The Forgotten Presidents of The Continental Congresses (1774 to 1789)
Fourteen leaders guided the destiny of the United States in the fifteen years from 1774 until 1789 when George Washington took the oath of office under the U.S. Constitution.  Biographies of these "Forgotten Presidents" were taken from The Patriots Handbook, by George Grant (Cumberland House, Nashville TN, 1996) pp 225ff.  (source: http://www.rsar.org/history/forgpres.htm)
The Continental Congresses
    The First (1st) Continental Congress 1774
    "This Congress met 1774 Sept 04 - Oct 26 (seven weeks) in Philadelphia with 56 delegates representing all of the colonies that later revolted except Georgia.  The three counties that became Delaware were listed as a separate entity although they were technically still part of Pennsylvania."  (source: http://www.rsar.org/history/forgpres.htm)
  1. 1774           : Peyton Randolph of Virginia (1723-1775) - September 4 to October 21, 1774
  2. 1774           : Henry Middleton (1717-1784) - October 22, 1774, until the Second Continental Congress
    The Second Continental Congress 1775 to 1781
    "This Congress met in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, not quite a month after the battles at Lexington and Concord."  (source: http://www.rsar.org/history/forgpres.htm)
  1. 1775           : Peyton Randolf (again) - May 10 to 23, 1775
  2. 1775-1777 : John Hancock (1737-1793) - May 24, 1775, to October 30, 1777
  3. 1777-1778 : Henry Laurens (1724-1792) - November 1, 1777, to December 9, 1778
  4. 1778-1779 : John Jay (1745-1829) - December 10, 1778, to September 27, 1779 & 1789 to 1795
    The Congress of the Confederation or the United States in Congress Assembled 1781 to 1789
    "The Articles of Confederation were in force from March 1, 1781, until the Constitution (ratified on June 21, 1788 by the nineth state, New Hampshire, giving the required 2/3 majority) went into effect on March 4, 1789.  The Articles state that "The United States in Congress assembled shall have authority to appoint ... one of their members to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of president more than one year in any term of three years ...."  Thus there was no set starting date for the office of president, and many resigned before completing a full year in office."  (source: http://www.rsar.org/history/forgpres.htm)
  1. 1781           : Samuel Huntington (1732-1796) - March 2, 1781 to July 9, 1781
  2. 1781           : Thomas McKean (1734-1817) - July 10, 1781 to November 4, 1781
  3. 1781-1782 : John Hanson (1715-1783) - November 5, 1781, to November 3, 1782 [about]
  4. 1782-1783 : Elias Boudinot (1741-1802) - November 4, 1782, to November 2, 1783
  5. 1783-1784 : Thomas Mifflin (1744-1800) - November 3, 1783 to November 29, 1784
  6. 1784-1785 : Richard Henry Lee (1732-1794) - November 30, 1784 to November 22, 1785
  7. 1785-1786 : John Hancock (again) - November 23, 1785, to June 5, 1786
  8. 1786           : Nathaniel Gorham (1738-1796) - June 6, 1786, to February 1, 1787
  9. 1787           : Arthur St. Clair (1734-1818) - February 2, 1787 to January 21, 1788
  10. 1788           : Cyrus Griffin (1736-1796) - January 22, 1788 to April 30, 1789
sources:
[biographs, grave sites] U.S. Contintental Congress Presidents 1774-1789 (by Russ Pickett, "Who was truly the 1st President of the United States?")
[Congress] "Forgotten Presidents" : http://www.rsar.org/history/forgpres.htm
[terms] NSSAR "Our Forgotten Presidents" : http://www.sar.org/history/patriots/forgotten.html
[order] "The Forgotten Presidents" (The presidents before George Washington) : http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/582763/posts
[biographies] "Our Forgotten Presidents" : http://www.jasonpye.com/blog/2005/09/our_forgotten_presidents_1.html
[biographies] Wikipedia
[delegates] Congressmen of the Continental Congresses