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Abe's Old Hat

February 22, 2013

US President Abraham Lincoln is known for his stovepipe hat, and some people who oversee the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum want to make sure that the hat they have on display is the real deal through DNA testing, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Some members of the panel overseeing the museum say that there is a "credibility gap" surrounding the origin of the hat, which is worth an estimated $6.5 million. The museum says that Lincoln gave the hat to a farmer in Illinois following his debate with Stephen Douglas, but, as the Sun-Times reports, ones of the farmer's descendents said in an affidavit in 1958 that the farmer received the hat while in Washington, DC, during the Civil War. The museum curator, however, says that it is a "dead" issue, according to the Huffington Post.

In any event, DNA testing may not be possible, the Sun-Times adds, as the hat does not appear to contain hair or other DNA sources, Lincoln does not have any living descendants, and any samples of his blood or tissue are small and might be harmed by sampling.


In 1962 I visited the House

Submitted by raspritz on Fri, 02/22/2013 - 14:12.

In 1962 I visited the House Where Lincoln Died museum in Washington, D.C., across the street from Ford's Theater. At that time they displayed the bloody pillow on which Lincoln died. While I'm sure that is no longer politically correct, presumably the Smithsonian has material from which samples of Lincoln's DNA could be obtained.