Samuel J. Seymour was five years old when he went to Ford’s Theater with some family and friends. After arriving in Washington, D.C., he was told, “Sammy, you and I and Sarah are going to a play – a real play. And President Abraham Lincoln will be there.”
According to The Huffington Post,
“Seymour’s recollection of the event includes a shot ringing out, someone in the President’s box screaming and Lincoln slumping forward in his seat. He also caught a glimpse of John Wilkes Booth jumping from the box to the stage.”
The Washington Times contains more of Seymour’s story:
“Once inside Ford’s Theatre, Mrs. Goldsboro lifted Seymour out of his chair to get a better look at the president. He thought Lincoln ‘looked stern because of his whiskers.’ When John Wilkes Booth leaped from the Presidential Box onto the stage after shooting Lincoln and broke a leg bone, in childish innocence Seymour wanted to help the man who had fallen down.”
On February 8, 1956, Mr. Seymour appeared on the hit television program “I’ve Got a Secret,” and you can watch it above. He was described there as the last living witness of President Lincoln’s assassination. Mr. Seymour was 96 years old when this footage was filmed, and he died just two months after his appearance on the program.
(HT: Abraham Piper)
One Comment
yankeegospelgirl
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