Ring braided from the hair of Tad Lincoln’s pony

[Finnigan]

I was at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library during the week when this was donated. I asked Dr. Cornelius, Lincoln Curator, to show it to me on December 29th and he explained more about it too. Following is my recollection of what I saw and heard, some of which is in the published news articles, some of which is not:

First of all, it is quite small! The photos make it look larger than it is. The engraving on the clasp is absolutely minute.

As far as authenticity, that's up to debate, said Dr. Cornelius. It's what makes history so interesting. Besides, it's actually the story behind this artifact that is more interesting.

Yes, the note does appear to read "Tad Lincons ponies" (note misspelling of Lincoln).

There is an explanation regarding the plurality of ponies. Dr. Cornelius showed me the letter from early 1864 that Tad Lincoln dictated (because he couldn't write). In this letter, he talks about getting a new pony. One theory is that some hair from the pony that perished was saved and combined with some hair from the new pony.

Tad gave the ring to a young lady aged about 19. At that time, the White House lawn was more like an open field and this is where Tad rode his pony. The lawn at the time had no fence around it so you could go out to the nearby Treasury Building, and this is where Tad met Catherine. Presumably it was she who wrote the descriptive tag "From the hair of...", but even that is a guess.

Both ring and letter are scheduled to go in the Treasures Gallery at the Presidential Museum. It's a finger ring, so I asked if it would be mounted on a mannequin finger like in a jewelry store. It looks nothing like a ring that we think of today for your finger, and this would better help museum visitors understand how it was worn.

Dr. Cornelius said it is unlikely to be displayed that way, as the conservator would prefer that it remain flat.

He also made a joke, "If someone should claim to have Fido's collar, then we will have to reconcile that with the photos where Fido is not wearing a collar!"