Did John Wilkes Booth Die of Arsenic Poisoning in 1903?
To answer my question posed in the title, “I doubt it.”
We all know that the infamous John Wilkes Booth, President Lincoln’s assassin, was killed
in a Virginia barn on April 26, 1865. He is said to be buried in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore. Most of us see no reason to dispute his burial in the unmarked grave in the Booth family plot.
However, there are those conspiracy theorists who claim Booth escaped and lived out his life in Enid, Oklahoma as David E. George (or John St. Helen). It seems that George became known to the world after he swallowed some arsenic on Jan. 13, 1903. As he died, he claimed to be John Wilkes Booth, dying shortly after reportedly saying, “I killed the best man that ever lived.” David George was mummified after his deathbed,” and sent on a carnival tour, his body last seen in public in the 1970s.
Sounds like “There’s a sucker born every minute” to me…
There’s a very interesting article about Booth and the various conspiracy theories, as well as Booth impersonators in the January 25, 2009 edition of the Baltimore Examiner.
November 21st, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Well i think that the David E. George theory is correct. there was proof that the body found after the barn was burnt down had RED HAIR and FRECKLE. I know for a fact that John Wilkes Booth had Black hair and did not have freckles. So John most have escaped and moved to Texas and changed his name to a John St. Helen. after that he moved upward to Enid, Oklahoma, changing his name to David E. George. Then in January of 1903 David (or john) committed suicide by poisoning himself because he could not take the guilt of killing president Lincoln. See there is a lot of proof that John got away and changed and committed suicide in Enid hotel in Enid Oklahoma because of guilt
November 24th, 2009 at 7:52 am
My great grandfather swore that we were related to him, along with many other members back then, and they all said the same thing, that he had escaped his fate and lived as another man named david george also. I am trying to put it all together but am having a hard time. If you have more info as all these people are dead in my family now, and my grandmothers heard the story, but dont know the info. I would appreciate it. Thanks. Malindad1977@yahoo.com