hISTORY OF THE pRESIDENTIAL lIBRARIES
Brenda Kellow
May 26, 2013
Franklin Roosevelt founded the Presidential Libraries in 1939. He gave a substantial portion of his personal and Presidential papers to the Archives and pledged a portion of his estate at Hyde Park to the United States. It was then friends of the President formed a non-profit corporation, which would raise funds and construct the library and museum building. Roosevelt felt a president’s papers belonged to the people as part of their national heritage.
The first presidential library in this century was opened on May 1, 2013, in Dallas to honor the 37th President of the United States, George W. Bush. It is the thirteenth presidential library to open; it is the third presidential library to open in Texas, and the second for the Bush family.
Texas now has the more presidential libraries than any other state, surpassing California by one.
The opening of the George W. Bush Library had all five living Presidents in attendance. The five living Presidents of the United States attending the dedication ceremony were President Jimmy Carter, President Bill Clinton, President George H. W. Bush, President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. It was the first to have the honoree’s parents in attendance.
The first of the three libraries in Texas was the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library that
opened May 22, 1971 on the University of Texas grounds in Austin, Texas. The George H. W. Bush Library opened in College Station in November 6, 1997. Although President Dwight D. Eisenhower was born Denison, Texas, the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum is located in Abilene, Kansas.
The history of our country and its presidents is interesting. I would like to visit all thirteen Presidential Libraries and I am adding this to my bucket list. How about you?
You can read more on this historical subject at www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/about/history.html.
ARCHEOLOGISTS UNCOVER MARYLAND’S FIRST STATE HOUSE: The last mention of this building was in
1695. Archeologists believe it was probably torn down or destroyed in the early 1700s. Archeologists estimate its size to be 66 feet by 40 feet. The structure has a hallway separating two rows of rooms. So far, they have found two chimneys and two cellars. This summer’s dig should reveal much more about the
historic structure. Read more on this subject at www.marylandarcheology.org/Arch_Month_2013/county_events/St_Marys_Events.htm.
PHILADELPHIA’S BETSY ROSS BRIDGE BUILT ON OLD CEMETERY: It is a disgrace, but the foundation of this bridge sits on the forgotten graveyard, Monument Cemetery. It was a Victorian garden style cemetery fashioned as a cemetery for the deceased and as a peaceful green garden. The Atlantic Cities article by Luke Barley on June 28, 2012 said that after Temple University’s failed attempts to buy the cemetery to
turn it into a much-needed parking lot; they asked the city to condemn the site. It was and then became the property of Temple in 1956. Although Temple tried to notify relatives that the cemetery was about to be moved; only 8,000 of the 28,000 buried there were moved. Contractors bought the old tombstones in 1969 to use as the base for the Betsy Ross Bridge. The bridge connects travelers between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Temple has a 12-acre parking lot, but sadly, lone gravestones appear from underneath the bridge when the water is low. To read more about this sad ending to early Philadelphia’s deceased visit the site at http://hiddencityphila.org/2011/09/watery-graves/.
INFORMATIVE OBITUARY: I just read M. K. Quinlan’s Garden and Gun blog on a particular obituary. I don't know this person, but it is quite funny and most unusual. He describes writing an obituary as powerful. He
says, “It’s an occasion to do right by your loved ones, to tell the world all the great and respectable things they accomplish in their lifetimes …” Read what he writes in his March 12 blog and follow the link to Harry Stamps complete obituary, www.bradfordokeefe.com/obituaries/Harry-Stamps/#/Obituary.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: [email protected].
The first presidential library in this century was opened on May 1, 2013, in Dallas to honor the 37th President of the United States, George W. Bush. It is the thirteenth presidential library to open; it is the third presidential library to open in Texas, and the second for the Bush family.
Texas now has the more presidential libraries than any other state, surpassing California by one.
The opening of the George W. Bush Library had all five living Presidents in attendance. The five living Presidents of the United States attending the dedication ceremony were President Jimmy Carter, President Bill Clinton, President George H. W. Bush, President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. It was the first to have the honoree’s parents in attendance.
The first of the three libraries in Texas was the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library that
opened May 22, 1971 on the University of Texas grounds in Austin, Texas. The George H. W. Bush Library opened in College Station in November 6, 1997. Although President Dwight D. Eisenhower was born Denison, Texas, the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum is located in Abilene, Kansas.
The history of our country and its presidents is interesting. I would like to visit all thirteen Presidential Libraries and I am adding this to my bucket list. How about you?
You can read more on this historical subject at www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/about/history.html.
ARCHEOLOGISTS UNCOVER MARYLAND’S FIRST STATE HOUSE: The last mention of this building was in
1695. Archeologists believe it was probably torn down or destroyed in the early 1700s. Archeologists estimate its size to be 66 feet by 40 feet. The structure has a hallway separating two rows of rooms. So far, they have found two chimneys and two cellars. This summer’s dig should reveal much more about the
historic structure. Read more on this subject at www.marylandarcheology.org/Arch_Month_2013/county_events/St_Marys_Events.htm.
PHILADELPHIA’S BETSY ROSS BRIDGE BUILT ON OLD CEMETERY: It is a disgrace, but the foundation of this bridge sits on the forgotten graveyard, Monument Cemetery. It was a Victorian garden style cemetery fashioned as a cemetery for the deceased and as a peaceful green garden. The Atlantic Cities article by Luke Barley on June 28, 2012 said that after Temple University’s failed attempts to buy the cemetery to
turn it into a much-needed parking lot; they asked the city to condemn the site. It was and then became the property of Temple in 1956. Although Temple tried to notify relatives that the cemetery was about to be moved; only 8,000 of the 28,000 buried there were moved. Contractors bought the old tombstones in 1969 to use as the base for the Betsy Ross Bridge. The bridge connects travelers between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Temple has a 12-acre parking lot, but sadly, lone gravestones appear from underneath the bridge when the water is low. To read more about this sad ending to early Philadelphia’s deceased visit the site at http://hiddencityphila.org/2011/09/watery-graves/.
INFORMATIVE OBITUARY: I just read M. K. Quinlan’s Garden and Gun blog on a particular obituary. I don't know this person, but it is quite funny and most unusual. He describes writing an obituary as powerful. He
says, “It’s an occasion to do right by your loved ones, to tell the world all the great and respectable things they accomplish in their lifetimes …” Read what he writes in his March 12 blog and follow the link to Harry Stamps complete obituary, www.bradfordokeefe.com/obituaries/Harry-Stamps/#/Obituary.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: [email protected].