John Wilkes Booth [in Williamstown?]

by Bob Perry

From time to time, various people have been fascinated by the rumor that John Wilkes Booth is buried in Williamstown Cemetery under another name.  The mysterious stranger came to this area from a remote farm near the Ohio River in Northern Kentucky.  He was hired to break rock on the road.  People noticed that he was well educated, and eventually was hired to teach in one of the schools near Mt. Zion.  Later he taught at Crittenden, and finally here in Williamstown. 

His likeness to Booth caused a great deal of comment; their features were identical; he would quote Shakespeare, and he walked with a limp.  Although many people doubted that rumor had any truth to it, there are former students of his who would swear on a Bible that he was actually Booth.  This man signed my grandfather's high school diploma.

From a collection of essays written in American Literature Eleven.  The class was taught by Ms. Hazel Ogden of Grant County High School in the 1963-1964 school year, and was typed by the typing classes of Mrs. Mattie Cox.  It is copyrighted by the Grant County Schools, and is used here with their kind permission. We found a copy in UK's King Library.