busbey then sorted through the various dispatches to get the true story of what happened and claimed that his opinion, expressed at the time, was that Vice President Johnson should not be suspected.  Since the paper’s editor and Johnson were supposedly bitter enemies, and the paper took the position that Johnson was not involved in the plot, it was assumed that the editor had written the article – and the paper was once again saved from the government wrath.  Busbey was quietly commended by the editor who then asked Busbey to go to Lincoln’s funeral in Springfield, Illinois, representing the state of Kentucky.  The governor of Kentucky at the time was Thomas E. Bramlette, who had strong disagreements with Lincoln over the issue of the emancipation of slaves and the use of African Americans as soldiers, gave Busbey a “commission” to attend the funeral.  Busbey claimed that for a time, he stood guard over Lincoln’s body and “followed it to the grave.”

At the conclusion of the article, Jeannie [Gourlay] Struthers reflected on her reasons for not speaking out sooner and on why her story never appeared in print:

“What I told you was in confidence.  I have always felt a hesitancy about being quoted as to my experiences that night at Ford’s Theatre.  I never wanted to be drawn into a controversy.  ever since the tragedy, magazine and newspaper writers have from time to time tried to interview me, but my version of the assassination had never appeared in print and it is my desire that it never will.

“But does it not seem strange, Mr. Busby [sic], that here you and I are talking over the assassination together for the first time nearly half a century after it happened and when most of those who remembered the tragedy are silenced forever?….

“Nearly half a century is a long span of years.  So far as I know, I am the only member of ‘Our American Cousin” Company still alive, but the events of that dreadful night stand out as vividly in memory as though they happened but recently….

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The Analysis

Norman Harsell was not an ordinary writer.  He was well-known in the Borough of Milford as a member of the leisure class.  His acquaintance with the real Hamilton Busbey (as spelled as Busbey, not Busby as Harsell uses in the article) was not as widely known – except to those who were readers of Turf, Field and Farm Magazine.  Harsell succeeded Busbey as editor of the magazine which was founded by Busbey and most famous for its reporting on harness racing and horse breeding.  Harsell’s other writings at this time were for Countryside Magazine and Suburban Life, another journal of the leisure class, and included articles on making lawn tennis the national sport and on how to picnic in winter by using protective clothing made of Swiss Loden.  Later Harsell became a member of the editorial staff of Rider and Driver, another harness racing paper.  These publications were based in New York City.

Harsell was also film producer.  Milford, at least according to locals and the founders of Milford’s current Black Bear Film Festival, was the setting of film-making in the early twentieth century, with the likes of Mary Pickford and D. W. Griffith frequenting its establishments and “alleys.”  Harsell’s choice to publish the article in the Los Angeles Times is a clue that this article was to be the basis of a film about Jeannie Gourlay and the Lincoln assassination.  Of course, Los Angeles was where the film industry was beginning to settle on as a home.  Harsell intended to create a story that could be accepted as the basis of a interesting film about the Lincoln assassination, the 50th anniversary of which was only a year away.

It is hard to imagine that Harsell’s motive was anything but the writing and production of a film connected to that anniversary.  However, no Harsell film on the assassination was produced for the 1915 anniversary.  But Harsell did continue to work in the rapidly growing film industry.

In 1918, Harsell registered with the Milford Draft Board for the World War Draft.  His occupation, as told to the board was “Moving Picture Producer” and his employment address was New York City.

In 1921 Harsell produced a film which was widely distributed throughout the country – and was shown in Pennsylvania as the ad below indicates for the Coliseum in Philadelphia:

Unfortunately, “The Hidden Code”is one of the many films that has been lost though some reviews can be located.

Hamilton Busbey had a story to tell, which at some point when he was lucid (see below for his condition in 1914), he relayed to Norman Harsell.  The story was that he had represented the Governor of Kentucky at the funeral of Abraham Lincoln.  And Harsell knew from his frequent vacation time in Milford that an aging actress, Jeannie [Gourlay] Struthers, who had been present at Ford’s Theatre the night Lincoln was assassinated, lived in the lower part of town along the Sawkill Creek (actually in the township, just outside the Borough). He had two characters who he personally knew through which he could tell the Lincoln assassination story.  But that was not enough to tell the story.  Busbey was not in Washington on 14 April 1865 and Jeannie was not an actual witness to the assassination.  He had to come up with other connected characters who he could place in specific scenes in the drama.

To witness Booth jumping from the State Box, Harsell added two brothers of Jeannie to the story – Robert Gourlay and Thomas P. Gourlay.  He placed them in the audience and they could present the story from that perspective as well.  They could also be in the saloon in the south building witnessing Booth there- during the productions and just prior to the assassination. They could also be the ones who ran to the War Department to report the assassination.  How did Jeannie know what her brothers witnessed?  Harsell created a letter, supposedly written by Thomas P. Gourlay to his sister Jeannie in 1906.

To witness what was happening in the State Box after the shot was fired, Harsell added that Jeannie’s father, Thomas C. Gourlay, led Laura Keene there – he supposedly unlocked a door to a passage (that didn’t really exist).  To follow Lincoln to the Petersen House, Harsell also presented Thomas C. Gourlay as one of the men who helped carry Lincoln there.

Jeannie’s role was also clear to Harsell.  During her last scene on the stage, she would witness Booth heading toward the State Box.  Then she would go backstage where she would be standing next to her husband-to-be, William Withers Jr. as Booth came rushing by.

The entire cast of characters would re-assemble at the Gourlay home later in the evening to reflect on the evening.  The screnplay would be presented as a reminiscence of that time and of the assassination.

The problem with all this is that there is no supporting evidence for any of the claims made by Harsell in this supposed screenplay.  And many statements made by Harsell are actually contradicted by the evidence.

William Withers Jr. testified under oath that there was no one in the passage but him.  If Jeannie Gourlay was there, then Withers lied under oath.

The architecture of the theatre does not support the notion that there was a passage from the stage to the State Box.

There is no evidence that Jeannie’s brothers were employees of the War Department or that they were in Ford’s Theatre or even in Washington in April 1865.  There is no evidence that the brothers knew “Young Williamson,” or that he accompanied them to the theatre.  There is no evidence that they were able to occupy three reserved seats in a sold-out theatre.

There is no evidence that Thomas C. Gourlay, Jeannie’s father, was a part-time stage manager at Ford’s Theatre.  If he was a manager, he was her manager, something that had more to do with her contract with Ford and nothing to do with him shifting scenes, unlocking doors, re-arranging furniture, and dimming lights.  If Thomas C. Gourlay had been in the employ of John T. Ford as a “stage manager,” he would have testified at the trial of the conspirators – as did all others who had such responsibilities.

The story also connects with Edmund “Ned” Spangler, one of the convicted conspirators – who is supposedly refused admittance to the Gourlay household after the assassination – something that never came up in any investigation or at the trial.

Jeannie [Gourlay] Struthers and her family seized upon the story by Norman Harsell.  Her story would be presented on film.  She would be famous – and the career that she had ended too soon to raise a family would have a resurrection.  There were even reports within the family that Jeannie’s youngest daughter Jean Struthers had been asked to portray her mother in the film [Note: see article written by Peter Osborne in 1995 as background information for a Pike County Historical Society exhibit on the assassination]. But the film was not to be.  For whatever reason, 1915 passed without production and interest waned.

There are other indications within the story presented by Harsell that it was created by him.

A style analysis of the letter of Thomas P. Gourlay (Jeannie’s brother) reveals that it most-assuredly was written by Harsell rather than the brother of Jeannie.  It was created for dramatic effect in the film to be.  No actual letter has ever been produced – only copies in different handwriting than that known to be of Thomas P. Gourlay.  No envelope with a postmark has been seen.  Thomas P. Gourlay, Jeannie’s brother, did give an interview in 1922 in which he departed very little from the Harsell script.  Where was Thomas P. Gourlay during the Civil War?  Evidence has been seen that just prior to the start of the war, he and his brother William Gourlay were residents in a juvenile facility [“House of Industry”] in New York City – as paupers.  Why were they there and were they still there in 1865?

Click on document to enlarge.

After the war, Thomas C. Gourlay (the father) and Thomas P. Gourlay (the son) are found in Brooklyn (1880), where the father is working as a real estate agent and the son is an employee in a drug factory.  After the father’s death, the son became a “manufacturer of patent medicines” and later is listed as a “chemist.”  Thomas C. Gourlay (the father), never returned to acting after the assassination – and never spoke out about anything that happened that night at Ford’s Theatre.

Hamilton Busbey (1840-1924)

Then there are the problems with the story of Hamilton Busbey as told by Harsell.  Busbey had a rather strange military record – which Harsell may not have known.  His discharge from the military in 1863 was on a Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability under unclear circumstances.  Busbey was actually from Ohio and from a family of teachers – he was a teacher before the war – and although he served in a Kentucky regiment during the war, his niche in horse racing was learned.   He became the author of several books on harness racing – and of course, editor and publisher of the harness racing journal later edited by Harsell.  The portrait of Busbey (above) is from one of those books which has been digitized by Google.  By 1914, Busbey was beginning to show signs of senile dementia and was soon to be confined in the home of his younger brother, a state senator  in Ohio, and thereafter he was sent to a national veterans’ home where he died in 1924.  Whether he was actually in Milford for the supposed interview is questionable and an “actor” may have played his part in the photograph.  The physical description of Busbey, seen in the veterans’ home records, makes him to be a larger man than the one who appears in the photograph accompanying the 1914 Harsell article.  Jeannie Gourlay, as evidenced by her costumes that are on display at the Pike County Historical Society, was petite.  There should have been a significant difference in size between the two.

Norman Harsell had family problems that later in life diverted his attention from his writing and film-making.  In the early 1920s, while on a naturalist hike in the Appalachian mountains, Norman’s brother Blaise Harsell, went missing somewhere in the Tennessee-North Carolina area and was believed to have been murdered by “mountaineers”.  When a body was found and identified as Blaise Harsell, Norman Harsell traveled to North Carolina to demand justice.  As the last of the perpetrators was rounded up, Norman Harsell died suddenly in West Palm Beach, Florida, in early May 1923.  His obituary, as it appeared in the New York Times, was brief, and highlighted his blue-blood roots:

So, why was the film never produced?  Harsell had too many irons in the fire.  There was no way he could get the film produced in the one-year time frame between the date of the article and the 50th anniversary, and after 1915, there was less interest in such a film.

Although the family of Jeannie Gourlay tried to revive the “story of her life” that was to be the subject of the Harsell-created film, the flurry of articles that appeared in 1923 did little to spark any public interest in the story.  And Jeannie herself was slipping.  Well-prior to 1923, she was no longer able to live alone and she shared time between homes of her daughter Mabel [Struthers] Humbert in Montclair, New Jersey, and her daughter Jean [Struthers] Newell, in Media, Pennsylvania.  Jeannie died on 5 March 1928 and she was buried in the Milford Cemetery, Pike County, Pennsylvania.

So, that is the story of the legend of the Gourlay family’s role at the Lincoln assassination.  It was created by Norman Harsell for a purpose that never came to be… a film that never was.

Future posts on the subject of Jeannie Gourlay will present a resource list for further study as well as a look at how the legend of the blood-stained flag developed.  Those posts will occur next month.

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Some articles are from the author’s collection of research materials related to the Gourlay family and the Lincoln assassination.  Other newspaper articles are from the on-line resources and microfilm collection of the Free Library of PhiladelphiaThe 1860 census return is from Ancestry.com.  Peter Osborne‘s report was published by the Pike County Historical Society in 1995 and was entitled, “Now He Belongs to the Ages.”   It was 8 pages in length and sold for $1.00.