A lock of hair in the Chicago Historical Society's collection is accompanied by a note:

Taken from President Lincoln's head after he was shot, cut from the spot where the ball passed through. Washington, D.C., April 26th 1866

Mrs. M. Laurie
Belle A. Youngs

Lock of hair attributed to Abraham Lincoln (CHS 1923.77).

There is no record of how the relic entered the collection, and the identities of Mrs. Laurie and Belle Youngs are unknown.

Early museum record-keeping practices were less standardized than they are today, and important information is sometimes lacking. Creating accession records and labeling artifacts are time- consuming but critical tasks. A further investigation of the names linked to the hair sample is pending.

The White House guest room where Lincoln's autopsy took place was visited by physicians, army personnel, cabinet members, and family friends, as well as White House guards and servants.

Note found with hair attributed to Abraham Lincoln's bullet wound.

Many claimed to have received a set of coveted locks. Dr. Charles Sabin Taft described how he received a swatch from the bullet wound:

During the post-mortem examination Mrs. Lincoln sent in a messenger with a request for a lock of hair. Dr. Stone clipped one from the region of the wound, and sent it to her. I extended my hand to him in mute appeal, and received a lock stained with blood, and other surgeons present also received one. (TAFT)
Lock of hair attributed to Abraham Lincoln, given to Frank Munson by Mary Lincoln's sister Ann Todd Smith after the President's death.
Lock of hair allegedly taken from the site of Abraham Lincoln's fatal bullet wound.