The Washington times., 1925-02-25
CONF FL|CT OVER
BOOTH STORY
CROWS
Man Who Died At Enid, okla,
Not Demented, Two
Witnesses Claim

Statements denying the picture
drawn by @. Sumner Lane. local
antique dealer, Of the man who
died in Enid, okla, procIaiming
himself to be John wilkes Booth,
and q. further verification OF the
story that Booth actually WAS
buried in Baltimore and his body
identified before interment, were In
jected into the controversy over
the facts Of the death Of Lincoln'a
assassin today.
Two mem who were In Enid ak
the time Of the suicide Of the man
who alleged himself to be- Bocfl.
denied the story Of Mr.. Lane, which
pictured him as a demented vaga-
bond. who strayed into the little
town. They were Fred M. Huds
dlestun. 1914 Olive street. Kenil.
worth, d. c., and Captain Roger wv.
Peard, y. s. ~. G., Quantico, Va.
According to Mr.. Huddlestun,
Enid In 1903 was purely agricul-
tural and manufacturing village
numbering several thousand .inhabi-
tants, instead Of the 500 a. re-
ported by Mr.. Lane.
Identified a. Booth.
I'm about 1908" he said; - quiee
elderly man arrived In Enid from
the south. He had limp and used
q cane. He made no friends, neither
was he communicative. He finally
died nysteriously and the coroneri1
verdict WAS suicide. No one kneW
anything OF the man and nothing of
tangible nature was cleaned frOf.iS
his effects. Descriptions were broad.
cast over the country and among the
many who came to view the body WAa
q lawyer from Memphis, who, it was
Gsid positively identified the body aB
that OF John Wilkes Booth The
body was embaImed and held at
local undertaking establishment for
many months, and what was its final
disposition can not say =
A similar account is given by
Captain Peard.
''In 1908. Captain Peard stated,
Enid had . population Of over 5000
and was the second largest city In
Oklahoma Territory.
'Tlle man claimed to be Booth was
g. quiet and inconspicuous member
of the community for several months
prior to his death and was not a
'vagabond' in any sense Of the word.
He even left small estate when he
died.
Contrary to the statement Of
Mr.. Lane, the residents Of Z Enid
were the only ones. who did take
his story seriously. Booth NaS
embalmed and keI IN an tindertak-
ing establishment tSEt Enid for over
a year after his death. People
from all over the United States
came TO view the body and an sorts
OF conflicting testimony was offered
by these visitors as to the mans
IDENTITY"
According to Captain Peard.
numerous government agents were
In Enid at the time.
Undertaken Talks.
Coincident with the statements OF
Mr.. Huddlestun and Captain Peard,
Henry w. Mears, veteran Baltimore
undertaken, yesterday offered the
information that the body OF John
Wilkes Booth was brought to BaIti-
more and buried in GreenmOunt
Cemetery. Other stories had STATED
that Booth was buried in the base
ment Of a warehouse at Ports
mouth, Va.
Mr.. Mears declared that HIS In
formation was substantiated by tho
statements Of four men who viewed
b the body at the time Of its burial
and identified it as that OF Booth
The men, he said, were Major
William Pegram, Daniel Haggerty.
former magistrate at the Central
Police Station; Basil Moxley, door
keeper at q Baltimore theater. and
fourth person whose name Mr..
Mears could not remember.