WATCH: Last Remaining Witness to Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination Recalls What He Saw

Summary

In 1956, Samuel J. Seymour, the last living witness to President Abraham Lincoln's assassination, recounted his experience as a five-year-old at Ford's Theatre on the game show "I've Got a Secret."

Abstract

Samuel J. Seymour, at the age of 96, appeared on the television game show "I've Got a Secret" to share his firsthand account of the night President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Seymour was present at Ford's Theatre in 1865 and, despite being only five years old at the time, vividly recalled the chaotic scene following the gunshot. His recollections included seeing Lincoln slumped in his seat and witnessing a man fall from the balcony onto the stage, which he initially mistook for part of the show. Seymour's godmother had taken him to the theatre that fateful evening, and they were seated in the balcony opposite to Lincoln's box. His televised account in the mid-1950s marked him as the last known survivor to have witnessed the historical event, and he passed away later that same year.

Opinions

The article presents Seymour's television appearance as a significant historical moment, capturing the last living link to the Lincoln assassination.
The writer suggests a sense of awe and respect for Seymour's longevity and the clarity of his memory from the traumatic event he witnessed as a child.
There is an implication that Seymour's memory of the incident, shared on a game show, serves as an invaluable primary source for historians and the public's understanding of that period in American history.

WATCH: Last Remaining Witness to Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination Recalls What He Saw

Image Credit: Youtube

In 1956, only one man was left alive who had witnessed the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The fatal shooting that took Lincoln’s life occurred in 1865, and Samuel J. Seymour was in the very theater when the shot rang out.

In the above video clip above from his mid-50’s television appearance, you can see Seymour recall that terrible moment. Seymour shared his shocking memory on a game show called “I’ve Got a Secret.” He was 96 years old at the time of the television appearance.

Given that Seymour was 96 at the time of the television show, that means he would have been only five years old when he witnessed the President of the United States get shot.

“I saw Lincoln slumped forward in his seat,” Seymour has said about the incident. “People started milling around and I thought there’d been another accident when one man seemed to tumble over the balcony rail and land on the stage.”

Seymour says he was scared to death. His godmother had taken him to see the show that day, and the two of them were seated in the balcony on the opposite side of the theater from Lincoln’s box.

Seymour passed away the same year of the television show’s taping, but he became known as the last surviving person to be an eyewitness to Lincoln’s death.

Originally published at https://firsttoknow.com on June 7, 2019.