Mary Surratt

Mary Surratt was a Maryland-born widow and boarding-house proprietor whose name became inseparable from the conspiracy that culminated in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. After the death of her husband John, she managed family property that included a tavern at Surrattsville and later moved to Washington, D.C., where she operated a boarding house. Her son John Surratt Jr. became involved with John Wilkes Booth, and several conspirators met or lodged at premises connected with the Surratt family.

After Lincoln was murdered in April 1865, Mary Surratt was arrested and tried by a military commission with other alleged conspirators. Prosecutors relied particularly on testimony about meetings at her boarding house and her actions concerning weapons hidden at the Maryland tavern; the strength and interpretation of that evidence have remained disputed. Convicted of conspiracy, she was hanged on 7 July 1865 with Lewis Powell, David Herold and George Atzerodt, becoming the first woman executed by the United States federal government.

In Ann Rinaldi’s An Acquaintance with Darkness, Her friendship with Anna Surratt and her connection to the Surratt household place her close to the conspiracy investigation, while disturbing evidence suggests that her respected physician uncle may be obtaining bodies illegally for anatomical study.