George W. Bush called it Sam Houston’s bible. Rick Perry swore on its centuries-old sheepskin four times. And on Tuesday, Texas Gov.-elect Greg Abbott is set to preserve one of the oldest inaugural traditions in the U.S. when he lays his hand on the historic tome to take the oath of office.
But archivists now say it’s possible that Texas governors have been duped for centuries.
Caretakers of the brittle, brown 199-year-old holy book long known as the Sam Houston Bible — a would-be link to the former president of an independent Texas cherished by both Republicans and Democrats — have evidence that suggests the book may have never belonged to the state’s equivalent of George Washington.
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“It still has significant value,” said Mac Woodward, who runs the Sam Houston Memorial Museum in Huntsville and believes the handwriting belongs to Houston. “What’s most important and what we need to remember is what Sam Houston represented in character.”
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