Frederick, Maryland: First Lady Jane Hanson Memorial
Bronze busts of Jane and John Hanson mark the mass grave where she's buried. John was the first President of the Confederation Congress in 1781, years ahead of George Washington.
Mount Olivet Cemetery
- Address:
- 515 S. Market St., Frederick, MD
- Directions:
- Mount Olivet Cemetery. Enter the cemetery from MD-355/S. Market St. Follow the road straight in, staying the the right. It will then bend left. Continue following in along the back edge of the cemetery. When the road gradually bends left again, follow it. You'll quickly see the two Hanson heads on the right, under a big tree.
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If you subscribe to the idea that John Hanson [the first President of the Confederation Congress in 1781] counts as a U.S. President, then you also believe his wife, Jane, was "the original First Lady," as this memorial asserts.
The lives of Hanson and her husband are recounted on the Jane Hanson National Memorial, which professes that "no presidential couple suffered more tragic fates" than they did. Sculptor Antonio Tobias conceived of a dual-bust memorial to reunite Jane and John Hanson after their 231 years apart. Jane is buried in an unmarked mass grave behind the memorial, which is in Mount Olivet Cemetery. John's remains are seemingly lost to history. Tobias also created the statue of John Hanson that stands in Frederick's county courthouse plaza.
[Kurt Deion / kurtshistoricsites.com, 11/19/2023]
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Nearby Offbeat Places
Hidden Bull Statue, Frederick, MD - < 1 mi.
Statue of John Hanson, First U.S. President, Frederick, MD - < 1 mi.
Charity the Dog, Frederick, MD - < 1 mi.In the region:
Big Pencil Stuck in a Wall, Baltimore, MD - 43 mi.
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