The Tale of Thaddeus Stevens’ Ill-Fitting Wig

Thaddeus Stevens was well known for his cutting wit, brilliant intellect, and sour expression. However, the first thing most people noticed was his ill-fitting, chestnut-colored wig.

In the late 1820s, Stevens began donning a wig following an episode of “brain fever,” likely Typhoid, which left him completely bald. However, modern historians at LancasterHistory believe the hair loss was likely due to alopecia, a disease that causes the immune system to attack hair follicles, resulting in hair loss. Regardless, the wig was reportedly crafted to appear identical from all angles, allowing Stevens the convenience of wearing it without concern for its orientation.

If you had asked President Andrew Johnson to state his opinion of Thaddeus Stevens after the failed impeachment trial, you would probably not have received an answer brimming with politeness. Yet Stevens fought in his early years for freedom of education; as an abolitionist, he led the struggle to free the slaves. He was known far and wide as “The Great Commoner.”

Stevens had a wry sense of humor, too.

One tale, told by a congressional colleague, has it that a woman from Maine once came to his office and gushingly told him of her great admiration for his actions. She pleaded to shake his hand, and then she said:

“I have one more favor to ask. It is a souvenir of this interview—I wish to take home with me, if I may be so bold as to ask it, a lock of the Great Commoner’s hair.”

Stevens was visibly embarrassed. Then, with a faint smile, he lifted the brown wig he always wore and placed it on the table. His head shone in all its baldness.

“There is every hair on my head, madam,” he told the supplicant, “make your own choice of a lock.”

And, legend says, the woman did.

Regardless of what President Johnson and his friends might have thought about Stevens, who was seriously ill at the time of the impeachment trial, the voters of Lancaster County held him in the highest regard. Stevens died in Washington, but his name was still on the ballot for reelection to Congress. Fellow Republicans “reelected” him anyway.

Thaddeus Stevens: “Old Commoner” Poster

This fantastic poster, reproduced by the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, depicts a strong portrait of Thaddeus Stevens. They are printed on high-quality, off-white, matte stock. Dimensions: 18″ x 26″. Only $35.00 with free shipping. Click here to purchase your print from the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County.

Resources

• This story comes courtesy of Gerald S. Lestz from his book, The Lure of Lancaster County.

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On August 11, 1868, Thaddeus Stevens died in Washington, D.C. He was 76 years old. Stevens is arguably Lancaster’s most influential resident, having fought for civil rights, racial equality, and a free public education system. He selected Lancaster’s Shreiner-Concord Cemetery as his final resting place as it was the only graveyard in the city with no restrictions for internment based on color or race at the time. Twenty thousand people attended his funeral. Click here to read more.