Senator Farley Salutes Presidents’ Day

As Presidents' Day and local schools' February break approach, State Senator Hugh T. Farley (R, C, I - Schenectady) suggests families may want to visit the Hall of Governors at the State Capitol in Albany to learn more about Presidential connections to New York State.

"Did you know that a number of Presidents have been closely associated with the history of New York State?" Senator Farley asked. "Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt were all New Yorkers. Presidents Van Buren, Cleveland and both Roosevelts had each served as Governor of New York."

The Hall of Governors, located on the second floor of the State Capitol, holds portraits of the past governors of New York State, including the ones who went on to be President of the United States. The portraits are displayed chronologically and biographies of each pictured governor were placed beneath each portrait.

Senator Farley said the website http://hallofgovernors.ny.gov provides historical documentation and also offers an online tour of the Hall of Governors. Web visitors can also listen to highlights from speeches and view writings of former governors.

Visitors can take self-guided tours on weekdays when the buildings at the Empire State Plaza are open. They can also schedule tours through the Office of General Services at 474-2418.

Senator Farley offers the following Presidential facts and trivia as a salute to Presidents' Day.

* February is considered the month for presidents because two of the great Presidents from the early years of our Nation’s history were born then. Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States and the man who helped our Nation through the Civil War, and George Washington, the first President and the man who helped our struggling Nation gain its independence, were born on February 12th and February 22nd, respectively. Incidentally, President Ronald Reagan’s birthday was also in February – February 6, 1911.

* John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, was the first President who was the son of a President. His father, John Adams, was the second President of this Nation. The 43rd President, George Walker Bush, was also a son of a President, George Herbert Walker Bush (41st President).

* Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd President, was the grandson of our ninth President, William Henry Harrison.

* Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, No. 32 on the list, were distant cousins.

* Grover Cleveland was elected President in 1884 and took office in 1885. After four years at the post, he lost the following election to Benjamin Harrison. The two went head-to-head again in 1892, and this time, Cleveland won the election and resumed the Presidency in 1893.

* Most people think John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the youngest President in our history. This is partially true. At age 44, he was the youngest person to be elected President. However, Theodore Roosevelt, at age 43, was the youngest President to take the oath of office. When William McKinley was assassinated in 1901, Vice President Roosevelt became the leader of this Nation. He was subsequently elected in his own right in 1904.