Abigail Smith Adams was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts on November 11, 1744.  Her father, William Smith, was a Congregationalist minister.  Her mother, Elizabeth Quincy, was born in Braintree, Massachusetts and the daughter of John Quincy, a member of the colonial Governor’s council and colonel of the militia.

She was of English and Welsh ancestry.  Her well-researched ancestral roots are traced back to royal lines in France, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Holland, Spain, Italy, Ireland and Switzerland.

Abigail Smith Adams had one brother and three sisters.  She was the second born.
She stood 5’ 1”, had brown hair and brown eyes.

Abigail’s religious affiliation was Congregationalist.
 
Education:

She had no formal education.  She was taught to read and write at home.  She had access to the extensive libraries of her father and maternal grandfather.  Her special interest was in philosophy, theology, Shakespeare, the classics, ancient history, government and law.

Marriage:

Abigail married John Adams, Lawyer on October 25, 1764 in the Smith family home, Weymouth, Massachusetts.  She was 19 years old.  The ceremony was performed by her father, the Reverend Smith.  They drove in a horse and carriage to a cottage beside the one where John Adams had been born and raised that became their first home.  After living in a series of rented homes in Boston, Massachusetts, they purchased a large farm called “Peacefield” in 1787.  At this time, John Adams was Minister to Great Britain.  They had three sons and two daughters.

After her marriage:

Abigail was a mother soon after her marriage.  She also shared with her husband the management of the household finances and the farming.  John Adams practiced law in the nearby city of Boston.

John Adams went to Philadelphia in 1774 to serve as his colony’s delegate to the First Continental Congress while Abigail remained home.  During this separation they maintained a lifelong correspondence, which formed a rich archive that reflected the evolution of a marriage of the Revolutionary and Federal eras as well as a chronology of the public issues debated and confronted by the new nation’s leaders.  In correspondence with her husband, Abigail reported her own observances of New England newspapers’ and citizens’ response to legislation and news events of the American Revolution.  She also gave him reactive advice to the political contentions and questions he posed to her.

Her role as First Lady:

Abigail Adams was the first to hold a quasi-official government position as First Lady.  As the Second Continental Congress drew up and debated the Declaration of Independence through 1776, Abigail wrote letters to her husband regarding the creation of a new form of government being an opportunity to make equitable the legal status of women to that of men.  She was unable to convince her husband of this, however, the text of those letters became some of the earliest known writings calling for women’s equal rights.

Abigail’s active interest in her husband’s two presidential campaigns in 1796 and 1880 were much conducted in correspondence just has her political role.  His primary challenger was their close friend, anti-Federalist Thomas Jefferson.  Abigail was unable to attend the March 4, 1797 inaugural ceremony in Philadelphia as she was caring for her husband’s dying mother.  Abigail Adams served as First Lady from March 4, 1797 to March 4, 1801.

Abigail Adams was only present in the temporary capital of Philadelphia and then the permanent “Federal City,” a total of eighteen months during the four years her husband served as President.  She still managed to make a strong impression on the press and public.  Her official title was “Lady Adams.”  

She toured a New Jersey encampment and reviewed the troops stationed there as “proxy” for the President.  Her opinions were often mentioned in the press and even quoted at a New England town hall meeting.  

She was a highly partisan Federalist who helped forward the interests of the Administration by writing editorial letters to family and acquaintances and encouraging publication of the information and viewpoints presented in them.

The opposition press sarcastically attacked Abigail Adams and her influence over presidential appointments was questioned.  There were printed suggestions that she was too old to understand questions of the day.

Abigail supported the sentiment behind her husband’s Alien and Sedition Acts as a legal means of imprisoning those who criticized the President in public print.  She was unsuccessful in urging the President to declare war with France due to fear of French revolutionary influence on the fledgling United States.  She was an adamant advocate of equal public education for women and emancipation of African-American slaves.

Abigail Adams saw her role as a hostess for the public and partisan symbol of the Federalist Party.  She entertained in a relatively small home in Philadelphia that was turned into a hotel after the capital was moved from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.  She received visitors formally and sat like a royal figure as she had seen at Buckingham Palace.  She attempted to influence fashion.  She believed the more revealing Napoleonic-style clothing then popular was too indecorous.

Presidential families were then responsible for covering the costs of their entertainments.  The Adams’ endured financial difficulties at the time of his presidency, therefore, receptions were somewhat Spartan.

Abigail Adams was the First Lady to live in the White House.  She arrived in November 1800 and lived there for four months.  During that time she was famously known to hang her family’s laundry in the unfinished East Room to dry.

She became bitter at the loss of her husband’s re-election to their old friend Thomas Jefferson, who was now a rabid anti-Federalist; however, she remained interested in national political issues.  Her main focus was on her home and family.  She raised her granddaughter Susanna Adams to maturity.  

A new friendship between President Jefferson and John Adams emerged upon learning of Maria Jefferson Eppes’ death.  Abigail wrote to the girl’s father, President Jefferson, which initiated a renewal of their contact.  She remained mistrustful of his politics, however, correspondence opened between Jefferson and John Adams.  She corresponded at least one occasion with her successor Dolley Madison.

Abigail Adams had an initially strained relationship with her son, John Quincy Adams’ English-born wife, Louisa Catherine Johnson.  Unfortunately, Abigail did not live to see her son become President, which occurred six years after her death.

She died at her home October 28, 1818 at the age of 73 years old, and was buried at the First Unitarian Church, Quincy Massachusetts beside her husband and her son, the sixth President and his wife, John Quincy and Louisa Catherine Adams.  Abigail Adams is the first of three First Ladies buried on the grounds of a house of faith.

Source:  National First Ladies’ Library

Written by:  Connie Limon.  America’s First Ladies Information at http://smalldogs2.com/AmericasFirstLadies   For more U.S. History articles and a variety of other topic FREE reprint articles visit http://www.camelotarticles.com  

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© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved