Bissell Buzz - July 10, 2026

Bissell Buzz
This past Friday and throughout the weekend, all across the nation young and old celebrated
Independence Day with their families and loved ones. We now have entered the 250th year of
independence from Great Britain, and July 4th 2026 holds the promise of bigger and better celebrations.
But July 4th was also the date of death etched into the tombstones of no less than three of the founding
fathers – two of them even on exactly the same day, being the 50th anniversary in 1826! Was this merely
a coincidence?
Thomas Jefferson was the first to depart on July 4th, 1826, at the age of 83 after being ill for an extended
period. During the night of the 3rd , he asked “Is it the fourth?”, which suggests him holding on for the
day. John Adams at 90, also had been ill, but not as long as his long-time friend and occasional rival. In
his final moments, Adams uttered “Thomas Jefferson survives”, unaware that Jefferson had passed away
five hours earlier 500 miles away. Five years later to the day, James Monroe died of heart failure and
tuberculosis at the age of 73 years.
Various newspapers reported on the coincidence of the three founding fathers dying on the same day.
The oddness of the events wasn’t lost on the New York Evening Post in 1831, when the newspaper
founded by Alexander Hamilton called it a “coincidence that has no parallel”: “Three of the four
presidents who have left the scene of their usefulness and glory expired on the anniversary of the
national birthday, a day which of all others, had it been permitted them to choose, they would probably
had selected for the termination of their careers,” the Post reported on July 5, 1831.
The New York Commercial Advertiser wrote on July 5, 1831: “It would be difficult to find a parallel in
history, three of them have been called away in a good all age, on the same proud anniversary."
And then the Boston Traveler wondered about the coincidence on July 8. “Again, our national
anniversary has been marked by one of those events, which it may be scarcely permitted to ascribe the
chance.”
Then the Frederick, Maryland Town Herald marked Monroe’s passing on July 9, 1831, by also noting the
“presidential coincidence”: “This have three of our revolutionary presidents departed this life on the
anniversary of our independence; presenting the most remarkable tissue of coincidences that have
marked the history of nations,” the newspaper said.
Margaret P. Battin made the deaths of the presidents on the same day of the year, the subject of her
research. There is an interesting blog post at the Boston University’s History Society that excerpts
this research. “Given the insufficient historical evidence available, we can’t know the truth about why
Adams and Jefferson died on the same day,” Battin said. (She didn’t include Monroe in her study.) Battin
evaluated the circumstances under six different criteria, ranging from mere coincidence and divine
intervention, to the men’s willingness or desire to die on the anniversary day. “We can reflect on
whether it would make a difference to us if one or another of these explanations turned out to be true,”
she concluded. “After all, the six possibilities these explanations raise are central to the very questions
about death and dying that are so controversial today.”
There also was a presidential birth on July 4th - Calvin Coolidge, described as a conservative’s
conservative, was born on Independence Day 1872 in Massachusetts – the only president to have been
born on this day of significance.

What initially was planned as an activity for a Fun Friday event, is now extended as an invitation to all
who can make it. This Friday, July 11 at 10am, local teacher and now also author Becky Lanier, will be
reading her book “Sammy – The Sand Shark’s Lost Teeth” at Fort Bissell. It also is our intern’s birthday,
so there will be cupcakes to enjoy as well. Bring your children and stay to support Becky and in the
process enjoy the story. You are never too old to enjoy a story!
We also want to thank everyone that supported our Fireworks Fundraiser. Unfortunately, we could only
have two winners and Jane Kirchhoff and Trish Boswell had the winning tickets that were drawn. After
our expenses were paid, we made a profit of $1730 – thank you once again to everyone!
Looking forward to seeing you at the Fort. A reminder of our hours:
Tuesday to Friday 9am to 4pm
Saturdays 9am to 2pm
Ruby Wiehman – Curator