A Lock Of George Washington’s Hair Is Found In A Union College Library Book
A lock of George Washington’s hair was found tucked into a book at the Union College library. The thin lock of Washington’s hair, which only consists of six strands of white hair, was tied with a thread and placed into a red leather-bound book with a metal clasp from 1793, says the Times Union. The lock of hair was found during an inventory review at the Union College’s Schaffer Library.
The George Washington Hair And Hamilton Note Was Found During A Routine Inventory
John Myers, the catalog and metadata librarian, made the discovery of the lock of George Washington’s hair says Dan Michelson, a historical records project archivist.
“He was very excited. It’s not the kind of thing you run into every day.”
Here is what Union College knows so far about the unusual discovery of George Washington’s hair in a library book that has a connection to another figure in American history, Alexander Hamilton.
The lock of hair, possibly larger and divided amongst others, was given as a keepsake to James A. Hamilton, one of the sons of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and his wife, Eliza Schuyler Hamilton. Also tucked into the book was a note from the Schuyler family in an envelope with a handwritten note.
“Washington’s hair, L.S.S. & GBS from James A Hamilton given by his mother, Aug. 10, 1871.”
James A. Hamilton gave the note with the George Washington locks to his granddaughters, Louisa Lee Schuyler and Georgina Schuyler.
Strands of George Washington's hair found in book https://t.co/6gOvgugAr2 pic.twitter.com/jfhrFRrmK8
— New York Post (@nypost) February 14, 2018
Photos and information surrounding the find were sent to noted manuscript and documents dealer John Reznikoff in Westport, Connecticut so that there is no doubt that this is the hair of George Washington which was once in the possession of the Hamilton family. Though the process is ongoing, and it’s odd to find something so random in a book, he has no doubt about the authenticity.
“Without DNA, you’re never positive, but I believe it’s 100 percent authentic.”
It Is A Myth That George Washington Wore A Powdered Wig, The Hair In The Portrait Was His
Most school children in the United States believed that all of the Founding Fathers including George Washington, wore wigs, but the Washington Post says that George Washington’s hair was his, and not a powdered wig. Perhaps the hair seems strange by modern standards, the whole head of hair grew from the head of George Washington says a detailed study in National Geographic.
“That hair was his. All of it — the pigtail, the poofy part in the back, that roll of perfect curls near his neck.”
As a younger man, George Washington had hair with a red tint, and so he would grease it back into a signature ponytail, and then powder it, which was the fashion. As he aged, his hair was a white gray.
Collecting the hair of famous and notable people, or giving away locks of hair of notable loved ones was popular at one time. If you were given a lock of hair from a man like George Washington, you too were thought to be important. This is likely how a lock of Washington’s hair ended up with Alexander Hamilton or the Schuyler family.
Martha Washington was said to have cut locks of hair from George Washington after his presidency to give to friends, said India Spartz, head of archives at Union College, who said that to be given hair back then was not odd or unusual, and some people kept hair in lockets through the Victorian era.
“It could just be a way to remember me because people didn’t know if they’d see each other again in those days; life was more fleeting.”
Librarian finds lock of George Washington's hair in #Schenectady @UnionCollegeNY @PaulGrondahl https://t.co/m7lsqfGspW pic.twitter.com/1eFMPPVtfh
— Times Union (@timesunion) February 13, 2018
The George Washington Hair Find Is Worth At Least $3k
The note and the six hairs from the head of George Washington are thought to be worth at least $3k says authenticator John Reznikoff, according to Newser. But Union College doesn’t plan to sell the George Washington hairs and the note. Instead, they will create a special display case. India Spartz says this George Washington memento is a great find for Union College.
“[The George Washington hair is] a tremendous testament to history and our connection to some of the most important historical figures.”
