President Theodore Roosevelt had Abraham Lincoln’s hair with him when he was sworn into office. During his 2nd inauguration in 1905, Roosevelt wore a ring containing strands of Lincoln’s hair, which a doctor had cut from his head on the night of his assassination. Source Source 2
John Hay, who became Roosevelt’s Secretary of State, sent him the ring along with a note that said, “Please wear it tomorrow; you are one of the men who most thoroughly understand and appreciate Lincoln.”
He wrote back, “Dear John, Surely no other President, on the eve of his inauguration, has ever received such a gift from such a friend. I am wearing the ring now; I shall think of it and you as I take the oath tomorrow.”
Roosevelt had always felt a connection to Lincoln. Maybe because he was also at his funeral procession when he was a little boy…
