The use of the word President
The word, "President" was used for a long time in colonial Virginia
Early use in Virginia:
President of Council
Colonial Virginia had a
President of Council.
The President was the leader of an advisory council to the Governor in Virginia.
This council doubled as the "upper" house of a two house legislature, where the lower house was known as the House of Burgesses.
Both houses have recorded their proceedings. Here is the Council of the Governor journals.
Many times this President of the Council assumed the duties of governor . . . if both Governor and Lt Governor were absent.
See that story about President of Council, John Blair here:
This President of Council also led
Council as a sort of
Supreme Court
taking all appeals before such cases might have gone to London to decide.
President of Councils of War:
The use of "President "
was a title
Colonel George Washington
used for anyone
who was the leader i
n a Council of War.
This council was an impromptu
group of the officers
of the Virginia Regiment
created to reach a consensus
about a vexing problem.
Colonel George Washington
often used this method
to achieve broad support.
Sometimes it became useful in providing more than just consensus.
Sometimes new solutions were advocated and other solutions were discarded.
Court Martials:
The group GW also used this title for anyone who was the leader over other jurists in a Court Martial.
In such a court martial
Major Andrew Lewis
holds the title of President,
as the leading jurist
over fellow jurists
in this hanging trial.
See that story here.
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President of Congress
Our first Presidents before George Washington were not in a separate branch.
They were more like a Prime Minister, part of the Congress as head presider over the Congress.
They were the Presidents of the Congress when it was still operating under the Articles of Confederation.
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Compiled by Jim Moyer, published on Wix and Facebook 4/18/2021, updated 7/4/2022, 2/16/2025. 2/17/2025
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Related Links
Same story posted in April of 2021
President of Council, John Blair
Council to the Governor links
House of Burgesses links
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We come upon a
using the term President.
We've been seeing
President
as a word
describing a leader
of an organization
for a long time in our research.
Look at where
the title of President
has appeared before.
The term President was around a long time, before we became the first country in the world to have its top leader named President.
The Oxford dictionary finds a
French reference to the word.
Jamestown
This picture shows the recreation in Jamestown VA of the 2nd Anglican Jamestown Church where Pocantas was married to John Rolfe in April 5, 1614. That was the 2nd church built. But it was the 3rd church where the President of Council, the Council, The House of Burgesses and the Governor convened July 30, 1619.
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