Abigail Adams was born on November 22, 1744 in Weymouth, Massachusetts to Elizabeth and Reverend William Smith, a Congregationalist minister.
Through her mother, Elizabeth Quincy (1721–75), Abigail was descended from the 17th-century Puritan preacher Thomas Shepard (1605–49) of Cambridge.
Abigail was frequently sick as a child and did not receive formal schooling. However her mother taught Abigail and her older sisters Mary and Elizabeth (known as Betsy) to read, write and cipher.
Abigail's father's, uncle's and grandfather's large libraries enabled her to study English and French literature. Over time, she would become a voracious bibliophile.
Abigail Smith first met newly qualified country lawyer John Adams when she was 15 years old in 1759. Although Adams' congregational minister father approved of the match, her mother was enraged that she was wedding someone she considered beneath her daughter.
The couple married on October 25, 1764, in the Smiths' home in Weymouth. Abigail's father presided over the ceremony. After the reception, the couple mounted a single horse and rode off to their new home, the small cottage and farm John had inherited from his father in Braintree, Massachusetts.
She had six children: Nabby, John Quincy, Susanna, Charles, Thomas, and Elizabeth.
During the American Revolution, Abigail kept the family farm from ruin as war raged around her. she contributed to the cause by housing the local militia and even melted down her precious pewter spoons into musket balls.
John Adams was sworn in as the second President of the United States in Philadelphia on March 4, 1797. When President Adams was sworn in his mother was dying in Massachusetts. A particularly brutal New England winter kept Abigail away from Philadelphia and she missed her husband's inauguration.
During most of his administration, John Adams lived at the Presidential mansion in Philadelphia. Located at the intersection of 6th and Market Streets, it served as the headquarters of the government’s executive branch until May 1800.
John and Abigail Adams and their family were the first residents of the White House. At the time, their new mansion was—to the First Lady’s chagrin—still under construction. Only six rooms were finished when they arrived on November 1, 1800. (Between the two dates, the President stayed at a local tavern). Abigail wrote: "The house is on a grand and superb scale, requiring about 30 servants. . . . [T]he fires we are obliged [to have] to secure us from daily agues . . . if they let me have wood enough to keep the fires. . . . [T]he great unfurnished audience room [East Room] I make a drying room of to hang up the clothes in."
During and after the American Revolution Abigail was separated for long periods of time from her husband, who was first a delegate to Congress and later a diplomat in Europe. During John Adams presidency, he spent prolonged periods away from his beloved wife. Through it all, the couple diligently wrote each other. Abigail's letters to him present a vivid picture of the time. Their discourse includes eyewitness accounts of the vote for independence, Washington’s inauguration, and countless other moments that helped shape their young nation.
Abigail opposed slavery and supported women's rights. In 1776, her husband participated in the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. There, Adams wrote her most famous letter to the Founding Fathers requesting that they, "remember the ladies."
The Familiar Letters of John Adams and His Wife, Abigail (2 vol., 1876), published with a memoir by their grandson, Charles Francis Adams, and later collections of her letters show that she was perceptive, erudite and warmhearted.
After John Adams' defeat in his presidential re-election campaign, the family retired to Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1800. Abigail followed her son John Quincy's political career earnestly. In 1825 he became the sixth President of the United States.
Abigail Adams died on October 28, 1818 of typhoid fever. Her last words were, "Do not grieve, my friend, my dearest friend. I am ready to go. And John, it will not be long."
She is buried beside her husband in a crypt located in the United First Parish Church (also known as the Church of the Presidents) in Quincy.
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| Abigail Adams |
Through her mother, Elizabeth Quincy (1721–75), Abigail was descended from the 17th-century Puritan preacher Thomas Shepard (1605–49) of Cambridge.
Abigail was frequently sick as a child and did not receive formal schooling. However her mother taught Abigail and her older sisters Mary and Elizabeth (known as Betsy) to read, write and cipher.
Abigail's father's, uncle's and grandfather's large libraries enabled her to study English and French literature. Over time, she would become a voracious bibliophile.
Abigail Smith first met newly qualified country lawyer John Adams when she was 15 years old in 1759. Although Adams' congregational minister father approved of the match, her mother was enraged that she was wedding someone she considered beneath her daughter.
The couple married on October 25, 1764, in the Smiths' home in Weymouth. Abigail's father presided over the ceremony. After the reception, the couple mounted a single horse and rode off to their new home, the small cottage and farm John had inherited from his father in Braintree, Massachusetts.
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| John Adams – 1766 Portrait by Blyth |
She had six children: Nabby, John Quincy, Susanna, Charles, Thomas, and Elizabeth.
During the American Revolution, Abigail kept the family farm from ruin as war raged around her. she contributed to the cause by housing the local militia and even melted down her precious pewter spoons into musket balls.
John Adams was sworn in as the second President of the United States in Philadelphia on March 4, 1797. When President Adams was sworn in his mother was dying in Massachusetts. A particularly brutal New England winter kept Abigail away from Philadelphia and she missed her husband's inauguration.
During most of his administration, John Adams lived at the Presidential mansion in Philadelphia. Located at the intersection of 6th and Market Streets, it served as the headquarters of the government’s executive branch until May 1800.
John and Abigail Adams and their family were the first residents of the White House. At the time, their new mansion was—to the First Lady’s chagrin—still under construction. Only six rooms were finished when they arrived on November 1, 1800. (Between the two dates, the President stayed at a local tavern). Abigail wrote: "The house is on a grand and superb scale, requiring about 30 servants. . . . [T]he fires we are obliged [to have] to secure us from daily agues . . . if they let me have wood enough to keep the fires. . . . [T]he great unfurnished audience room [East Room] I make a drying room of to hang up the clothes in."
During and after the American Revolution Abigail was separated for long periods of time from her husband, who was first a delegate to Congress and later a diplomat in Europe. During John Adams presidency, he spent prolonged periods away from his beloved wife. Through it all, the couple diligently wrote each other. Abigail's letters to him present a vivid picture of the time. Their discourse includes eyewitness accounts of the vote for independence, Washington’s inauguration, and countless other moments that helped shape their young nation.
Abigail opposed slavery and supported women's rights. In 1776, her husband participated in the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. There, Adams wrote her most famous letter to the Founding Fathers requesting that they, "remember the ladies."
The Familiar Letters of John Adams and His Wife, Abigail (2 vol., 1876), published with a memoir by their grandson, Charles Francis Adams, and later collections of her letters show that she was perceptive, erudite and warmhearted.
After John Adams' defeat in his presidential re-election campaign, the family retired to Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1800. Abigail followed her son John Quincy's political career earnestly. In 1825 he became the sixth President of the United States.
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| Abigail Adams in later life by Gilbert Stuart |
Abigail Adams died on October 28, 1818 of typhoid fever. Her last words were, "Do not grieve, my friend, my dearest friend. I am ready to go. And John, it will not be long."
She is buried beside her husband in a crypt located in the United First Parish Church (also known as the Church of the Presidents) in Quincy.
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