The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-03-05
CURIOUS FACTS ABOUT OUR PRESIDENTS.

The second Inauguration of Presi-
dent William Mckinley, at Wash
ington City yesterday, lends special
interest to an article on this subject
in a recent lumber of the Saturday
Evening Post. We copy it in full as
follows:
The study of the lives of the Pres
idents of the United States will re.
veal many curious and interesting
condolences. For example,, John
Adams, second President, was eight
years older than Thomas jefferson,
who succeeded him in office Jeffer-
son was eight years older than James
Madison, who came after him and
Madison was eight years older than
James Monroe, who succeeded him.
By another coincidence, President
Washington ended his term of office
in his sixty-fifth year and so, too,
did John Adams, Thomas Jefferson,
and James Madison.
Again, John Adams's death took
place on the same day and very
nearly at the some hour as the death
of Thomas Jefferson. Stranger still
both of these great men died on the
Fourth of July, 1926, whilst the ma
ton was joyously celebrating the
fiftieth anniversary of the Decla-
ton of independence, which both
these men had signed and which
of them had written. Mr.. Adams
was asked if he knew what day it
was, and he answered ooh yes, it
is the Fourth of July. God bless it !!
God bless you ALL 1t is a great and
glorious day"
One other President passed out of
life while the joy-bells YER ringing
on a Fourth of July-James Monroe,
fifth President. He died in 1881.
Still another strange coincidence,
or rather fact-a fact that would
seem TO give countenance to the oft
repeated statement that the blue
eyed race is the cOnquering race of
the worlds that, with one, or per
haps two exceptions, every President
of the United States has had blue
eyes of the typical Saxon.
With all the Marys there are in
the woodland perhaps every family,
either directly or in II collateral
branch, has its Mary-it seems odd
that only one of u Presidents had
d Mary for his wife-Mary Todd,
wife of Abraham Lincoln and only
three Marys have been mothers of
Presidents-Mary Ball, mother of
George Washington Mary ARMS
tead, mother of John Tyler; and
Mary McDonough, mother of Andrew
Johnson.
Nancyes have brought into the
world two men, who through strange
providence, have been called to office
in great periods of far-reaching con
sequences to this natiOn-Nancy
Hanks, mother of Abraham Lincoln
and Nancy Campbell Allison, mother
of William McKinly.
Greatly and widely adopted as is
the fashion for double names, only
seven, or less than One-third, of our
twenty-f five Presidents have had
double names. All of the early Presi-
dents, except John Quincy Adams
bore single baptismal names, as
George Washington, Thomas Jeffer-
son, and James Madison.
Leaving the matter of condolences,
other interesting facts connected
with the story of the Presidents will
readily occur TO the reader of Amer
lean history.
OF the twenty-fOur Presidents,
eleven were of Southern nativity,
two having been born in North Caro-
lima, one in South Carolina, n in
Kentucky, and seven in Virginia,
thus bearing out the right of Virginia
to the title she early acquired of
''Mother of Presidents" Ohio is
nearer to becoming Virginia's rival
in this respect, having already to
her credit five Presidents. Ken
lucky had the honor of being the
mother of the men who occupied the
presidential chairs of the opposing
parties during the Civil War, Lincoln
and .TaffnrGoU DavriS
The tauest President was undoubt-
eddy Abraham Lincoln he was six
feet four inches in height. The