Binghamton’s Link To John Wilkes Booth

On the west slope of Mount Prospect, in the Glenwood Cemetery, there stands a gravestone. The headstone went unmarked for nearly a century, and in present day, this headstone that was added in 1972 is still tough to distinguish fully.

What is this headstone? What historical significance does it hold? Actually, it is part of a historical mystery that could connect us here in Broome County to one of the most infamous criminals throughout American history. The engraving on the headstone is what is most noticeable: "Ogarita Booth Henderson, Oct. 23, 1859-April 12, 1892, Daughter of Izola Mills & John Wilkes Booth."

John Wilkes Booth. Yep, the very same John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln. You know the guy; the 16th president of the United States?

It's a well-known fact that Booth was a prolific actor, very athletic, and all around good-looking guy. He had no trouble attracting female admirers. At one point, he was famous in America as having the reputation of being the handsomest man in America. Basically, John Wilkes Booth was like a current-day Brad Pitt. Some reports tell of women trying to tear his clothes clean off!

The story is told that Ogarita's mother, Martha Lizola Mills (no relation to our very own Kyle Mills), also an actress, met Booth in Richmond, Virginia, and they hit it off very well. Booth and Mills were married in January, 1859, but kept the marriage a secret, as do many in the spotlight these days. Ogarita was born in October, 1859 in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia where Booth and Lizola lived.

Appearing on the stage for the first time at the age of 15, with the stage name Ogarita Wilkes, she followed her mother (and father) into the acting profession. Ogarita ended up changing her stage name later in her career as an actress to "Rita Booth". Ogarita had the misfortune of dying in Broome County, after her collapse (later diagnosed as due to pneumonia) and the old Stone Opera House on Chenango Street in Binghamton on April 10, 1892. Ogarita Booth Henderson died on April 12 in a theatrical boarding house at 127 Court St. In Binghamton. The Stone Opera House later became the Riviera movie theater (closed for good as a theatre in 1978).

[Via Pressconnects]