LEROYPENNYSAVER&NEWS - SEPTEMBER 27, 2015
Lincoln’sHat
byLynneBelluscio
The Historical Society’s fall
trip to Manchester, Vermont
included a visit to Hildene, the
summer home of Abraham Lin-
coln’s son, Robert ToddLincoln.
Hildenewasbuilt in1906, and
is a grand home of the Gilded
Age. Robert was the only child
of Abraham Lincoln to survive
to adulthood. He was a wealthy
lawyer from Chicago, who be-
came thepresidentof thePullman
Company which manufactured
sleeping cars for the railroad.
After the last Lincoln family
descendant died, the Friends of
Hildene purchased the estate in
1978, and began the long process
ofrestoration.Hildene includes the
large home, a spectacular formal
garden, aworking farm, a restored
1903PullmanPalacesleepingcar,
and an education center.
On the second floor of the
home, is an interesting exhibit
about Abraham Lincoln. On
display is a stovepipe hat worn
by Lincoln. According to most
sources, it is one of only three
existing Lincoln hats. One hat is
exhibited inWashington, D.C. at
the Smithsonian and the third hat
isexhibited inSpringfield, Illinois.
TheSmithsonianhatwasworn
byLincoln onApril 14, 1865, at
Ford’s Theater, the night hewas
assassinated. Lincoln acquired
the hat from J.Y. Davis, aWash-
ingtonhatmaker.After thedeath
ofLincoln’sson,Willie,headded
a black silk mourning band. No
oneknowswhenLincolnbought
the hat or how often hewore it.
Afterhisassassination, thehat
waspreservedby theWarDepart-
ment, withothermaterials left at
Ford’s Theatre.With permission
fromMaryToddLincoln, thehat
was given to the Patent Office,
which in 1867, transferred it to
the Smithsonian. Joseph Henry,
theSecretaryof theSmithsonian,
orderedhisstaffnot toexhibit the
hat “under any circumstances,
and not tomention thematter to
anyone,onaccountof therebeing
somuch excitement at the time.”
It was placed in a basement
storage roomand thepublicnev-
er saw it again until 1893, when
it was exhibited by the Lincoln
Memorial Association. Today,
the Smithsonian’s “hat” is one
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Theauthenticity
of the Springfield
hat has been chal-
lenged. Itwasmade
inSpringfield in the
1850s. It belonged
to WilliamWaller,
a farmer in the
area. “According
to a 1958 affidavit
byhis daughter-in-
law, Clara Waller,
Lincoln gave
Waller the hat in
Washington, D.C.,
during the Civ-
il War. The hat is
Lincoln’s size and
was made by his
favoriteSpringfield
hatter. But there is
no evidence Wil-
liam Waller was
in Washington in
1858andnoexplanation forwhy
Lincoln might have given him
the hat.
Adding to the muddle, the
state’s official historian in 2007
decided -basedonnothing, really
- thatLincolngaveWaller thehat
after an 1858 Lincoln/Douglas
debate in Jonesboro.” The hat
stayed in the possession of the
farmer’s family until 1958.
Then James Hickey, then
head of the Illinois StateHistor-
ical Library and overseer of the
state’sLincolnartifacts,bought it
for himself. The newspaper said
suchamove today“wouldalmost
assuredlysparkconflict-of-inter-
est questions.”
Lincoln collector Louise Ta-
per bought it from Hickey in
1990 for an undisclosed price.
Then she sold it, in 2007 to the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library Foundation as part of
a $23 million deal for Lincoln
memorabilia. The foundation
then began raisingmoney to re-
pay thecityofSpringfield,which
issued taxpayer-financedbonds to
buy thecollection.”Severalyears
ago, there was a suggestion that
aDNA samplebe tested toprove
that the Springfield hat was in-
deedwornbyLincoln.TheDNA
testwas never completed.
There is another “Lincoln
hat” in amuseum in Ft. Collins,
Colorado.But itsoriginsareeven
more suspect. Apparently there
was a collectionof stuff donated
byMr. andMrs.BolivarTedmon,
and theirLincolnhatmight bean
exampleof “this is ahat just like
the one worn by Abraham Lin-
coln.”Wehavea“Lincolnhat”at
LeRoyHouse. Itwasneverworn
by Lincoln, but it is a stovepipe
hat,whichwas thestylepreferred
by thePresident.
