Peter Hanson Michael, award-winning author and President of the John Hanson Memorial Association, spoke to the Francis Scott Key Lions Club recently about the historical significance of John Hanson, the true first president of the United States. Michael is a descendant of John Hanson.
Hanson was born in Port Tobacco, Charles County, at Mulberry Grove, in 1715, moved to Frederick County in 1769, and died in 1783, shortly after serving as the first president of the U. S. from 1781 to 1782 under the Articles of Confederation. Hanson’s role in the founding of our country has been largely forgotten because his papers were lost; his Frederick home was lost—although then-Mayor Ron Young made a valiant effort to save it; his grave was destroyed—it is now the site of the MGM Casino at National Harbor; his family line died out; biographies of him are thin; the 1780s were a neglected decade of our history; and there are numerous internet myths about him.
His national memorial is in the courtyard to the front of the Frederick County Courthouse; his wife Jane’s national memorial is in Section MM of Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick.