José Antonio de la Garza–May 31, 1776

José Antonio de la Garza–May 31, 1776

Cover art for May 31, 1776: Closeup of each side of the coins minted by José Antonio de la Garza. Image reportedly came from KVUE-TV in Austin but we can't pin it down as definitively their image. [https://250andcounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1776-05-31-Cover-1024x1024.jpg] José Antonio de la Garza was born in what we now call San Antonio. They may have called it that back then as well, but the area was called San Antonio de Béjar at the time, and was a mission around which the eventual city grew. Texas was still a territory belonging to Mexico (i.e., Spain), and in the early 1700s the popular thought was that building these missions would strengthen Spain’s claims to the territory. That…sort of worked for awhile, until disputed territories were locked into treaties, or ceded one way or another, or occupied by a military force. At any rate, once you’ve listened to the episode, you’ll have a better understanding of how Texas got its nickname. The post José Antonio de la Garza–May 31, 1776 [https://250andcounting.com/2026/05/31/jose-antonio-de-la-garza-may-31-1776/] appeared first on 250 and Counting [https://250andcounting.com].

Back From Canada–May 30, 1776

Cover art for May 30, 1776: Detail of an oil sketch depicting Samuel Chase, Charles Carroll and Benjamin Franklin on their diplomatic mission to Canada. Father John Carroll's hand is entering from right. Created by J. Carroll Mansfield, probably for an exhibition called Cavalcade of Colonial Maryland, 1943. [https://250andcounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1776-05-30-Cover-1024x1024.jpg] Ben Franklin in Canada isn’t completely unreasonable, even though he was already the oldest delegate to the Continental Congress at 70. He was America’s first diplomat and a very skilled one at that, with oodles of charm. But Franklin in Canada was also a bad idea, because his health was bad and it’s not like he could just shoot up the New York Thruway to get there. He had to head up the Hudson River through Albany and Saratoga, and then across Lake Champlain. And he had to do it in wartime, in hostile territory. For all that, however, Franklin’s failure in Canada eventually led to the Battle of Saratoga and in turn got the French on our side. So maybe it wasn’t such a crazy idea after all. The post Back From Canada–May 30, 1776 [https://250andcounting.com/2026/05/30/back-from-canada-may-30-1776/] appeared first on 250 and Counting [https://250andcounting.com].

The Address That Didn’t Happen–May 29, 1776

Cover art for May 29, 1776: Portrait of Caesar Rodney, possibly by John Thomas Scharf, circa 1888. There are no contemporary portraits of Rodney known to be extant. [https://250andcounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1776-05-29-Cover-1024x1024.jpg] While the Second Continental Congress always had a lot going on, not creating “an animated address” to make the Independence movement appearent to everyone seems like an odd failure. But sure enough, when it was recommended that such an address be created, this specific committee came up with nothing. Other committees appear to have presented addresses without problems, and many delegates worked on multiple committees, so was this an oversight? Was it overwork? Or perhaps the need to actually write a Declaration of Independence obviated the need for creating “an animated address”? The post The Address That Didn’t Happen–May 29, 1776 [https://250andcounting.com/2026/05/29/the-address-that-didnt-happen-may-29-1776/] appeared first on 250 and Counting [https://250andcounting.com].

Joseph Lee Smith–May 28, 1776

Cover art for May 28, 1776: Joseph Lee Smith's home (Later Kirby Smith's) in St. Augustine, Florida. Uploaded to Wikipedia by user WhisperToMe. [https://250andcounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1776-05-28-Cover-1024x1024.jpg] There’s a cool thing about Joseph Lee Smith that Mike doesn’t cover in his story today, probably because he is SO JEALOUS OF ME. Nah, I’m kidding. But the fact is, Joseph Lee Smith is tied up a little bit in my distant family history. I mentioned once before that my family can trace back to a common ancestor, Thomas Call, who arrived in America sometime in the 1640s. Thus, anyone with the surname Call is related, however distantly. There were Calls who were among the first Mormons to go west with (the other) Joseph Smith, so the name is about as common in Utah as it is uncommon pretty much everywhere else. Smith moved to Florida in 1821 and from 1823 to 1832 he was a territorial judge. In 1823 a delegate from Florida named Richard K Call introduced a resolution calling for the US House Judiciary Committee to investigage Smith on charges that he took bribes and kickbacks. The resolution was adopted and the investigation went on for at least seven years, but no charges were ever filed to impeach Smith. There are a few Calls in Florida history, and a couple of towns have a Call Street, including Starke, which has a “Call Street Historic District [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_Street_Historic_District]“. This area was named specifically for Richard K Call. Hm. My brother is named Richard Call, though he has a different middle initial. I may have to let him know about this… The post Joseph Lee Smith–May 28, 1776 [https://250andcounting.com/2026/05/28/joseph-lee-smith-may-28-1776/] appeared first on 250 and Counting [https://250andcounting.com].

Justice John Johnson–May 27, 1776

Cover art for May 27, 1776: grave of John Johnson. via find-a-grave.com. [https://250andcounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1776-05-27-Cover-1024x1024.jpg] Justice John Johnson had a brief career in the Indiana Supreme Court, but this shouldn’t be the legacy he leaves behind, especially inasmuch as there were no important decisions handed down during the six-ish months in which he was part of that bench. It would be his earlier efforts as an Indiana politician that you want to know about. And yes, Johnson was an active politician early in the days of the Indiana Congress. Before there was a state Constitution, there were the Territorial laws that Johnson helped to organize, so he was probably quite well-versed in what was already down on paper. The post Justice John Johnson–May 27, 1776 [https://250andcounting.com/2026/05/27/justice-john-johnson-may-27-1776/] appeared first on 250 and Counting [https://250andcounting.com].