Six Hairs Discovered In Library Book Belong To George Washington

  A lock of George Washington’s hair was found in the book “Gaines Universal Register or American and British Kalendar for the Year 1793” at Union College in New York.

An archivist found the six hairs, tied with thread and inside an envelope stuffed in the book during a recent inventory review. The book belonged to General Philip Schuyler who founded the college and was a close friend of Washington.

Schuyler was also Alexander Hamilton’s father-in-law. It’s believed Washington’s wife, Martha gave the lock of hair to Hamilton’s wife, Eliza.

An inscription on the envelope describes it as Washington’s hair. It’s possible Eliza gave the hair to her third son James, who then gave it to his granddaughters, Louisa Lee Schuyler and Georgina Schuyler.

The hair will now be displayed in Union College and is worth about $3,000.