William J. Ferguson (1845-1930) was elected to The Lambs in 1898 as a Professional member. He was an eyewitness to the assassination of President Lincoln, but was never interviewed by the authorities.
Ferguson was one of the most well-known actors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In 1865, however, he was just starting his career working as a “call boy” and occasional player at Ford’s Theatre. On the night of April 14, 1865, Ferguson was called upon to fill in for another actor who had become ill, and in doing so his life would be forever changed. Standing just off stage beside legendary British actress Laura Keene, Ferguson had a direct line of sight to President Lincoln’s box and witnessed the assassination. John Wilkes Booth then passed directly between Keene and Ferguson as he fled the scene.
Either from fear that his southern roots would somehow implicate him in the crime or possibly out of deference to fellow actor Edwin Booth, brother of John Wilkes Booth, Ferguson did not share details of his experience until nearly half a century later. In approximately 1913 Ferguson began discussing the assassination more openly, often in interviews tied to publicity for his roles on stage and screen. Ferguson’s definitive account of his recollections from the night of the assassination was published in his 1930 book I Saw Booth Shoot Lincoln. Ferguson’s account of the assassination is notable in that it contradicts some long-held assertions about the night of the assassination including that Booth did not pause in his flight to shout “Sic semper tyrannis!” as he crossed the stage.