General JEB Stuart: A Large Lock of His Sandy Brown Hair and his Field Compass

Mike Serpa

Major
Joined
Jan 24, 2013
Somebody mention his compass in another thread!
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General JEB Stuart: A Large Lock of His Sandy Brown Hair and his Field Compass. The hair was removed from his head on the night of his death by his wife Flora and saved for their son JEB Stuart, Jr. Flora had rushed to be beside her husband, but arrived only to see him in death at the house of Dr. Charles Brewer. Word of her husband being wounded in battle reached her at Beaver Dam Station via messenger due to the telegraph wires being cut by Union General Sheridan's troops. Flora and their two children raced by private train and reached Ashland, finding that the tracks had been torn up by the Union troops. A group of sympathetic and loyal wounded Confederate cavalrymen gave them their ambulance which the group drove through a growing rainstorm. Throughout the journey Flora would receive erroneous word that her husband was doing well, only slightly wounded, giving her hope she would reach him in time. Finding the bridge at the Chickahominy River destroyed, blocking them from easy access to Richmond, they forded the river a mile downstream delaying their arrival at the Brewer home until 11:30 P.M. Her husband had died almost four hours earlier, receiving Confederate President Jefferson Davis as one of his last guests. The lock is accompanied by her original hand written note, "Hair of your dear father cut off. May 1864." A priceless memory of the greatest cavalry officer in American history.

Also in this lot is his brass field pocket compass which would have been with him when he was mortally wounded at Yellow Tavern.

Provenance: Stuart Family correspondence and Bill of Sale.

Sold for - $44,812.50

http://historical.ha.com/itm/milita...removed-from-his-head-on-the-ni/a/642-25449.s
 
Every time see hair like this it makes me shiver.
My husband had been given a large book that belonged to his Grandmother and he had put it away on a shelf. I was packing some things up for a move and came across the book, about whose existence I had forgotten. Just as I opened it to thumb through, my husband yelled "DON"T"! Inside was not a lock of his uncle"s hair, but the whole thing from his first hair cut and he had not had it cut until he was three or four! Freaked me out totally! I get the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it. YUCKx4 Needless to say, I would not be paying over $40,000 for THAT!
 
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Every time see hair like this it makes me shiver.
My husband had been given a large book that belonged to his Grandmother and he had put it away on a shelf. I was packing some things up for a move and came across the book, about whose existence I had forgotten. Just as I opened it to thumb through, my husband yelled "DON"T"! Inside was not a lock of his uncle"s hair, but the whole thing from his first hair cut and he had not had it cut until he was three or four! Freaked me out totally! I get the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it. YUCKx4 Needless to say, I would not be paying over $40,000 for THAT!
The hair and the compass do not seem to be worth that much! Custer' hair sold for $21,00o and he was noted for his hair.
 
Keeping a lock hair, and old fashioned convention, is not as bizarre or macabre as one might think. Hair is the only part of the human body that can be kept as a keepsake and it is a comfortably familiar thing. Just because the convention has passed does not make it eerie or unacceptable in the least.
I once saw an article about a woman who had weaved her dog's hair, collected over many years, into thread with which she made an afghan for her comfort and to help retain the good memories--I liked that idea.
 
Every time see hair like this it makes me shiver.
My husband had been given a large book that belonged to his Grandmother and he had put it away on a shelf. I was packing some things up for a move and came across the book, about whose existence I had forgotten. Just as I opened it to thumb through, my husband yelled "DON"T"! Inside was not a lock of his uncle"s hair, but the whole thing from his first hair cut and he had not had it cut until he was three or four! Freaked me out totally! I get the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it. YUCKx4 Needless to say, I would not be paying over $40,000 for THAT!
I can understand your feelings, I once visited Dunvegan castle in Scotland and there sat in a small glass case was a lock of Bonnie Prince Charlie's hair, it had been sat in that glass case from 1780, it was interesting but a tad creepy, I wouldn't want it in my home.
 
Keeping a lock hair, and old fashioned convention, is not as bizarre or macabre as one might think. Hair is the only part of the human body that can be kept as a keepsake and it is a comfortably familiar thing. Just because the convention has passed does not make it eerie or unacceptable in the least.
I once saw an article about a woman who had weaved her dog's hair, collected over many years, into thread with which she made an afghan for her comfort and to help retain the good memories--I liked that idea.

Your post made me think, my wife has kept a lock of hair from all of our kids from when they had their first haircut, I guess that even today its not that unusual, perhaps its just the age of the hair that I found a bit weird, I'm a bit of a believer in spirits attaching themselves to objects, so old hair from a complete stranger would be a no go area for me.
 
Victorians made momento mori all the time. Woven hair, and sometimes quite intricate in design. It was normal to them..I actually find that dolls with human hair are creepier than the jewelry.
 
Somebody mention his compass in another thread!
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General JEB Stuart: A Large Lock of His Sandy Brown Hair and his Field Compass. The hair was removed from his head on the night of his death by his wife Flora and saved for their son JEB Stuart, Jr. Flora had rushed to be beside her husband, but arrived only to see him in death at the house of Dr. Charles Brewer. Word of her husband being wounded in battle reached her at Beaver Dam Station via messenger due to the telegraph wires being cut by Union General Sheridan's troops. Flora and their two children raced by private train and reached Ashland, finding that the tracks had been torn up by the Union troops. A group of sympathetic and loyal wounded Confederate cavalrymen gave them their ambulance which the group drove through a growing rainstorm. Throughout the journey Flora would receive erroneous word that her husband was doing well, only slightly wounded, giving her hope she would reach him in time. Finding the bridge at the Chickahominy River destroyed, blocking them from easy access to Richmond, they forded the river a mile downstream delaying their arrival at the Brewer home until 11:30 P.M. Her husband had died almost four hours earlier, receiving Confederate President Jefferson Davis as one of his last guests. The lock is accompanied by her original hand written note, "Hair of your dear father cut off. May 1864." A priceless memory of the greatest cavalry officer in American history.

Also in this lot is his brass field pocket compass which would have been with him when he was mortally wounded at Yellow Tavern.

Provenance: Stuart Family correspondence and Bill of Sale.

Sold for - $44,812.50

http://historical.ha.com/itm/milita...removed-from-his-head-on-the-ni/a/642-25449.s
Super cool, Thank you!
 
Your post made me think, my wife has kept a lock of hair from all of our kids from when they had their first haircut, I guess that even today its not that unusual, perhaps its just the age of the hair that I found a bit weird, I'm a bit of a believer in spirits attaching themselves to objects, so old hair from a complete stranger would be a no go area for me.

I feel the same way! Shastas used to weave belts from their hair but we don't know now why. Usually the only time hair is cut is in mourning, though. That seems to be what happened in Stuart's case as well. It's a fascinating article, for sure, but if anyone said want to hold it - NO!
 
I used to own a Civil War house wife named to a soldier in the 25th Missouri. It had sewn into it a locket of his daughter's hair, although it may have been his wife's. Thank you for thread with JEB Stuart's locket of hair and his compass. It was a great thread.
 
I feel the same way! Shastas used to weave belts from their hair but we don't know now why. Usually the only time hair is cut is in mourning, though. That seems to be what happened in Stuart's case as well. It's a fascinating article, for sure, but if anyone said want to hold it - NO!
Perhaps they believed, as some still do, that possessing someones hair or fingernail clippings would give that person power of some sort over them? Or, Maybe they saved the hair so it would travel with them to the after life?
 
Perhaps they believed, as some still do, that possessing someones hair or fingernail clippings would give that person power of some sort over them? Or, Maybe they saved the hair so it would travel with them to the after life?

That wasn't exactly the belief although it's close. There's other materials and objects attached to the hair belts that indicate something else, but no one passed on what that might be.

Jeb was a Christian so he probably isn't hanging out in his hair...but just to be on the safe side... I believe I'll just gaze respectfully upon it! :confused:
 
I used to own a Civil War house wife named to a soldier in the 25th Missouri. It had sewn into it a locket of his daughter's hair, although it may have been his wife's. Thank you for thread with JEB Stuart's locket of hair and his compass. It was a great thread.

Similarly, I have an ambrotype of an armed Confederate soldier from Georgia that had a snippet of unknown hair (his?) sewn into the lining of the case. Some kind of bugs have found it tasty, though, making it now even less than when I got it now many years ago at a gun show.
 
I once saw an entire Victorian hair wreath made from all different family members (obviously). It was about 12" x 12" and 15-years-ago was 400.00 at an antique mall. It had been mounted in a Victorian frame with convex glass. I've never seen another. Each type of hair was woven or braided differently. I did find out that jewelers would subcontract this type of thing out for family members to have hair woven for lockets or mounted under crystal for rings.

The poignant thing about this now is we can associate the object with sadness but all the pain is gone.
 
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