Mary Surratt
| Mary Surratt | |
|---|---|
Surratt in 1850
|
|
| Born |
Mary Elizabeth Jenkins 1820 or May 1823 Waterloo, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | July 7, 1865 (aged 42 or 45) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Resting place | Mount Olivet Cemetery |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Boarding house owner |
| Known for | Conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Spouse(s) | John Harrison Surratt (m. 1840; d. 1862) |
| Children | Isaac (b. 1841) Elizabeth Susanna "Anna" (b. 1843) John, Jr. (b. 1844; died 1916) |
| Motive | Political |
| Conviction(s) | Conspiracy |
| Partner(s) | |
| Killings | |
| Victims | 1 |
| Date | April 14, 1865 10:15 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) |
| Country | United States |
| Location(s) | Washington, D.C. |
| Target(s) | |
| Killed | Abraham Lincoln |
| Injured | 4 |
|
Date apprehended
|
April 17, 1865 |
Mary Elizabeth Jenkins Surratt (1820 or May 1823 – July 7, 1865) was an American boarding house owner who was convicted of taking part in the conspiracy to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. Sentenced to death, she was hanged, becoming the first woman executed by the United States federal government. Surratt was the mother of John H. Surratt, Jr., who was later tried but was not convicted of involvement in the assassination.
Mary Elizabeth Jenkins was born to Archibald and Elizabeth Anne (née Webster) Jenkins on a tobacco plantation near the southern Maryland town of Waterloo (now known as Clinton). Sources differ as to whether she was born in 1820 or 1823. There is uncertainty as to the month as well, although most sources say May.
She had two brothers, John Jenkins, born in 1822, and James Jenkins, born in 1825. Her father died in the fall of 1825 when Mary was either two or five years old, upon which Mary's mother inherited their property (originally part of the His Lordship's Kindness estate). She was a first cousin, once removed, of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald's father Edward Fitzgerald.
Although her father was a non-denominational Protestant and her mother Episcopalian, Surratt was enrolled in a private Roman Catholic girls' boarding school, the Academy for Young Ladies in Alexandria, Virginia, on November 25, 1835. Mary's maternal aunt, Sarah Latham Webster, was a Catholic, which may have influenced where she was sent to school. Within two years, Mary converted to Roman Catholicism and adopted the baptismal name of Maria Eugenia. She stayed at the Academy for Young Ladies for four years, leaving in 1839, when the school closed. She remained a devout Catholic for the rest of her life.
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Wikipedia