Two ex-presidents and fierce rivals, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson's funeral, held in Charlottesville, Virginia, was simple. No invitations were sent out for the religious service officiated by Reverend Frederick Hatch at the Episcopal Church in Charlottesville. Only friends and family members gathered at his gravesite on the grounds of Monticello. It is likely that Jefferson's casket was wooden, built by Monticello slave John Hemings. The funeral of John Adams at the First Congregational Church (now known as the United First Parish Church) in Quincy, Massachusetts, was held on July 7 and was attended by an estimated crowd of 4,000 people. Pastor Peter Whitney officiated the service. Although many people in Boston wanted Adams's funeral to be held at the State House using taxpayer money, this idea was rejected by the Adams family. Nevertheless, cannons were fired from Mount Wollaston, bells rang, and the procession that took the president's casket from the Adams' home Peacefield to the church was followed by Massachusetts Governor Levi Lincoln Jr., Harvard University President John Thornton Kirkland, members of the state legislature, and United States Congressman Daniel Webster.