Most of what follows is probably already known to those who regularly read this blog. Nevertheless here’s some newish news on the Lincoln assassination front.
Booth reading the news
1. New Site
When it comes to learning about Abraham Lincoln’s life, there really is no better resource than the Abraham Lincoln Research Site run by Roger Norton. The website at http://rogerjnorton.com is actually composed of three equally valuable sections: the life of Abraham Lincoln, the life of Mary Todd Lincoln, and Lincoln’s assassination. The proprietor of the site is Roger Norton, a retired Illinois social studies teacher. His website is the top choice for students, both young and old, to learn about Lincoln. In 2006, his site received the prestigious honor of being completely archived by the Library of Congress. Just as the LOC archives and preserves movies and TV shows deemed culturally significant, Mr. Norton’s site was archived for all time due to its educational significance. It is a very high honor for an individual’s site to achieve and speaks to the quality of Mr. Norton’s work.
Recently, Mr. Norton has expanded his website to now include a public forum. The Lincoln Discussion Symposium is open to all who wish to discuss the many aspects of Abraham Lincoln. It is a collaborative community where amateurs and experts alike can post questions and comments regarding our 16th President. Due to the large amount of traffic Mr. Norton receives from students in the school setting, forum members are expected to be courteous and respectful in their remarks. While it is still growing, the forum already houses a wonderful community of experts from the Lincoln community eager to answer questions and take part in discussions. I, myself, am a member there and endorse it fully. While my main interest lies in Lincoln’s assassination, the forum has already taught me so much that I didn’t know about the living Lincoln. Membership is growing every day, so I invite you all to visit the Lincoln Discussion Symposium and join the wonderful community of learners.
2. New Links
On the right side of the blog you might have noticed a list of “Links to Learn More”. Here I have placed links to some of the best websites out there for Lincoln assassination material. Hovering over each link will give you a short description of the site. To this list, I have recently added two new links. The first is the above mentioned Lincoln Discussion Symposium. The second is the Facebook page for the Spirits of Tudor Hall. The Tudor Hall estate was the Booth family homestead in Maryland. The theatrical patriarch of the Booth clan, Junius Brutus bought the land when he and Mary Ann Holmes emigrated from England. The Booth family originally lived in a log cabin on the property before Junius commissioned the building of the beautiful Tudor Hall manor house in the fall of 1851. Sadly, Junius never got to live in the main house as he died while on tour on November 30th 1852. The Booth family lived on the Tudor Hall property on and off from 1822 to 1858. Nowadays, Tudor Hall is used as an office for the Harford County Center for the Arts. It is also home to the Junius B. Booth Society. The house is open on select weekends for public tours about the Booth family and the history of Tudor Hall. The Spirits of Tudor Hall Facebook page advertises the house’s tour dates and times, along with highlighting wonderful pictures and articles on the Booth family (including some from here, Woot!). If I was a member of Facebook, I would Share it/Like it/Poke it/Friend it/Hug it/High Five it, whatever it is that you young people do there. One thing they are advertising on Tudor Hall’s behalf is the sale of a genuine brick from a Tudor Hall chimney. While the bricks can’t be completely authenticated to when the Booths lived there, it’s still a relic you can own dating back to Edwin Booth’s lifetime. Add the Spirits of Tudor Hall Facebook page to your favorites today.
3. New(ish) Books
I am happy to report that William Edwards’ book, The Lincoln Assassination – The Reward Files, is now available for purchase as an ebook through GoogleBooks. Previously released as a book on CD-ROM, Mr. Edwards has revamped his collection of primary source documents into a searchable ebook. The Reward Files hold many details about the military’s search for Booth and contains firsthand accounts (like Samuel Arnold’s confession) not found in other sources. This text along with The Evidence and the Court Transcripts, make up the trilogy of the government’s primary documents into the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Also, Ed Steers, the noted Lincoln author and co-author on The Evidence with William Edwards, has also just released an updated Kindle ebook version of his popular booklet, The Escape and Capture of John Wilkes Booth. Mr. Steers originally posted the news of his revised book on the Lincoln Discussion Symposium.
Well, that’s all the newish news that’s fit to print. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.
LincolnConspirators.com 
Can’t thank you enough for your support of the Spirits of Tudor Hall on your blog. Much appreciate it. I just recently discovered your blog a few days ago, looking for fresh content to include on our fan page. So far I have enjoyed reading your articles and I’m always learning something new everyday about the Booth family. Thank you again.
Thank you, Carolyn, for contacting me in the first place. It’s wonderful to find people who share the same interests and network with them. I can’t wait until I get the chance to visit Tudor Hall.
Some good information Dave.
“whatever it is you young people do there?” I have seen pictures of you and I would guess you are not over 25. Young people indeed!
Thanks for the laugh, Rich. I can’t get anything past you.
Dave, just a note to say a big thank you for your kind words. But I must also thank three individuals. In 1996, when I started the site, I was a total newbie. Would any experienced experts help and support me? Or would I get ignored and or even criticized because I had just arrived on the scene? Three people…Ed Steers, Betty Ownsbey, and Laurie Verge stepped forward, and not only embraced and supported my efforts, but they sent me all sorts of photos, information, etc. to help me get started. I am forever in their debt. Now 16 years have passed, and the site will celebrate 15,000,000 visitors either later this year or early next. Dave, with all your creativity, maybe you can help me figure out some sort of prize to the person who is the 15,000,000th visitor! Seriously, thank you again, and I look forward to many years of working with you and supporting your outstanding blog and research.
Roger,
I don’t know if you’d be able to identify the who the 15,000,000th visitor actually is, but it would certainly be a milestone to celebrate. I think a banner on your website should advertise the occasion. Perhaps after it happens, you could give something away to the first student who emails you asking you a question. Or, to be on the safe side, you could ask for their teacher’s email and arrange something Lincoln-esque for their class. Maybe hire a Lincoln impersonator to visit them. That would be entertaining for the kids!
Dave — Great post! Thanks for “covering the bases!”
Dave—-Great Ideas are shared by ALL!!!!—Roger Norton is a expert and always an educator!!!!!!
Amen, Brother Herb!!