Presidents of the Continental Congress

The president of the United States in Congress Assembled, known unofficially as the president of the Continental Congress and later as president of the Congress of the Confederation, was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress, the convention of delegates that assembled in Philadelphia as the first transitional national government of the United States during the American Revolution. The president was a member of Congress elected by the other delegates to serve as a neutral discussion moderator during meetings of Congress. Designed to be a largely ceremonial position without much influence, the office was unrelated to the later office of President of the United States.

Fourteen men served as President of the Continental Congress (1774 - 1788) in the order shown below. We have been to the gravesite of five of these presidents.

An excellent source of information about the Presidents of the Continental Congress can be found at website: President of the Continental Congress

Signers of the Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation were signed by delegates from all thirteen states, though not all were present at the same time. Sixteen signers of the Articles also signed the Declaration of Independence. Congress approved the Articles in 1777, and the signing began on July 9, 1778, with delegates from eight states. New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland couldn't sign initially due to pending state ratifications, while North Carolina and Georgia's delegates were absent. Signings continued as more states ratified the Articles, with Maryland being the last to do so on March 1, 1781, after resolving a conflict over western lands. By then, many original creators were no longer delegates, and some signers had not participated in the initial debates.

This is the list of the Signers of The Articles of Confederation. Thus far we have visited 18 of the 48 signers gravesites. Sadly, four of the 48 signers burial locations are Unknown, and one is Unmarked.

An excellent source of information about the Signers can be found at the following National Archives website: Articles of Confederation (1777)

Presidents of the Republic of Texas

The Republic of Texas was formed in 1836. In the midst of the Texas Revolution, Texan settlers elected delegates to the Convention of 1836, which issued the Texas Declaration of Independence and elected David G. Burnet as interim president of the new country. In May 1836 Burnet and Mexican dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna, who was at the time a Texan prisoner-of-war, signed the Treaties of Velasco officially recognizing Texas's break from Mexico.

The president of the Republic of Texas was the head of state and head of government while Texas was an independent republic between 1836 and 1845. The president served as the commander-in-chief of the Texas Military Forces. Four men served as President of the Republic, and one, Sam Houston, served two nonconsecutive terms.

Signers of The United States Constitution

This is the list of the Signers of The United States Constitution on September 17, 1787. Thus far we have visited 16 of the 39 signers gravesites.

An excellent source of information about the Signers can be found at the following National Park Service website: Historic Places Commemorating the Signing of the Constitution

Texas Oil & Gas Fields

Signers of The Declaration of Independence

This is our list of the signers of The Declaration of Independence. Thus far we have visited (or attempted to visit) all 56 signers gravesites. Some of the signers are buried on private property and are not accessible to the public. An excellent source of information about the Signers can be found at the following National Park Service website: Signers of the Declaration of Independence

States and Capitols We've Visited

Thus far in our travels we have visited all but two states together, and we have seen most of the Capitol buildings in each of these states as seen below.

President Graves

As you can tell from this website, we are a real fan of history, and especially American History. Many of our family trips centered around people, places and historical sites across the United States. One of our first trips took us from Houston to Washington DC via Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and finally Washington DC. During this trip we visited, among other things, the Tennessee Capitol Building, Hermitage, Monticello, Mount Vernon and Arlington National Cemetery. As a result, we had unintentionally visited the final resting places of six United States Presidents (Polk, Jackson, Jefferson, Washington, Taft and Kennedy).

It wasn't long after our trip we realized we had visited 1/6th of the US Presidents graves, and we made it a priority to visit Presidential sites (grave sites, homes, birthplaces, libraries etc.) on our future trips. Therefore, in 2007 we planned a trip to New England, and the trip would include seven states, seven capitols and seven US President grave sites. The trip also included two President Libraries, and six President's homes.