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This has been so much easier with the traveling, but DGovs (Dead
Governors)
are harder to find. First of all, you have to find where they are
buried.
Most were easy, using the computer, but sometimes it involved looking
at
old microfilm of newspapers in the library to find obits. As I looked,
I found out that TWO of them were in the same cemetery in
Jersey
City, how convenient you might think. Except that one of them doesn't
even
have his name on the headstone. I had to get the women in the main
office
to confirm that he's really down there.Then there is the problem of who officially counts as a Governor. This wasn't easy either, not like presidents. I came across numerous lists, all of them being different. I finally got an official source and discovered that there are only 50 Governors - unofficial lists has the number at near 70. We have had a lot of interim acting governors since 1776 and the official count doesn't count non-consecutive terms as separate, like Grover Cleveland is counted as our 22nd and 24th President (I bet you all were really wondering about this.) James McGreevey was governor number 51. Richard J. Codey is only acting governor, so he is not official and doesn't have a number because he was not elected. In November of 2005, Jon Corzine was elected governor number 52 and in November of 2009, Chris Christie was elected governor number 53. So to be official, you had to be elected and sworn in. One person was elected, but chose not to be governor (for who knows what reason) so he doesn't count. Of the 52 ex-govs, six are still going strong - so I got to work on finding the other 46 - how many do I have? At the moment I have 38 - almost there. NOTE: As of January 9, 2006, New Jersey law states that an Acting Governor serving for 180 or more days is officially considered a Governor. This applies to both Donald DiFrancesco (51) and Richard Codey (53). This also makes Governor Corzine number 54 instead of 52. With this new law, there are NOW eight ex-govs still going strong; Byrne, Kean, Florio, Whitman, DiFrancesco, McGreevey, Codey and Corzine.         Even with the ease of traveling, would you believe that 7 of the 46 are NOT buried in New Jersey. One is in Albany (and I happen to have him already by chance - he was in the same cemetery as president Chester Arthur), one is in Pennsylvania, three are in Brooklyn (God knows why?) and two are in Washington D.C. (one of these is President Woodrow Wilson). Another problem is that two of our governors are buried in unknown locations. William S. Pennington, the 6th Governor, most likely was buried in one of the old cemeteries in downtown Newark. However, they have all been moved. I can't find any mention of where he was moved to. His son, the 12th Governor, was buried in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Newark. Did they move dad here? There is no mention on the stone, but maybe they did anyway. I can't find anything on what happened to him. Another one, Isaac H. Williamson, the 8th Governor, most likely was buried in the St. John's Episcopal Church Burying Grounds, however, where are they? Debbie and I looked through the churchyard next to the church, but he may have been in a separate place. Does it exist anymore? If not, where was he moved to?
If I lived in Alaska, this would be so much quicker - they have only ONE
DGov, but then where would all the fun be.
They say imitation is
the finest form of flattery and I am flattered. A fellow dead president
searcher, Patrick Weissend of Batavia, New York, has created a dead Governor's
of New York site. His site is well
made and is definitely worth looking at. |
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George
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| Pre-Civil
War: 1776
to 1860 |
| Civil War and After: 1861 to 1899 |
| 20th Century: 1900 to Present |
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et cetera, et cetera |
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This website created and
maintained by Frank McGady You are visitor number:
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| Bibliography
Stillborn, Paul A. and Burkina, Michael J., New Jersey Governors 1664 - 1974. Trenton, New Jersey, New Jersey Historical Commission, 1982. Warner, Era J., Generals in Blue - Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge and London, Louisiana University Press, 1992. |
