Thomas Gourlay was at Ford's Theater the night Lincoln was assassinated and he took the flag that contained Lincoln's blood. That flag is located at The Columns Museum in Milford, PA. American Dramatic Fund. #56.
Jeannie Gourlay, her sister Maggie, and her father Thomas were members of the theater company at Ford's Theater in Washington DC, and were all there on the night of April 14, 1865 when Abraham Lincoln was shot. Although a visiting actress was the lead star in the performance that night, Jeannie was the company's official leading star and she had worked with many great stars of her day, including Edwin Booth and Edwin Forrest. She was also the co-star at Ford's in John Wilkes Booth's last professional engagement. Jeannie married actor Robert Struthers, who became a stage manager around 1868, and they later toured together. They eventually retired and moved to Milford in 1888 where they raised their family. In her later years, Jeannie took up residence in the Edwin Forrest Actors' Home in Philadelphia. She died in 1928 of a stroke during a visit to a family member's home in Media, PA.
After Lincoln was shot, it's believed that Thomas Gourlay took one of the flags draped over the front of the State Box and placed it beneath Lincoln's head as a cushion. Thomas was one of the men who helped the doctors carry Lincoln to the boarding house across the street from the theater, and he probably also used the flag as a cushion during Lincoln's transfer. Thomas later kept the flag, but he and his children secretly kept it in a family trunk for many years. Just prior to his death in 1885, he gave the flag to his daughter Jeannie. It was only after her husband Robert's passing in 1907 that Jeannie went public with her reminiscences of Lincoln's assassination, but she never mentioned the flag. Her son V. Paul Struthers eventually inherited the flag from her and he donated it to the Pike County Historical Society in 1954, where it resides today. The flag was stained with blood from Lincoln's wound. It has since been authenticated as genuine and is now referred to as the "Lincoln Flag."
Jeannie Gourlay, her sister Maggie, and her father Thomas were members of the theater company at Ford's Theater in Washington DC, and were all there on the night of April 14, 1865 when Abraham Lincoln was shot. Although a visiting actress was the lead star in the performance that night, Jeannie was the company's official leading star and she had worked with many great stars of her day, including Edwin Booth and Edwin Forrest. She was also the co-star at Ford's in John Wilkes Booth's last professional engagement. Jeannie married actor Robert Struthers, who became a stage manager around 1868, and they later toured together. They eventually retired and moved to Milford in 1888 where they raised their family. In her later years, Jeannie took up residence in the Edwin Forrest Actors' Home in Philadelphia. She died in 1928 of a stroke during a visit to a family member's home in Media, PA.
After Lincoln was shot, it's believed that Thomas Gourlay took one of the flags draped over the front of the State Box and placed it beneath Lincoln's head as a cushion. Thomas was one of the men who helped the doctors carry Lincoln to the boarding house across the street from the theater, and he probably also used the flag as a cushion during Lincoln's transfer. Thomas later kept the flag, but he and his children secretly kept it in a family trunk for many years. Just prior to his death in 1885, he gave the flag to his daughter Jeannie. It was only after her husband Robert's passing in 1907 that Jeannie went public with her reminiscences of Lincoln's assassination, but she never mentioned the flag. Her son V. Paul Struthers eventually inherited the flag from her and he donated it to the Pike County Historical Society in 1954, where it resides today. The flag was stained with blood from Lincoln's wound. It has since been authenticated as genuine and is now referred to as the "Lincoln Flag."
Thomas Gourlay was at Ford's Theater the night Lincoln was assassinated and he took the flag that contained Lincoln's blood. That flag is located at The Columns Museum in Milford, PA. American Dramatic Fund. #56.
Jeannie Gourlay, her sister Maggie, and her father Thomas were members of the theater company at Ford's Theater in Washington DC, and were all there on the night of April 14, 1865 when Abraham Lincoln was shot. Although a visiting actress was the lead star in the performance that night, Jeannie was the company's official leading star and she had worked with many great stars of her day, including Edwin Booth and Edwin Forrest. She was also the co-star at Ford's in John Wilkes Booth's last professional engagement. Jeannie married actor Robert Struthers, who became a stage manager around 1868, and they later toured together. They eventually retired and moved to Milford in 1888 where they raised their family. In her later years, Jeannie took up residence in the Edwin Forrest Actors' Home in Philadelphia. She died in 1928 of a stroke during a visit to a family member's home in Media, PA.
After Lincoln was shot, it's believed that Thomas Gourlay took one of the flags draped over the front of the State Box and placed it beneath Lincoln's head as a cushion. Thomas was one of the men who helped the doctors carry Lincoln to the boarding house across the street from the theater, and he probably also used the flag as a cushion during Lincoln's transfer. Thomas later kept the flag, but he and his children secretly kept it in a family trunk for many years. Just prior to his death in 1885, he gave the flag to his daughter Jeannie. It was only after her husband Robert's passing in 1907 that Jeannie went public with her reminiscences of Lincoln's assassination, but she never mentioned the flag. Her son V. Paul Struthers eventually inherited the flag from her and he donated it to the Pike County Historical Society in 1954, where it resides today. The flag was stained with blood from Lincoln's wound. It has since been authenticated as genuine and is now referred to as the "Lincoln Flag."
Jeannie Gourlay, her sister Maggie, and her father Thomas were members of the theater company at Ford's Theater in Washington DC, and were all there on the night of April 14, 1865 when Abraham Lincoln was shot. Although a visiting actress was the lead star in the performance that night, Jeannie was the company's official leading star and she had worked with many great stars of her day, including Edwin Booth and Edwin Forrest. She was also the co-star at Ford's in John Wilkes Booth's last professional engagement. Jeannie married actor Robert Struthers, who became a stage manager around 1868, and they later toured together. They eventually retired and moved to Milford in 1888 where they raised their family. In her later years, Jeannie took up residence in the Edwin Forrest Actors' Home in Philadelphia. She died in 1928 of a stroke during a visit to a family member's home in Media, PA.
After Lincoln was shot, it's believed that Thomas Gourlay took one of the flags draped over the front of the State Box and placed it beneath Lincoln's head as a cushion. Thomas was one of the men who helped the doctors carry Lincoln to the boarding house across the street from the theater, and he probably also used the flag as a cushion during Lincoln's transfer. Thomas later kept the flag, but he and his children secretly kept it in a family trunk for many years. Just prior to his death in 1885, he gave the flag to his daughter Jeannie. It was only after her husband Robert's passing in 1907 that Jeannie went public with her reminiscences of Lincoln's assassination, but she never mentioned the flag. Her son V. Paul Struthers eventually inherited the flag from her and he donated it to the Pike County Historical Society in 1954, where it resides today. The flag was stained with blood from Lincoln's wound. It has since been authenticated as genuine and is now referred to as the "Lincoln Flag."
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