John Wilkes Booth’s body was returned to his family for burial in 1869, but skeptics continued to believe Booth was alive for another half century.

Despite the identifying marks – his three-letter tattoo on his left hand and a distinct scar on his neck – some people still didn’t believe Booth was shot to death by Boston Corbett at the Garrett Farm on April 26, 1865.

Even sworn statements from witnesses couldn’t quell the rumors, which had Booth living in Texas and Oklahoma under an assumed name well into the next century.

This photo from the Hagley Museum and Library shows a supposedly mummified Booth on display in a sideshow, probably in the 1920s: http://cdm16038.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p268001coll8/id/180