US Rathbone, Henry

Henry Reed Rathbone​

Born: July 1, 1837

Birthplace: Albany, New York

Father: Jared Lewis Rathbone 1791 – 1845

(Buried: Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands, New York)​

Stepfather: U.S. Senator Ira Harris 1802 – 1875

(Buried: Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands, New York)​

Mother: Pauline Penney 1810 – 1894

(Buried: Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands, New York)​

Wife: Clara Hamilton Harris 1834 – 1883

(Buried: Stadtfriedhof Engesohde, Hanover, Germany)​

Married: July 11, 1867 in Albany, New York

Children:

Henry Riggs Rathbone 1870 – 1928​

(Buried: Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum, Chicago, Illinois)​

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Gerald Laurence Rathbone 1871 – 1936​

(Buried: Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma, California)​

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Clara Pauline Rathbone Randolph 1872 – 1918​

(Buried: Grave Episcopal Church Cemetery, Casanova, Virginia)​

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Antebellum History:

1848: When Henry is 11 years old, his mother marries Ira Harris who was recently widowed, making his daughter, Clara Harris, age 13, Henry's step-sister. They all began living in the same household after that. Soon, to their parents' dismay, Henry and Clara fall in love and became engaged.​

Attended Union College Law School​

Attorney in Albany, New York​

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1861: The Harris / Rathbone family moves to Washington, DC, living just off Lafayette Square at 15th and H streets

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Civil War History:

1861: Captain in United States Army 12th​ Infantry Regiment​

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Major in United States Army 12th​ Infantry Regiment​

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Breveted Colonel in United States Army​

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1865: Attended Ford's Theatre with President Abraham Lincoln​

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1865: Witness to the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln​

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1865: Received Wounds from Dagger from Booth to his left arm​

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1865: Escorted First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln to the Peterson House​

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Postbellum History:

1865 – 1911: Suffered from Mental Health Issues​

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These issues were most likely what is called PTSD​

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1870: Resigned from United States Army Due to his mental health​

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1882 – 1883: Appointed United States Counsel to the Province of Hanover, Germany by President Chester A. Arthur​

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1882: The Rathbone family moves to Germany​

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1883: On Christmas Eve, afraid that he might harm the children, Clara coaxed Henry, who had never fully recovered from the Lincoln assassination, and was plagued with unexplained ailments and disorders, to the Master bedroom of their apartment in Germany, and closed the door. There, Henry shot Clara several times with a gun and killed her, before stabbing himself with a knife in an attempted murder-suicide.​

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1883: Charged with murder, but declared insane by medical doctors​

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1883 – 1911: sent to Asylum for Criminally Insane at Hildesheim, Germany​

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1891: Diagnosed by German physician with "delusions of persecution," a condition that was incurable, as well as the conclusion that "the cause of his disease is not known."​

Died: August 14, 1911

Age at Death: 74 years old

Cause of Death: Unknown

Place of Death: Hildesheim Asylum for the Criminally Insane, Hildesheim, Germany

Burial Place: Stadtfriedhof Engesohde, Hanover, Germany

(Grave disinterred and disposed of in 1952 due to neglect, and lack of interest from the family.)​

 

[Pollaco]

It was the cry of "Stop that man!" shouted by the wounded Henry Rathbone that alerted the audience in Ford's Theater that the gunshot was not a part of the play.

 

[redbob]

A man whose entire life and memory revolves around one brief moment in time.

 

[TerryB]

If I remember correctly, his wife was his step-sister. Miss Harris, with him in the theater box, was the daughter of NY senator Ira Harris, Sr.

 

[Pollaco]

Weren't Miss Harris and Major Rathbone last minute picks by Lincoln to attend the play because the Grants "bowed out"?

 

[FarawayFriend]

Burial Place: Stadtfriedhof Engesohde, Hanover, Germany

Unfortunately the grave no longer exists. It was destroyed in 1952 as it is the rule in Germany if a grave is no longer cared for. Burial places are only bought for 25 years. After that, the family must either pay again for it or the grave will be made ready for the next burial. Understandably, the Rathbone family did not pay a second time for the burial place.
I was really stunned when I discovered that he had been buried in my hometown of Hannover. However, the street, where he and Clara lived still exists, Heinrichstraße in Hannover:

Clara Harris was indeed a step sister, her father married Henry Rathbone's mother when both were widowed.

There is a pretty interesting novel about Clara and Henry, by Thomas Mallon: Henry and Clara

And there is a bit of a ghost story connected to the fate of Henry and Clara. It is said that Clara kept the dress she wore that fateful evening when they were present at the Lincoln assassination. Lincolns blood was all over her dress. Now visitors and family members said that at various occasions they heard Lincoln's laughter coming from the wardrobe where she kept that dress. Some even saw Lincoln. It was so bad that Claras oldest son later in life destroyed the wardrobe, saying that the dress was cursed and had brought all that grief upon his family.
The whole scary story is told here:

The Haunted Satin Dress and Abe Lincoln

Ghost stories, True Hauntings, Ghost Hunting Tips, Superstitions, Curses, Folklore, and Ghostlore.

seeksghosts.blogspot.com

 

[John Hartwell]

A sad end to a tragic life.

[New York Tribune, 11 August 1911]​

 

[Pollaco]

I have never knew about his fainting from loss of blood until I just now saw it in this newspaper article.

 

[Pollaco]

This thread has been a learning experience. I have read several articles about the Lincoln Assassination in the past and was familiar with most of the major players. I never read where Rathbone and Miss Harris were step siblings.

 

[FarawayFriend]

This thread has been a learning experience. I have read several articles about the Lincoln Assassination in the past and was familiar with most of the major players. I never read where Rathbone and Miss Harris were step siblings.

That had been a surprise to me too!

 

[John Hartwell]

Hildesheim Asylum

Read more about the asylums which 4 nineteenth-century psychiatrists visited in northern Europe.

museumofthemind.org.uk

 

[Pollaco]

Not only was Clara Harris a step sister to Henry Rathbone, she was 3 years his senior. Also after reading differant accounts on the incident it seems there is some confusion about Rathbone's medical treatment immediately following the arrival of a physician. One account has Him refusing any treatment and having the doctors treat Lincoln first. Then He faints from loss of blood. Another account has the doctor treating Rathbone first then Lincoln. How many doctors arrived on the scene following the shooting?

 

[FarawayFriend]

How many doctors arrived on the scene following the shooting?

According to Wikipedia, within a couple of minutes seven Doctors were present, two who had been in the audience, at third one who joined them and four more, among them the Surgeon General Joseph K. Barnes who arrived when Lincoln had been brought to the Petersen house.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Assassination_of_Abraham_Lincoln&oldid=936036058