I had never been here, but had always wanted to, so here is Hollywood Cemetery, one of three locations that contain the graves of 2 Presidents of the United States. Fun trivia: the other two are United First Parish Church, Quincy, Massachusetts (John and John Quincy Adams); Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia (William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy). Amaze your friends with this fact!
A dog statue, which is listed as a “Visitors’ Favorite”Pyramid dedicated to Confederate WomenGrave of Confederate General George PickettThere are over 18,000 graves of Confederate soldiers in this cemetery. Quite sobering.Grave of Confederate General J.E.B. StuartGrave of US Supreme Court Justice Lewis Franklin PowellGrave of US Supreme Court Justice Peter Vivian DanielGrave of Matthew Fontaine Maury, known as “Pathfinder of the Sea”. Maury (from Fredericksburg) was a highly regarded 19th century cartography. Grave of James Monroe, 5th President of the United States, surrounded by a grove of beautiful, full-bloom cherry trees.Grave of James Monroe, 5th President of the United StatesThis sarcophagus contains the remains of President James Monroe.Monument and grave of John Tyler, 10th President of the United States. President Tyler was the first president to ascend to the office of upon the death of a president (9th President William Henry Harrison). Since he was not elected President, there was uncertainty about how he should proceed in office. His decisive actions upon taking office set a precedent that such a presidency is as legitimate as the presidency of an elected president.Close-up of the front of President Tyler’s monumentView from the west of President Tyler’s monumentStatue and grave of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. Last year we visited his postwar prison cell at Fort Monroe in Hampton.Monument of my relative Fitzhugh Lee, who had a varied and distinguished life. During his life, he was a Confederate General, Governor of Virginia, Brigadier General in the United States Army (Spanish-American War), and Consul General to Cuba.The Lee Family Coat-of-ArmsOn a beautiful Saturday afternoon, from Hollywood Cemetery, downtown Richmond’s skyline
Our 4th President, James Madison, was born here in Port Conway, Virginia in 1751. It is interesting that he was born here at Belle Grove Plantation instead of Orange County, where his parents lived. They were visiting Madison’s mother’s family at Belle Grove when she gave birth to him. The house Madison was born in no longer stands.Belle Grove Plantation is privately owned.The drive to Belle Grove.The rear entrance.The front (river facing) entrance.Rappahannock River looking upstream toward Fredericksburg.Out buildingOut building doorOut building undergoing restoration.Out buildingsThanksgiving dinner inside the house.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, a fifth cousin of President Theodore Roosevelt, was our 32nd president. He was the only president to serve more than two terms. He was elected four times, but he died early in the first year of his fourth term, April 12, 1945. He served from 1933-1945.FDR’s Hyde Park homeFront viewThe view from his front yard.FDR Presidential Library and Museum.FDR’s Oval Office desk.The Bible FDR used all four times he took the presidential oath of office. Freedom sculpture on the grounds. At the base, the freedoms named are Freedom of Speech, Freedom from Want, Freedom of Worship, and Freedom from Fear.Displays in the FDR MuseumTypical 1930s kitchen where families listened to the radio, which FDR used skillfully with his “Fireside Chats”.FDR’s private studyThe memorandum President Roosevelt received on December 7, 1941, informing him of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.Fragment from the USS Arizona which was sunk in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.Fala, FDR’s dogFDR’s deathFDR’s funeralFDR’s 1936 Ford Phaeton.One of the many model ships and boats from FDR’s collection.Bust of FDR outside of the Library and Museum.Posing with President Franklin and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.The graves of President Franklin and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Zoom in to see the etching.The museum had a special exhibit, The Art of War. This exhibit contains many posters that were used during World War II.This is the iconic Uncle Sam “I Want You” poster.Recruiting for nurses. (Another one for you, Kayla.)We could also identify our other primary enemy in World War II.We used to be able to identify our enemy clearly.
This is the site where Martin Van Buren, our 8th president, was born in 1782. This is located in Kinderhook, New York. President Martin Van Buren’s home, Lindenwald in Kinderhook. He was our 8th president, who was President Andrew Jackson’s hand-picked successor in 1837. He presided over the financial Panic of 1837 which was devastating to the economy. He was a failed president, and served only one term, 1837-1841, very similar to George H. W. Bush. Both presidents succeeded wildly popular presidents (Jackson, Reagan), then failed to win re-election after their first term. President Bush retired to private life. President Van Buren continued to run for president in several other election cycles, losing every time.Lindenwald, home of President Martin Van Buren. The architectural style is a combination of Georgian, Victorian and Italianate.LindenwaldRear of LindenwaldGrave of President Martin Van Buren, Kinderhook, New York
Grave of President Chester A. Arthur, our 21st president.Plate on President Arthur’s grave stone.Becoming president upon the assassination of President James A. Garfield in 1881, President Arthur served out the remainder of President Garfield’s term from 1881-1885, and did not secure the Republican nomination for the 1884 election. His signature issue was reforming the spoils system, and he signed into law the Pendleton Act, which required that government jobs be distributed according to merit, rather than cronyism. Arthur married a Culpeper, Virginia girl, Nell Herndon, She died when she was only 42 years old, almost two years before Arthur became president. Arthur’s sister served as First Lady during his term.Portrait of President Chester A. Arthur in the Vermont State Capitol. He was a Vermont native.
