President John F. Kennedy was pronounced dead at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22, 1963, but Vice President Lyndon Johnson did not take the Presidential Oath of Office until 2:38 p.m. -- one hour and 38 minutes later.

Although as the sitting vice president, Johnson was the heir apparent. However, he did not officially become President of the United States until the Oath of Office was administered to him on Air Force One with Kennedy's bloodstained grieving widow by his side. It was only then that he became the 36th President of the United States

The first "President Johnson" (Andrew Johnson) didn't take the oath of office until almost three hours later after the death of President Abraham Lincoln who died at 7:22 a.m. on April 15, 1865 following being shot at Ford's Theater the evening before.

Vice President Johnson became President Andrew Johnson only six weeks after he first became the vice president. Johnson was sworn into office after 10:00 a.m. by Supreme Court Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase.

Justice Chase was the nephew of Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase (I Ohio). Bishop Chase also became the founding Bishop of Illinois and eventually the VI Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church.

In 1817, Salmon Chase was nine when his father died and he was sent to live with his Uncle Philander Chase. Salmon's father, Ithamar, was Philander's brother.

Fr. Philander, then an Episcopal priest, was the driving force behind Worthington (Ohio) College. It was not until 1819, two years after his nephew came to stay with him that he became a bishop.

Salmon Chase is also credited with first having the motto "In God We Trust" embossed on American coinage starting with the two-cent piece in 1864. At the time, he was President Lincoln's appointee as the Secretary of the Treasury

Following the death of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney in October 1864, President Lincoln nominated Salmon Chase to fill that post. This is how Chief Justice Chase got put into the place where he could administer the Presidential Oath of Office to Andrew Johnson following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

At the close of the Episcopal General Convention, The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth died; long live The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.

The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth lives on in the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA).

"While it is true that TEC will have one less diocese once this merger is approved by General Convention, it is NOT accurate to say that there is no longer an Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth," explained Suzanne Gill, Director of Communications for The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. "By vote of a supermajority of both orders in 2008, the Diocese dissociated from TEC (just as it had voted to associate itself in 1982) and subsequently helped found the ACNA."

The realigned diocese then had to endure 12 years of brutal litigation, but in the end the courts recognized that the ACNA diocese was the only entity having the right to the name and title of The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.

"We rejoice in our shared heritage with the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas," Ms. Gill continued.

In fact, the early bishops of Dallas are still remembered and honored including: Bishop Alexander Garrett (I Dallas); Bishop Harry Moore (II Dallas); and Bishop Avery Mason (III Dallas).

Initially, The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth was an outgrowth of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas when it became apparent that the Dallas-Fort Worth area was growing so The Episcopal Church would best be served by two northern Texas dioceses.

Therefore, The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth came into being in 1983 when Bishop Donald Davies (IV Dallas) spilt his diocese. He then became the first Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth. Bishop Donis Patterson followed Bishop Davies as the fifth Bishop of Dallas, and Bishop Clarence Pope followed him as the second Bishop of Fort Worth.

When General Convention ended Monday afternoon and the final gavel was sounded, TEC's Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth -- renamed the Episcopal Church in North Texas -- faded into history as it was officially reunified with the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, home based in Houston through the passage of Resolution D050. The Resolution called for the Reunion of the Diocese of The Episcopal Church in North Texas with The Episcopal Diocese of Texas as pursuant to Canon I.10.6.

The Canon allows for one diocese, which was formed through division of the larger diocese, to reunite with the mother diocese -- or in this case, grandmother diocese -- upon approval from their separate diocesan conventions and the final approval from General Convention itself.

Initially, The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth was formed through the division of the Diocese of Dallas. However, all dioceses in Texas are formed out of the original Episcopal Diocese of Texas which was founded in 1849.

The Episcopal Church in North Texas brought 14 congregations into the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, which will become the northern Fourth Region.

There are still 56 congregations which are now a part of The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth attached to ACNA.

"The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth continues to thrive and grow, serving Our Lord and Equipping the Saints for Ministry," explained Ms. Gill. "Y'all come see us sometime!"

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline