F. Scott Fitzgerald
“Please don’t let me fall.”~ Mary Surratt
“The Great Gatsby” will be coming to theaters soon this year, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
The classic book was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and published in 1925.
It was this great curiosity about the man that had me research him.
The story tragic and sad and all of that. But more importantly, there was a piece of trivia about his family that just caught my eye.
And you know how I am about trivia.
F. Scott Fitzgerald is related to Mary Surratt. They are cousins once removed.
Mary Surratt
So then who in the world is Mary Surratt?
She is someone who was executed for being a co-conspirator in the assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
Her story was wild as she probably would be tried and convicted in a court in today’s time for harboring and conspiracy.
But she was actually tried in a military tribunal.
She rented a boarding house in Maryland, where those who were found guilty would meet up and plan their actions to kill the President.
What I found rather interesting and unusual was that even though she was being held inside a federal prison and being kept watch by soldiers, her treatment during her trial was a lot different than her co-conspirators.
She wasn’t shackled in the transfers between the courthouse and the jail cell that she was being held in.
Her prison cell was always being changed to suit her needs. And around the time of her execution, she was in pain and misery. Both from sorrow of knowing her fate and menstrual pains.
She was allowed to wear a veil over her face when she was faced with execution. But she was the only female in the group of people who were being tried for conspiracy and the actual murder of the President.
Execution. Mary Surratt hangs first from the left.
It is also noteworthy to add that not everyone who was brought to trial over the assassination was found guilty. Surratt’s son, was found not-guilty for conspiracy. But Surratt was found guilty and hanged on a very warm afternoon in July 1865.
And so I found it interesting. I think though that genealogy has always been a small interest of mine. To find out who I am and who I am not actually related to.
To my own knowledge, I do not have any relatives that would be worthy of noting. Nor am I a family relative, any times at all removed, to be related or connected to anyone fascinating or famous.
But perhaps one day I will go and study it for myself and find out.
IF I am, I’ll be sure to let you know who it is that Dambreaker is related to.
Dambreaker 