The Chicago Historical Society and the University of Illinois at Chicago hosted a June 1999 conference of historians, forensic scientists, and preservation staff to consider authentication of Mary Todd Lincoln's cloak. Conference attendees included:

Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, D.C.
James Canik, Program Manager, Department of Defense DNA Registry
Demris Lee, Chief DNA Analyst, Department of Defense DNA Registry

Chicago Historical Society
Jennifer Bridge, Research Assistant
Nancy Buenger, Conservator
Andres Hernandez, Distance Learning Coordinator
Russell Lewis, Andrew W. Mellon Director for Collections & Research
Olivia Mahoney, Director of Historical Documentation
Kathleen Plourd, Director of Collection Services

Illinois State Police Forensic Sciences Command
James Kearney, Laboratory Director, Division of Forensic Services, Chicago

Loyola University Chicago
Theodore Karamanski, Professor, Department of History

McCrone Research Institute *
David Stoney, Ph.D., Director

University of Illinois, Chicago
Robert Gaensslen, Ph.D., Professor & Director of Forensic Science

* Dr. Stoney could not attend the conference, but has since joined the investigation as a principal investigator.