American Conference 2016

[ChrisGeorge]

Jonathan Menges will chair a panel on suspects with Martin Fido, Robert Anderson, and Michael Hawley at RipperCon in Baltimore April 8-10. Full details at http://rippercon.com. Don't miss out!

[ChrisGeorge]

Janis Wilson and I will discuss "The Ripper, Sherlock Holmes, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" at RipperCon in Baltimore, April 8-10. For complete details on RipperCon speakers, schedule, and costs etc., go to http://RipperCon.com.

Hoping to see a number of you in Baltimore in April! It should be a great show! Martin Fido (The Complete Jack the Ripper A to Z) will kick off the event at 1:00 pm on Friday, April 8 in France Hall of the Maryland Historical Society talking about "Ripperology and Anti-Semitism."

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (1859-1930)

[ChrisGeorge]

Mike Hawley posted this in another thread --

Hi all,

We see Francis Tumblety carried a revolver, but more threatening, he carried a flute! Just before Tumblety left Washington DC for Philadelphia, he was robbed. On the night of March 30, 1863, Tumblety and his ‘colored servant’ Rezin Alexander were robbed by two men. According to the Evening Star, April 1, 1863, the two men stole a ten and a five dollar Treasury note and fifty cents postal currency from Alexander and a flute and a revolver from Tumblety. Both men were immediately apprehended and jailed.

Sincerely,

Mike

Great stuff, Mike! Looking forward to your talk on the intrepid Dr. Tumblety at RipperCon in Baltimore, April 8-10!

Cheers

Chris



Folks, don't miss out on RipperCon, #JacktheRipper conference in Baltimore, April 8-10, 2016. Complete details at http://RipperCon.com.

[mklhawley]

Thank you, Chris! There's a second reason why I'm also excited about participating in the suspect board on Saturday (the first is to get Martin Fido to sign my copy of 'A to Z'). I'm not sure if I can get to the Charles Dunham discoveries in my lecture, so this might be a place I can discuss them. For those who are unfamiliar with Dunham, he's the man who in 1888 claimed to see Tumblety's favorite uterus collection in DC in 1861/62.

Sincerely,

Mike

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi Mike

The story of Tumblety and the collection of uteri ("matrices") in jars might be iffy at best given that it was told by the notoriously unreliable Charles A. Dunham who went by the name Sanford Conover when he worked as a Confederate spy during the Civil War. Was he even in Washington, D.C. at the time he says he was? Could he have received money from the journalist for the juicy tale he told about Tumblety? As a number of Civil War sites state, "Conover (Dunham) is known to have perjured himself on multiple occasions" (e.g., see here and here).

Best regards

Chris

[mklhawley]

Hi Mike

The story of Tumblety and the collection of uteri ("matrices") in jars might be iffy at best given that it was told by the notoriously unreliable Charles A. Dunham who went by the name Sanford Conover when he worked as a Confederate spy during the Civil War. Was he even in Washington, D.C. at the time he says he was? Could he have received money from the journalist for the juicy tale he told about Tumblety? As a number of Civil War sites state, "Conover (Dunham) is known to have perjured himself on multiple occasions" (e.g., see here and here).

Best regards

Chris

Hi Chris,
What I have discovered deals with each and every question you just asked. The authors espousing these claims did not research deep enough. It would help if those coming to RipperCon update themselves on the issue with the sites you've furnished.

Sincerely,
Mike

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi all

I have been told that the Mount Vernon Hotel is fully booked up for the night of Friday, April 8. Here are a number of other hotel suggestions that you might also find useful if you have not already booked your stay.

The nearby Biltmore Suites on W. Madison looks a good bet at a good price. http://hotels.desertusa.com/Maryland.../11244557.html. The Tremont Plaza hotel is not that far away http://hotels.desertusa.com/Maryland.../10054619.html but more expensive. Cheaper options within walking distance are the Rodeway Inn http://hotels.desertusa.com/Maryland...ore/78593.html and the Abacrombie http://hotels.desertusa.com/Maryland...re/327615.html.

Good luck!

Best regards

Chris

[Steadmund Brand]

Ok... my hotel is officially booked.. and flight will be booked later....just wondering... who else is going to be there? come on folks don't be shy lets have a show of hands


Steadmund Brand

[GUT]

Ok... my hotel is officially booked.. and flight will be booked later....just wondering... who else is going to be there? come on folks don't be shy lets have a show of hands


Steadmund Brand

Well done Steady.

I'll be there.


In spirit.

[Steadmund Brand]

I only wish you could make it GUT....I think we would have a great time...and I believe you might even convert to being a Brisbane fan by the end of the weekend!!!!

P.S every game of the NAB is being broadcast here for the first time ever.....I'm a happy guy....actually watching Hawthorne v Carlton game I DVR'd from last night ( hard to watch live and wake up for work...darn time zones)..

Fear not my friend....you will get a full review of the conference...and if I can convince Mr. Menges to let me get on a rippercast I may even name drop you ��

Steadmund Brand

[ChrisGeorge]

I only wish you could make it GUT....I think we would have a great time...and I believe you might even convert to being a Brisbane fan by the end of the weekend!!!!

P.S every game of the NAB is being broadcast here for the first time ever.....I'm a happy guy....actually watching Hawthorne v Carlton game I DVR'd from last night ( hard to watch live and wake up for work...darn time zones)..

Fear not my friend....you will get a full review of the conference...and if I can convince Mr. Menges to let me get on a rippercast I may even name drop you ��

Steadmund Brand

Hi Steadmund

Yes indeed it should be a great weekend and my co-organizier Janis Wilson and I are greatly looking forward to it. I live in Baltimore but nonetheless I have booked to stay at the hotel on Saturday night figuring that it is going to be a late night, particularly with the boozy Brits and Aussie or two we are expecting over! The performance of "Poe's Last Stanza" by C. J. Crowe will follow the banquet at the Mount Vernon Hotel on Saturday night and I suspect there will be some late night carousing in the bar afterward, so rather than have to drive home I thought to take the room in the hotel in anticipation! By the way there is a short video of "Poe's Last Stanza" that will give you a flavor of the event if you have not seen it. Go to https://youtu.be/ky729kmnCcI. Also I believe you had asked about us going to the Nutshell Studies of Unexpected Death at the Maryland Coroners Office and we have arranged to get in to see them during the Sunday four-hour bus tour. See http://wp.me/p5N2kU-hj #ForensicScience #Crime #FrancesGlessnerLee. During the tour, in addition to going to Poe's grave and house you will see other locations connected to the great writer who died mysteriously in Baltimore on October 7, 1849... along with Tumblety and Booth family sites.



Cheers!


Chris

[GUT]

Hi Steadmund

Yes indeed it should be a great weekend and my co-organizier Janis Wilson and I are greatly looking forward to it. I live in Baltimore but nonetheless I have booked to stay at the hotel on Saturday night figuring that it is going to be a late night, particularly with the boozy Brits and Aussie or two we are expecting over! The performance of "Poe's Last Stanza" by C. J. Crowe will follow the banquet at the Mount Vernon Hotel on Saturday night and I suspect there will be some late night carousing in the bar afterward, so rather than have to drive home I thought to take the room in the hotel in anticipation! By the way there is a short video of "Poe's Last Stanza" that will give you a flavor of the event if you have not seen it. Go to https://youtu.be/ky729kmnCcI. Also I believe you had asked about us going to the Nutshell Studies of Unexpected Death at the Maryland Coroners Office and we have arranged to get in to see them during the Sunday four-hour bus tour. See http://wp.me/p5N2kU-hj #ForensicScience #Crime #FrancesGlessnerLee. During the tour, in addition to going to Poe's grave and house you will see other locations connected to the great writer who died mysteriously in Baltimore on October 7, 1849... along with Tumblety and Booth family sites.



Cheers!


Chris

Sounding better every day.

[mklhawley]

Hi all

I have been told that the Mount Vernon Hotel is fully booked up for the night of Friday, April 8. Here are a number of other hotel suggestions that you might also find useful if you have not already booked your stay.

The nearby Biltmore Suites on W. Madison looks a good bet at a good price. http://hotels.desertusa.com/Maryland.../11244557.html. The Tremont Plaza hotel is not that far away http://hotels.desertusa.com/Maryland.../10054619.html but more expensive. Cheaper options within walking distance are the Rodeway Inn http://hotels.desertusa.com/Maryland...ore/78593.html and the Abacrombie http://hotels.desertusa.com/Maryland...re/327615.html.

Good luck!

Best regards

Chris

I just made reservations at the DesertUSA! Looking forward to it!

Mike

[ChrisGeorge]

Good to know! Thanks, Mike.

Chris

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi all

Just had this from the Mt Vernon Hotel.... there are, as noted, rooms available for the complete weekend at the special rate of $119 a night but anyone interested in attending RipperCon should book before the rooms get snapped up!

Chris

***************

Hi Chris,

Your group still able to book. The hotel is sold out though for anyone outside your group.

Sorry for the confusion. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thank you,

Gretchen Shaffer
Mt Vernon Baltimore Hotel