Signers of the Continental Association

The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association, was an agreement among the American colonies adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 20, 1774, in Philadelphia. It aimed to address the colonies' grievances, particularly the Intolerable Acts, through a trade boycott against British merchants. The "non-importation, non-consumption, non-exportation" agreement, suggested by Richard Henry Lee and based on the 1769 Virginia Association initiated by George Washington, began with a pledge of loyalty to King George III and banned British imports starting December 1, 1774. The boycott caused a sharp decline in trade with Britain, which retaliated with the New England Restraining Act. The outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in April 1775 rendered the boycott unnecessary. The Association demonstrated the colonies' collective will to act in their common interests and is considered a foundational moment in the creation of the union that would become the United States, as referenced by Abraham Lincoln in his 1861 inaugural address.

Twenty of the 53 signers also signed the Declaration of Independence.

Two of the signers eventually became Loyalists after the signing of The Declaration of Independence, and fled to Britain. They were Joseph Galloway and Isaac Low. One of the signers, Silas Deane, died under mysterious circumstances on his way back to Boston, and is buried in Deal, UK.

Thus far we have visited 36 of the 53 gravesites of these signers.

Recommended video: The Forgotten Foundational Document: The Articles of Association. by @TheHistoryGuyChannel.

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 ten of the fourteen 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.

Only six individuals signed both the Articles of Confederation (1777) and the U.S. Constitution (1787). They are: Roger Sherman (Connecticut), Robert Morris (Pennsylvania), George Clymer (Pennsylvania), James Wilson (Pennsylvania), Daniel Carroll (Maryland)​, and Gouverneur Morris—who signed the Articles on behalf of New York and later signed the Constitution as a delegate from Pennsylvania.

Thus far we have visited 34 of the 48 signers gravesites. Sadly, five 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)

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 28 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

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

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.

Vice President Graves

This is our list of Vice President grave sites we have visited over the past eighteen years. There have been 14 Vice Presidents that eventually served as Presidents. Thus far we have visited 40 of 42 Vice Presidential graves. We attempted to visit Nelson Rockefeller's grave, and made it as far as the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. However, his grave is located in a private cemetery...We got very close.

Thus far only one person has visited all sixty six Presidential and Vice Presidential grave sites. Kurt Deion has a website "Kurt's Historic Sites - Hands-on History" documenting the grave sites he and his dad visited. On August 5, 2015 he was interviewed by Brian Lamb on C-SPAN, and talked about his visits to the graves of presidents and vice presidents.

The Baptist Church of Christ at Mt. Zion - Cass County, Texas

Mt. Zion Baptist Church - 2012

The Mount Zion Baptist Church of Christ was organized July 26, 1851 with twelve charter members. This sanctuary, built-in 1885 on land donated by Isaac and Felix Grundy Lemmon, replaced the original 1851 log church building. Constructed of cypress and featuring a steeply pitched roof and double entry doors, this structure reflects a simple style typical of 19th century rural Texas churches. A historic cemetery dating to 1864 is adjacent to the building. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1991.

A compilation of church records from 1851 - 1984 was compiled by members and published in a 148-page document.  A copy of this document is located below for your use.

"The Baptist Church of Christ at Mt. Zion Cass County, Texas", published February 9, 1984, by Ruby Pearl (Carter) Callison, Lois Ailine (Carter) Laird, Lola Mae (Morrison) Norman, and Loyd O'Neal Addy, Sr.

Airship Crash in Aurora, TX - April 17, 1897

Aurora Cemetery Est. 1861

Recently, we traveled to the town of Aurora, Texas to visit the Aurora Cemetery. It is mentioned on the Texas Historical Marker at the entrance that this site is "...well-known because of the legend that a spaceship crashed nearby in 1897 and the pilot, killed in the crash, was buried here."  I had heard of this hoax for many years, and since we were in the area, we needed to visit this unique burial site.