DID FINIS BATES MEET JOHN WILKES BOOTH IN TEXAS?

[L.C. BAKER]

"They Have Killed Papa Dead!": The Road to Ford's Theatre, Abraham Lincoln's ... - Anthony Pitch - Google Books

 

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[L.C. BAKER]

The Escape and suicide of John Wilkes Booth has no mention of Booth ever being paid in gold for his deed.......or does it? Read the book to find the truth. "The truth lies within" Socrates , but i think he meant within yourself, not Finis Bates book...lol

L.C. Baker

 

[L.C. BAKER]

The book is available on Amazon.com for those who are interested.
View attachment 1010978

http://www.amazon.com/s/?tag=treasurenet01-20


Many Thanks to all, L.C. Baker

 

[L.C. BAKER]

Did Finis Bates Meet John Wilkes Booth In Texas?

With the release of my book I am at liberty to talk about some evidence. I would like to discuss the reasoning behind this escape rout that John St. Helen described to Finis Bates when they spoke in Texas. The War Department said it was crazy to think the rebel assassin would turn North and come tom Nebraska City...in Union controlled?? territory.






Projected rout after receiving the pay off and a wagon to haul it in at Nebraska City.

 

[thelocator77]

I am curious about your George/Booth story as I have done some research. I do not necessarily believe George was Booth because I have not seen enough evidence to support such. I would like to see the Bates correspondences about George if you would not mind telling me how to go about obtaining them. I will share what I do know. Much is said about George having black hair and Booth having reddish color. I can tell you that George was known to buy hair dye and Penniman used hair dye to keep the mummy in good shape since he displayed him for many years before Bates claimed him. I do know that George's handwriting is not remotely similar to Booth's however he was much older and a drunk so this could possibly account for the difference in steadiness but not the difference in basic loops in lettering which seldom change with age. George was not a well respected man in Enid and was known to tell tall tales when he was drunk. He was known to be a liar and not a man of his word. In his will, which I have a copy of, he left property, money, and property that he did not own to people who seemingly did not exist. Sadly I tend to discredit anything associated with the KGC. Most of what we know about the KGC came from Howk and only a small group of people was "trusted" with this information until Howk found a way to profit from it. There is no evidence that Dalton ever uttered the word "KGC". Not even to Lester Dill who cared and fed for him for some time whenever Howk himself was not allowed to see Dalton at Dalton's request. Howk was a known conman with a arrest record as long as my arm. I find it hard to believe that every conspiracy or lost treasure or buried treasure can be traced back to the KGC as many would want you to believe.

Back to George. The gentleman that now has the mummy takes very good care of it. He does not believe that the mummy is Booth nor does he plan on letting anyone take DNA from the mummy. There are other sources of DNA out there that came from this mummy during earlier examinations that can be used if one knows where to look. There are even original locks of his hair w/follicles that may yield DNA. One only needs to take the time to look. Penniman, who embalmed and displayed the mummy for years, did not believe it was Booth and felt it was just a chance to drum up extra business. Kathy Bates grew up being told that the mummy was not Booth, merely a chance for her grandfather to make extra money. This is part of the reason why it set it his garage for so long.

Do I think that Booth died in the barn? Not necessarily. I think that enough evidence exists to believe he may have escaped. But I would not be entirely surprised if it turned out that he did die that night. I know so will say I am not a truth seeker and that is fine with me. I am a realist that believes that the truth will only be told by finding verifiable facts that support the story. I do not think there has been enough verifiable facts to prove that George was Booth.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

"Booth having reddish color."-----actually Booth and John St. Helen had black hair. It was the man they shot in Garret's barn whom they claimed was J.W. Booth that had red hair and freckles. David Harold who surrendered and was taken into custody at the barn claimed the man with him in the barn had said his last name was Boyd. ----based on what I have studied.

You(based on your own research of the materials available to you) have made the assumption that 1# David George is John St. Helen.
2# The mummy is John St. Helen who was John Wilkes Booth.
Finis Bates convinced himself that it was the same man, but by that time he was grasping at straws to prove that he had met Booth in Texas before John St. Helen disappeared. He traveled to Enid and purchased the body of the man named David George. Then went to the trouble of displaying it in the worlds fair. It became a side show attraction for years and people were actually taking pieces of it for souvenirs. I do not believe it was John St. Helen who was really John Wilkes Booth. Just my 2 cents.

Great post, very good points of interest, L.C.

 

[thelocator77]

I actually do not believe that they were one in the same. But, I can see the argument somewhat from both sides. My info is from a variety of sources including info gathered when I lived in Enid. I have spoken to the man that owns the mummy on more than one occasion. Have you read Penniman's account? It is very interesting. I have read and re-read copies of it as well as George's will. I may have located the ring found in the mummies and the x-rays of the mummy which would be interesting to see.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

I would be very interested in anything new you find out. Keep us informed please.

L.C.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

Kathy Bates grew up being told that the mummy was not Booth, merely a chance for her grandfather to make extra money. This is part of the reason why it set it his garage for so long.

I want to know if she knew her Grandpa Finis Bates met John Wilkes Booth in Texas. I believe the part about the mummy not being him. Bates was trying to prove that he met Booth and nobody would believe him....especially the war department who was first in line to discredit him which would cast an obvious shadow on anyone's opinion after hearing the War Department didn't believe him..I believe that no educated man that was schooled in law would struggle for that many years before he purchased the body from Enid in a last ditch effort and in the hope of finding the man that he had spoke to in Texas that was John Wilkes Booth.
Of all the cities in America he could have mentioned, that man, John St. Helen claimed to have came to Nebraska City after healing up in Indian territory. Until the release of my book, nobody has known about the association with that town and the strong hold of K.G.C. that built it. When Booth left the town he was in a wagon for the first time on his escape route. I believe it was because he came there to get paid in gold. I believe that lends an incredible amount of back up to Bates story that Booth told him in Texas.

L.C.

 

[Citiboy289]

L C Excellent as always !!!!!

 

[L.C. BAKER]

I actually do not believe that they were one in the same. But, I can see the argument somewhat from both sides. My info is from a variety of sources including info gathered when I lived in Enid. I have spoken to the man that owns the mummy on more than one occasion. Have you read Penniman's account? It is very interesting. I have read and re-read copies of it as well as George's will. I may have located the ring found in the mummies and the x-rays of the mummy which would be interesting to see.

First hand information is the best. I am sure the stories passed between those that lived in Enid at the time and for generations after, all had some truth in them. people all add a little of themselves to the stories over the generations. The general direction of the truth is in their accounts of who David George was....but not so much about David George being John St. Helen. Both of them were said to be John Wilkes Booth, but only one of them confessed to Finis Bates in Texas. Bates by that time was an angry cheated man. He was highly educated in Law....so he was really feeling cheated. Way back in 1886, Finis L. Bates had notified the War Department that he knew who John Wilkes Booth was pretending to be and where he was last seen. On January 13, 1903 David George died...that's 17 years later. Bates had been after the war department to do the right thing for all that time. Finally in 1907, Finis L. Bates published The Escape and Suicide of John Wilkes Booth. The book was published as The Escape and Suicide of John Wilkes Booth with several variations of the following subtitle, The First True Account of Lincoln's Assassination, Containing a Complete Confession by Booth Many Years After the Crime, Giving in Full Detail the Plans, Plot and Intrigue of the Conspirators, and the Treachery of Andrew Johnson, then Vice-President of the United States. Written for the Correction of History.

That is a span of over 21 years after Bates had met John St. Helen / Booth in Texas. That is a long time to remember a story a man told you. There is truth in the story he tells, but there is speculation in the story as well as Bates own opinion. Hearing Booths escape rout as it was explained to Finis Bates by John St. Helen is where I find some truth to the story that is told in the book.

L.C.

 

[fronjm05]

LC, it sounds like you did try to get a hold of Kathy Bates? Was that a dead end? I imagine she is not the easiest person to get a hold of. Let us know if you made an attempt though, curious. thanks for your wealth of information on this site. Book purchase coming soon.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

I wrote her a letter, but she has not responded to me at this time. I can not say that the letter was even brought to her attention as it was mailed to her receiving agent.
L.C.

 

[Texas Jay]

I believe that David George, John St. Helen, and John Ravenswood were all aliases for John Wilkes Booth. For more information on John Ravenswood, go to this link to my Blog where I quote a newspaper article about him. The title of the Blog entry is: "John Wilkes Booth aka John Ravenswood in Brownwood, Texas".

Blog - Knights of the Golden Circle

~Texas Jay

 

[L.C. BAKER]

I believe that David George, John St. Helen, and John Ravenswood were all aliases for John Wilkes Booth. For more information on John Ravenswood, go to this link to my Blog where I quote a newspaper article about him. The title of the Blog entry is: "John Wilkes Booth aka John Ravenswood in Brownwood, Texas".

Blog - Knights of the Golden Circle

~Texas Jay

I don't know about Booth and David George, but I am 100% sure that John St. Helen was the same man that shot Lincoln and he was paid the assassin's fee in Nebraska City by the K.G.C. who gave him a wagon to haul it away in to Texas. From there I am still researching for some hard facts on David George and now thanks to you Jay I will be researching John Ravenswood...just sounds like something an actor would come up with doesn't it!

Thanks for the link, L.C.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

With the release of my book I am at liberty to talk about some evidence. I would like to discuss the reasoning behind this escape rout that John St. Helen described to Finis Bates when they spoke in Texas. The War Department said it was crazy to think the rebel assassin would turn North and come tom Nebraska City...in Union controlled?? territory.

View attachment 1022448




Projected rout after receiving the pay off and a wagon to haul it in at Nebraska City.

View attachment 1022456

Benjamin Ficklin first traveled the route west and then Southwest during the Mexican war fresh off a failed first attempt at West Point. He reentered the academy and would graduate as a wounded veteran. Over the next few years he would take off west after finding out he wasn't cut out to be a school teacher. It is unsure when he became a knight of the Golden Circle, but we suspect it could have been while he was attending the Military Academy. He was well affiliated with the K.G.C. by 1854 when he met with Dr. William Mckendre Gwin and traveled with him back east to meet with president Franklin Pierce and Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. They were possibly conveying what had happened with the William Walker filibuster in Baja, Cal. along with the progress of the up coming military freight scheme at Nebraska City, Nebraska and the progress of the warehouses there as well as their iron hand. Ficklin barely escaped death numerous times while running freight and mail across the American West and he also hand picked every man at every station along the way. Now knowing that he was a confederate spy the whole time he was involved with government contracting shows how unaffected the structure of the K.G.C./ O.A.K. was after the war. Ficklin would manage to keep government mail contracts until his mysterious death in Washington D.C. in 1871. Who better than he to instruct the assassin Booth on how to cross the country unseen all the way to Nebraska City where Ficklin had spent a lot of time among friends and "Brothers" in the K.G.C.?

 

[tony bonn]

The information we have unearthed will shine new light on Finis Bates claim. It is a must read for the truth seeker. A pdf file is available on the internet for free.
Thanks L.C. Baker

where do i find the pdf?