Abigail Adams - wikipedia Abigail Adams For other people named Abigail Adams, see Abigail Adams ( disambiguation ). Abigail Adams First Lady of the United States In role March 4, 1797 -- March 4, 1801 President John Adams Preceded by Martha Washington Succeeded by Martha Randolph ( Acting ) Second Lady of the United States In role April 21, 1789 -- March 4, 1797 Vice President John Adams Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Ann Gerry ( 1813 ) Personal details Abigail Smith ( 1744 - 11 - 22 ) November 22, 1744 Weymouth, Massachusetts Bay, British America October 28, 1818 ( 1818 - 10 - 28 ) ( aged 73 ) Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S. Cause of death Typhoid fever Resting place United First Parish Church Quincy, Massachusetts Spouse ( s ) John Adams ( m. 1764 ) Children Abigail, John Quincy, Susanna, Charles, Thomas, and Elizabeth ( stillborn ) Abigail Adams ( née Smith ; November 22, ( O.S. November 11 ) 1744 -- October 28, 1818 ) was the closest advisor and wife of John Adams, as well as the mother of John Quincy Adams. She is sometimes considered to have been a Founder of the United States, and is now designated as the first Second Lady and second First Lady of the United States, although these titles were not used at the time. Adams 's life is one of the most documented of the First Ladies : she is remembered for the many letters she wrote to her husband while he stayed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the Continental Congresses. John frequently sought the advice of Abigail on many matters, and their letters are filled with intellectual discussions on government and politics. Her letters also serve as eyewitness accounts of the American Revolutionary War home front. Contents 1 Early life and family 2 Marriage and children 3 Europe 4 First Lady 5 Later life 6 Death 7 Political viewpoints 7.1 Women 's rights 7.2 Slavery 8 Religious beliefs 9 Legacy 9.1 Memorials 9.2 Popular culture 9.3 Portrait on currency 10 Ancestry 11 Family tree 12 Notes 13 References 13.1 Secondary sources 13.2 Primary sources 14 External links Early life and family Abigail Adams was born at the North Parish Congregational Church in Weymouth, Massachusetts, to William Smith ( 1707 -- 1783 ) and Elizabeth ( née Quincy ) Smith. On her mother 's side, she was descended from the Quincy family, a well - known political family in the Massachusetts colony. Through her mother she was a cousin of Dorothy Quincy, wife of John Hancock. Adams was also the great - granddaughter of John Norton, founding pastor of Old Ship Church in Hingham, Massachusetts, the only remaining 17th - century Puritan meetinghouse in Massachusetts. Smith married Elizabeth Quincy in 1742, and together they had four children, including three daughters : one born in 1743, Abigail born in 1744 and another born in 1745. Their only son, born in 1746, died of alcoholism in 1787. As with several of her ancestors, Adams 's father was a liberal Congregational minister : a leader in a Yankee society that held its clergy in high esteem. Smith did not focus his preaching on predestination or original sin ; instead he emphasized the importance of reason and morality. In July 1775 his wife Elizabeth, with whom he had been married for 33 years, died of smallpox. In 1784, at age 77, Smith died. Abigail did not receive formal schooling ; she was frequently sick as child, something which may have been a factor preventing her from receiving an education. Later in life, Adams would also consider that she was deprived an education because females were rarely given such an opportunity. Although she did not receive a formal education, her mother taught her and her sisters Mary ( 1739 -- 1811 ) and Elizabeth ( 1742 -- 1816, known as Betsy ) to read, write and cipher ; her father 's, uncle 's and grandfather 's large libraries enabled the sisters to study English and French literature. Her grandmother, Elizabeth Quincy, also contributed to Adams ' education. As she grew up, Adams read with friends in an effort to further her learning. As an intellectually open - minded woman for her day, Adams ' ideas on women 's rights and government would eventually play a major role, albeit indirectly, in the founding of the United States. She became one of the most erudite women ever to serve as First Lady. Marriage and children As third cousins, Abigail and John had known each other since they were children. In 1762, John accompanied his friend Richard Cranch to the Smith household. Cranch was engaged to Adams ' older sister, Mary, and they would be the parents of federal judge William Cranch. John was quickly attracted to the petite, shy, 17 - year - old with a passion for reading. Although Adams ' father approved of the match, her mother was appalled that her daughter would marry a country lawyer whose manner still reeked of the farm, but eventually she gave in. The couple married on October 25, 1764, in the Smiths ' home in Weymouth. Smith, Abigail 's father, presided over the marriage of John Adams and his daughter. 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. Later they moved to Boston, where his law practice expanded. The couple welcomed their first child nine months into their marriage. In 12 years, she gave birth to six children : Abigail ( `` Nabby '' ; 1765 -- 1813 ) John Quincy Adams ( 1767 -- 1848 ) Grace Susanna ( `` Susanna '', nicknamed `` Suky '' ) ( 1768 -- 70 ) Charles ( 1770 -- 1800 ) Thomas Boylston Adams ( 1772 -- 1832 ) Elizabeth ( stillborn in 1777 ) Her childrearing style included relentless and continual reminders of what the children owed to virtue and the Adams tradition. Adams was responsible for family and farm when her husband was on his long trips. `` Alas ! '', she wrote in December 1773, `` How many snow banks divide thee and me. '' Abigail and John 's marriage is well documented through their correspondence and other writings. Letters exchanged throughout John 's political obligations indicate his trust in Abigail 's knowledge was sincere. Like her husband, Abigail often quoted literature in her letters. Historian David McCullough claims that she did so `` more readily '' than her husband. Their correspondence illuminated their mutual emotional and intellectual respect. John often excused himself to Abigail for his `` vanity '', exposing his need for her approval. He moved the family to Boston in April 1768, renting a clapboard house on Brattle Street that was known locally as the `` White House. '' He and Abigail and the children lived there for a year, then moved to Cold Lane ; still later, they moved again to a larger house in Brattle Square in the center of the city. John 's growing law practice required changes for the family. In 1771, he moved Abigail and the children to Braintree, but he kept his office in Boston, hoping the time away from his family would allow him to focus on his work. Nevertheless, after some time in the capital, he became disenchanted with the rural and `` vulgar '' Braintree as a home for his family. In August 1772, therefore, Adams moved his family back to Boston. He purchased a large brick house on Queen Street, not far from his office. In 1774, Abigail and John returned the family to the farm due to the increasingly unstable situation in Boston, and Braintree remained their permanent Massachusetts home. Abigail also took responsibility for the family 's financial matters, including investments. Investments made through her uncle Cotton Tufts in debt instruments issued to finance the Revolutionary War were rewarded after Alexander Hamilton 's First Report on the Public Credit endorsed full federal payment at face value to holders of government securities. One recent researcher even credits Abigail 's financial acumen with providing for the Adams family 's wealth through the end of John 's lifetime. Europe In 1784, she and her daughter Nabby joined her husband and her eldest son, John Quincy, at her husband 's diplomatic post in Paris. Abigail had dreaded the thought of the long sea voyage, but in fact found the journey interesting. At first she found life in Paris difficult, and was rather overwhelmed by the novel experience of running a large house with a retinue of servants. However, as the months passed she began to enjoy herself : she made numerous friends, discovered a fondness for the theatre and opera, and was fascinated by Parisian women 's fashions, although she ruefully admitted that she `` would never be in the mode ''. After 1785, she filled the role of wife of the first U.S. minister to the Court of St James 's ( Britain ). In contrast to Paris, Abigail disliked London, where she had few friends and was in general cold - shouldered by polite society. One pleasant experience was her temporary guardianship of Thomas Jefferson 's young daughter Mary ( Polly ), for whom Abigail came to feel a deep and lifelong love. She and John returned in 1788 to a house known as the `` Old House '' in Quincy, which she set about vigorously enlarging and remodeling. It is still standing and open to the public as part of Adams National Historical Park. Abigail Adams in later life First Lady John Adams was inaugurated as the second President of the United States on March 4, 1797, in Philadelphia. Abigail was not present at her husband 's inauguration as she was tending to his dying mother. When John was elected President of the United States, Abigail continued a formal pattern of entertaining. She held a large dinner each week, made frequent public appearances, and provided for entertainment for the city of Philadelphia each Fourth of July. She took an active role in politics and policy, unlike the quiet presence of Martha Washington. She was so politically active, her political opponents came to refer to her as `` Mrs. President ''. As John 's confidant, Abigail was often well informed on issues facing her husband 's administration, at times including details of current events not yet known to the public in letters to her sister Mary and her son John Quincy. Some people used Abigail to contact the president. At times Abigail planted favorable stories about her husband in the press. Abigail remained a staunch supporter of her husband 's political career, supporting his policies, such as passing the Alien and Sedition Acts. Adams brought the children of brother William Smith, her brother - in - law John Shaw, and her son Charles to live in the President 's House during her husband 's presidency because the children 's respective fathers all struggled with alcoholism. Charles ' daughter, Suzannah, was just 3 years old in 1800 when Adams brought her to live in the President 's House in Philadelphia days before Charles ' death. With the relocation of the capital to Washington, D.C., in 1800, she became the first First Lady to reside at the White House, or President 's House as it was then known. Adams moved into the White House in November 1800, living there for only the last four months of her husband 's term. The city was wilderness, the President 's House far from completion. She found the unfinished mansion in Washington `` habitable '' and the location `` beautiful '' ; but she complained that, despite the thick woods nearby, she could find no one willing to chop and haul firewood for the First Family. Abigail did use the East Room of the White House to hang up the laundry. Adams ' health, never robust, suffered in Washington. Later life After John 's defeat in his presidential re-election campaign, the family retired to Quincy in 1800. Abigail followed her son 's political career earnestly, as her letters to her contemporaries show. In later years, she renewed correspondence with Thomas Jefferson, having reached out to him upon the death of his daughter Maria Jefferson Eppes ( Polly ), whom Abigail had cared for and come to love when Polly was a small child in London, even though Jefferson 's s political opposition to her husband had hurt her deeply. She continued to raise her granddaughter Suzannah. She also raised her elder grandchildren, including George Washington Adams and a younger John Adams, while John Quincy Adams was minister to Russia. Adams ' daughter, Nabby, died of breast cancer in 1813, having endured three years of severe pain. Death Abigail 's grave at United First Parish Church, Quincy, MA Adams died on October 28, 1818, of typhoid fever. 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, Massachusetts. She was 73 years old, exactly two weeks shy of her 74th birthday. Her last words were, `` Do not grieve, my friend, my dearest friend. I am ready to go. And John, it will not be long. '' Political viewpoints Women 's rights Abigail Adams wrote about the troubles and concerns she had as an eighteenth - century woman and she was an advocate of married women 's property rights, more opportunities for women, particularly in the field of education. Women, she believed, should not submit to laws not made in their interest, nor should they be content with the simple role of being companions to their husbands. They should educate themselves and thus be recognized for their intellectual capabilities, so they could guide and influence the lives of their children and husbands. She is known for her March 1776 letter to John and the Continental Congress, requesting that they, `` remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation. '' One of last letters sent by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello to Abigail Adams, May 1817 John declined Abigail 's `` extraordinary code of laws, '' but acknowledged to Abigail, `` We have only the name of masters, and rather than give up this, which would completely subject us to the despotism of the petticoat, I hope General Washington and all our brave heroes would fight. '' Slavery Adams believed that slavery was evil and a threat to the American democratic experiment. A letter written by her on March 31, 1776, explained that she doubted most of the Virginians had such `` passion for Liberty '' as they claimed they did, since they `` deprive ( d ) their fellow Creatures '' of freedom. A notable incident regarding this happened in Philadelphia in 1791, where a free black youth came to her house asking to be taught how to write. Subsequently, she placed the boy in a local evening school, though not without objections from a neighbor. Adams responded that he was `` a Freeman as much as any of the young Men and merely because his Face is Black, is he to be denied instruction ? How is he to be qualified to procure a livelihood ?... I have not thought it any disgrace to my self to take him into my parlor and teach him both to read and write. '' Religious beliefs Adams was an active member of First Parish Church in Quincy, which became Unitarian in doctrine by 1753. Her theological views evolved over the course of her life. In a letter to her son near the end of her life, dated May 5, 1816, she wrote of her religious beliefs : I acknowledge myself a unitarian -- Believing that the Father alone, is the supreme God, and that Jesus Christ derived his Being, and all his powers and honors from the Father... There is not any reasoning which can convince me, contrary to my senses, that three is one, and one three. She also asked Louisa Adams in a letter dated January 3, 1818, `` When will Mankind be convinced that true Religion is from the Heart, between Man and his creator, and not the imposition of Man or creeds and tests ? '' Legacy Historian Joseph Ellis has found that the 1200 letters between John and Abigail `` constituted a treasure trove of unexpected intimacy and candor, more revealing than any other correspondence between a prominent American husband and wife in American history. '' Ellis ( 2011 ) says that Abigail, although self - educated, was a better and more colorful letter - writer than John, even though John was one of the best letter - writers of the age. Ellis argues that Abigail was the more resilient and more emotionally balanced of the two, and calls her one of the most extraordinary women in American history. As the mother of John Quincy Adams, she was the first First Lady to also be the mother of a President. Memorials External video Abigail Adams by Gilbert Stuart `` First Lady Abigail Adams '', First Ladies : Influence & Image, C - SPAN The Abigail Adams Cairn -- a mound of rough stones -- crowns the nearby Penn Hill from which she and her son, John Quincy Adams, watched the Battle of Bunker Hill and the burning of Charlestown. At that time she was minding the children of Dr. Joseph Warren, president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, who was killed in the battle. An Adams Memorial has been proposed in Washington, D.C., honoring Adams, her husband and other members of their family. One of the subpeaks of New Hampshire 's Mount Adams ( whose main peak is named for her husband ) is named in her honor. Popular culture Passages from Adams ' letters to her husband figured prominently in songs from the Broadway musical 1776. Virginia Vestoff played Adams in the original 1969 Broadway production of 1776 and recreated the role for the film version in 1972. On television, Kathryn Walker and Leora Dana in the 1976 PBS mini-series The Adams Chronicles. In the mini-series John Adams, which premiered in March 2008 on HBO, she was played by Laura Linney. Linney enjoyed portraying Adams, saying that `` she is a woman of both passion and principle. '' A revolution - era Abigail, circa 1781, is portrayed by Michelle Trachtenberg, on the television series, Sleepy Hollow, in the season 2 episode, `` Pittura Infamante '' ( January 19, 2015 ), her assistance being crucial in ending a series of unexplained murders from the period. Adams is a featured figure on Judy Chicago 's installation piece The Dinner Party, being represented as one of the 999 names on the Heritage Floor. Portrait on currency The First Spouse Program under the Presidential $1 Coin Program authorizes the United States Mint to issue half - ounce $10 gold coins and bronze medal duplicates to honor the first spouses of the United States. The Abigail Adams coin was released on June 19, 2007, and sold out in just hours. She is pictured on the back of the coin writing her most famous letter to John Adams. In February 2009 Coin World reported that some 2007 Abigail Adams medals were struck using the reverse from the 2008 Louisa Adams medal, apparently by mistake. These pieces, called mules, were contained within the 2007 First Spouse medal set. The U.S. Mint has not released an estimate of how many mules were made. Obverse Reverse Obverse ( bronze medal ) Reverse ( bronze medal ) Mule Reverse ( bronze medal ) Ancestry This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2014 ) Ancestors of Abigail Adams 8. Thomas Smith 4. William Smith 18. Thomas Boylston 9. Susanna Boylston 19. Sarah 2. William Smith 5. Abigail Fowle 1. Abigail Smith Adams 24. Edmund Quincy 12. Daniel Quincy 25. Joanna Hoar 6. Colonel John Quincy 26. Thomas Shephard 13. Anna Shephard 27. Anna Tyng 3. Elizabeth Quincy 28. William Norton 14. John Norton 29. Lucy Downing 7. Elizabeth Norton 15. Mary Mason Family tree Adams family tree John Adams ( 1735 -- 1826 ) Abigail Adams ( née Smith ) ( 1744 -- 1818 ) William Stephens Smith ( 1755 -- 1815 ) Abigail Amelia Adams Smith ( 1765 -- 1813 ) John Quincy Adams ( 1767 -- 1848 ) Louisa Catherine Adams ( née Johnson ) ( 1775 -- 1852 ) Charles Adams ( 1770 -- 1800 ) Thomas Boylston Adams ( 1772 -- 1832 ) George Washington Adams ( 1801 -- 1829 ) John Adams II ( 1803 -- 1834 ) Charles Francis Adams Sr. ( 1807 -- 1886 ) Abigail Brown Adams ( née Brooks ) ( 1808 -- 1889 ) Frances Cadwalader Crowninshield ( 1839 -- 1911 ) John Quincy Adams II ( 1833 -- 1894 ) Charles Francis Adams Jr. ( 1835 -- 1915 ) Henry Brooks Adams ( 1838 -- 1918 ) Marian Hooper Adams ( 1843 -- 1885 ) Peter Chardon Brooks Adams ( 1848 -- 1927 ) George Casper Adams ( 1863 -- 1900 ) Charles Francis Adams III ( 1866 -- 1954 ) Frances Adams ( née Lovering ) ( 1869 -- 1956 ) John Adams ( 1875 -- 1964 ) Charles Francis Adams IV ( 1910 -- 1999 ) Catherine Lovering Adams Morgan ( 1902 -- 1988 ) Henry Sturgis Morgan ( 1900 -- 1982 ) Thomas Boylston Adams ( 1910 -- 1997 ) Notes : Notes Jump up ^ Encyclopædia Britannica ( 2007 ). Founding Fathers : The Essential Guide to the Men Who Made America. Hoboken : John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 0470117923. ^ Jump up to : Kathryn Cullen - DuPont ( August 1, 2000 ). Encyclopedia of women 's history in America. Infobase Publishing. pp. 3 -- 4. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8160 - 4100 - 8. Retrieved 2011 - 11 - 28. ^ Jump up to : `` Abigail Adams Biography : National First Ladies ' Library ''. Firstladies.org. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 07. Jump up ^ `` American Experience John & Abigail Adams People & Events ''. PBS. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 07. ^ Jump up to : Laurie Carter Noble, `` Abigail Adams '' ^ Jump up to : Holton, Woody ( 2010 - 06 - 01 ). Abigail Adams. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781451607369. Jump up ^ Lynne Withey, Dearest Friend : A Life of Abigail Adams ( 2002 ) ch 1 Jump up ^ This Day in History in 1828 Archived February 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine., www.history.com, retrieved 3 - 13 - 2008 Jump up ^ `` Abigail Adams Biography - Adams National Historical Park ''. www.nps.gov. U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved November 16, 2016. Jump up ^ Gilles, Edith Belle ( 2002 ). Abigail Adams : A Writing in Life. Routledge. p. xv. ISBN 978 - 0 - 415 - 93945 - 4. Jump up ^ G.J. Barker - Benfield, `` Stillbirth and Sensibility The Case of Abigail and John Adams, '' Early American Studies, An Interdisciplinary Journal, Spring 2012, Vol. 10 Issue 1, pp. 2 -- 29 ^ Jump up to : Garry Wills, Henry Adams and the Making of America, 2005 ; p. 24 ; Wills cites the criticisms of Paul Nagel `` and others '' Jump up ^ McCullough 2001, p. 272. Jump up ^ Ferling, John ( 1992 ). John Adams : A Life. University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 0 - 87049 - 730 - 8. ( ebook ) ch. 3 Jump up ^ Ferling, John ( 1992 ). John Adams : A Life. University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 0 - 87049 - 730 - 8. ( ebook ) ch. 4 Jump up ^ `` American Experience -- John & Abigail Adams -- Timeline -- PBS ''. pbs.org. Retrieved September 7, 2015. ^ Jump up to : Saxton, Martha ( 1 November 2010 ). `` Abigail Adams, Capitalist ''. Women 's Review of Books. Retrieved 27 October 2017. Jump up ^ `` Basic Information - Adams National Historical Park ( U.S. National Park Service ) ''. www.nps.gov. Retrieved November 16, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Abigail Smith Adams ''. whitehouse.gov. 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2016. ^ Jump up to : Seale, William ; Association, White House Historical ( 2002 - 01 - 01 ). The White House : Actors and Observers. UPNE. ISBN 9781555535476. Jump up ^ Anthony, Carl Sferrazza ( 2000 - 11 - 02 ). America 's First Families : An Inside View of 200 Years of Private Life in the White House. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780684864426. Jump up ^ `` John Adams moves into White House - Nov 01, 1800 - HISTORY.com ''. HISTORY.com. Retrieved November 17, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Abigail Adams used the East Room to dry the laundry ''. Whitehousehistory.org. White House Historical Association. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 07. Jump up ^ `` American Experience John & Abigail Adams People & Events PBS ''. www.pbs.org. Retrieved November 17, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Portia : The World of Abigail Adams ''. web.b.ebscohost.com. Retrieved 2015 - 09 - 15. Jump up ^ Adams, John ; Adams, Abigail ( March -- May 1776 ). `` Letters of Abigail Adams ''. Letters Between Abigail Adams and Her Husband John Adams. liz library. Jump up ^ `` Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 13 February 1797 ''. Adams Family Papers : An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. Jump up ^ `` Abigail Adams Biography ''. Firstladies.org. National First Ladies ' Library. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 07. Jump up ^ `` From Abigail Smith Adams to Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, 3... ''. Founders.archives.gov. 2016 - 07 - 12. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 07. ^ Jump up to : Cited in Wood ( 2011 ) Jump up ^ `` First Lady Abigail Adams ''. C ‐ SPAN. March 4, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2014. Jump up ^ Holton, Woody ( 2009 ). Abigail Adams. New York, NY : Free Press Division of Simon & Schuster. p. 79. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4165 - 4680 - 1. Jump up ^ Taylor, Bethany ( Summer -- Fall 2011 ). `` Abigail Adams Joins the Presidential Range ''. Appalachia. Appalachian Mountain Club ( Volume 62, No. 2 ) : 132. Jump up ^ Chicago, p. 169. Jump up ^ U.S. Mint : First Spouse Program. Accessed 2008 - 06 - 27. `` The United States Mint also produces and make available to the public bronze medal duplicates of the First Spouse Gold Coins. '' ^ Jump up to : Gilkes, Paul ( February 16, 2009 ). `` First Spouse medals set holds Adams mule ''. Coin World. 50 ( 2549 ) : 1. Some collectors have begun receiving a First Spouse medal mule -- a piece bearing the obverse for Abigail Adams and a reverse intended for the Louisa Adams medal. The mules surfaced in some of the 2007 First Spouse sets... References Secondary sources Barker - Benfield, G.J. Abigail and John Adams : The Americanization of Sensibility ( University of Chicago Press ; 2010 ). Bober, Natalie S. 1995. Abigail Adams : Witness to a revolution New York : Simon & Schuster Children 's Publishing Division. Chicago, Judy. The Dinner Party : From Creation to Preservation. London : Merrell ( 2007 ). ISBN 1 - 85894 - 370 - 1 Ellis, Joseph J. First Family : Abigail and John Adams ( New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2010 ). Gelles, Edith B. Portia : The World of Abigail Adams ( Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1991 ). Gelles, Edith B. First Thoughts : Life and Letters of Abigail Adams ( New York : Twayne Publishers, 1998 ), reissued as Abigail Adams : A Writing Life ( London and New York : Routledge, 2002 ). Gelles, Edith B. Abigail and John : Portrait of a Marriage ( New York : William Morrow, 2009 ) -- finalist for the 2010 George Washington Book Prize. Holton, Woody. Abigail Adams : A Life ( New York : Free Press, 2009 ) -- winner of the 2010 Bancroft Prize. Kaminski, John P., editor The Quotable Abigail Adams ( Cambridge, MA : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009 ). McCullough, David ( 2001 ). John Adams. New York : Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4165 - 7588 - 7. Nagel, Paul C. 1987. The Adams Women : Abigail and Louisa Adams, Their Sisters and Daughters. New York : ( Oxford University Press ). ISBN 0 - 19 - 503874 - 6 Withey, Lynne. Dearest Friend : A Life of Abigail Adams ( 2002 ) Wood, Gordon S. `` Those Sentimental Americans, '' New York Review of Books May 12, 2011 online Primary sources The Letters of John and Abigail Adams ed by Frank Shuffelton ( 2003 ). Founders Online, searchable edition Adams Papers Editorial Project External links Biography portal Wikimedia Commons has media related to Abigail Adams. Wikiquote has quotations related to : Abigail Adams Short summary of Abigail 's Life Texts on Wikisource : Letter to Abigail Adams -- June 21, 1785, from Thomas Jefferson Letter to Abigail Adams -- September 25, 1785, from Thomas Jefferson Letter to Abigail Adams -- February 22, 1787, from Thomas Jefferson `` Abigail Adams, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Shaw, Mrs. Cranch, Elizabeth Clay '' in The Women of the American Revolution by Elizabeth F. Ellet ( 1849 ) `` Adams, Abigail ''. Appletons ' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900. `` Adams, Abigail Smith ''. New International Encyclopedia. 1905. `` Adams, Abigail Smith ''. Encyclopedia Americana. 1920. Works by Abigail Adams at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Abigail Adams at Internet Archive Works by Abigail Adams at LibriVox ( public domain audiobooks ) Adams family biographies -- Massachusetts Historical Society Collection of Abigail Adams Letters My Dearest Friend : Letters of Abigail and John Adams, Harvard University Press The Adams Women : Abigail and Louisa Adams, Their Sisters and Daughters, Harvard University Press Descent from Glory : Four Generations of the John Adams Family, Harvard University Press Adams Family Correspondence. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Abigail Adams Birthplace -- Museum in Weymouth, Massachusetts Ancestors of Abigail Smith Abigail Adams at C - SPAN 's First Ladies : Influence & Image Michals, Debra. `` Abigail Adams ''. National Women 's History Museum. 2015. Honorary titles New title Second Lady of the United States 1789 -- 1797 Vacant Title next held by Ann Gerry Preceded by Martha Washington First Lady of the United States 1797 -- 1801 Succeeded by Martha Randolph Acting First Ladies of the United States Martha Washington Abigail Adams Martha Jefferson Randolph Dolley Madison Elizabeth Monroe Louisa Adams Emily Donelson Sarah Jackson Angelica Van Buren Anna Harrison Jane Harrison Letitia Tyler Priscilla Tyler Julia Tyler Sarah Polk Margaret Taylor Abigail Fillmore Jane Pierce Harriet Lane Mary Todd Lincoln Eliza Johnson Julia Grant Lucy Hayes Lucretia Garfield Mary McElroy Rose Cleveland Frances Cleveland Caroline Harrison Mary Harrison Frances Cleveland Ida McKinley Edith Roosevelt Helen Taft Ellen Wilson Margaret Wilson Edith Wilson Florence Harding Grace Coolidge Lou Hoover Eleanor Roosevelt Bess Truman Mamie Eisenhower Jacqueline Kennedy Lady Bird Johnson Pat Nixon Betty Ford Rosalynn Carter Nancy Reagan Barbara Bush Hillary Clinton Laura Bush Michelle Obama Melania Trump First Lady of the United States National Historic Site First Ladies : Influence & Image Second Ladies of the United States Abigail Adams ( 1789 -- 1797 ) Ann Gerry ( 1813 -- 1814 ) Hannah Tompkins ( 1817 -- 1825 ) Floride Calhoun ( 1825 -- 1832 ) Letitia Tyler ( 1841 ) Sophia Dallas ( 1845 -- 1849 ) Abigail Fillmore ( 1849 -- 1850 ) Mary Cyrene Burch Breckinridge ( 1857 -- 1861 ) Ellen Vesta Emery Hamlin ( 1861 -- 1865 ) Eliza Johnson ( 1865 ) Ellen Maria Colfax ( 1869 -- 1873 ) Eliza Hendricks ( 1885 ) Anna Morton ( 1889 -- 1893 ) Letitia Stevenson ( 1893 -- 1897 ) Jennie Tuttle Hobart ( 1897 -- 1899 ) Edith Roosevelt ( 1901 ) Cornelia Cole Fairbanks ( 1905 -- 1909 ) Carrie Babcock Sherman ( 1909 -- 1912 ) Lois Irene Marshall ( 1913 -- 1921 ) Grace Coolidge ( 1921 -- 1923 ) Caro Dawes ( 1925 -- 1929 ) Mariette Rheiner Garner ( 1933 -- 1941 ) Ilo Wallace ( 1941 -- 1945 ) Bess Truman ( 1945 ) Jane Hadley Barkley ( 1949 -- 1953 ) Pat Nixon ( 1953 -- 1961 ) Lady Bird Johnson ( 1961 -- 1963 ) Muriel Humphrey ( 1965 -- 1969 ) Judy Agnew ( 1969 -- 1973 ) Betty Ford ( 1973 -- 1974 ) Happy Rockefeller ( 1974 -- 1977 ) Joan Mondale ( 1977 -- 1981 ) Barbara Bush ( 1981 -- 1989 ) Marilyn Quayle ( 1989 -- 1993 ) Tipper Gore ( 1993 -- 2001 ) Lynne Cheney ( 2001 -- 2009 ) Jill Biden ( 2009 -- 2017 ) Karen Pence ( 2017 -- present ) Inductees to the National Women 's Hall of Fame 1970 -- 1979 1973 Jane Addams Marian Anderson Susan B. Anthony Clara Barton Mary McLeod Bethune Elizabeth Blackwell Pearl S. Buck Rachel Carson Mary Cassatt Emily Dickinson Amelia Earhart Alice Hamilton Helen Hayes Helen Keller Eleanor Roosevelt Florence Sabin Margaret Chase Smith Elizabeth Cady Stanton Helen Brooke Taussig Harriet Tubman 1976 Abigail Adams Margaret Mead Mildred `` Babe '' Didrikson Zaharias 1979 Dorothea Dix Juliette Gordon Low Alice Paul Elizabeth Bayley Seton 1980 -- 1989 1981 Margaret Sanger Sojourner Truth 1982 Carrie Chapman Catt Frances Perkins Belva Lockwood Lucretia Mott 1984 Mary `` Mother '' Harris Jones Bessie Smith 1986 Barbara McClintock Lucy Stone Harriet Beecher Stowe Gwendolyn Brooks Willa Cather Sally Ride Ida B. Wells - Barnett 1990 -- 1999 Margaret Bourke - White Barbara Jordan Billie Jean King Florence B. Seibert 1991 Gertrude Belle Elion Ethel Percy Andrus Antoinette Blackwell Emily Blackwell Shirley Chisholm Jacqueline Cochran Ruth Colvin Marian Wright Edelman Alice Evans Betty Friedan Ella Grasso Martha Wright Griffiths Fannie Lou Hamer Dorothy Height Dolores Huerta Mary Jacobi Mae Jemison Mary Lyon Mary Mahoney Wilma Mankiller Constance Baker Motley Georgia O'Keeffe Annie Oakley Rosa Parks Esther Peterson Jeannette Rankin Ellen Swallow Richards Elaine Roulet Katherine Siva Saubel Gloria Steinem Helen Stephens Lillian Wald Madam C.J. Walker Faye Wattleton Rosalyn S. Yalow Gloria Yerkovich Bella Abzug Ella Baker Myra Bradwell Annie Jump Cannon Jane Cunningham Croly Catherine East Geraldine Ferraro Charlotte Perkins Gilman Grace Hopper Helen LaKelly Hunt Zora Neale Hurston Anne Hutchinson Frances Wisebart Jacobs Susette La Flesche Louise McManus Maria Mitchell Antonia Novello Linda Richards Wilma Rudolph Betty Bone Schiess Muriel Siebert Nettie Stevens Oprah Winfrey Sarah Winnemucca Fanny Wright 1995 Virginia Apgar Ann Bancroft Amelia Bloomer Mary Breckinridge Eileen Collins Elizabeth Hanford Dole Anne Dallas Dudley Mary Baker Eddy Ella Fitzgerald Margaret Fuller Matilda Joslyn Gage Lillian Moller Gilbreth Nannerl O. Keohane Maggie Kuhn Sandra Day O'Connor Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin Pat Schroeder Hannah Greenebaum Solomon Louisa May Alcott Charlotte Anne Bunch Frances Xavier Cabrini Mary A. Hallaren Oveta Culp Hobby Wilhelmina Cole Holladay Anne Morrow Lindbergh Maria Goeppert - Mayer Ernestine Louise Potowski Rose Maria Tallchief Edith Wharton 1998 Madeleine Albright Maya Angelou Nellie Bly Lydia Moss Bradley Mary Steichen Calderone Mary Ann Shadd Cary Joan Ganz Cooney Gerty Cori Sarah Grimké Julia Ward Howe Shirley Ann Jackson Shannon Lucid Katharine Dexter McCormick Rozanne L. Ridgway Edith Nourse Rogers Felice Schwartz Eunice Kennedy Shriver Beverly Sills Florence Wald Angelina Grimké Weld Chien - Shiung Wu 2000 -- 2009 2000 Faye Glenn Abdellah Emma Smith DeVoe Marjory Stoneman Douglas Mary Dyer Sylvia A. Earle Crystal Eastman Jeanne Holm Leontine T. Kelly Frances Oldham Kelsey Kate Mullany Janet Reno Anna Howard Shaw Sophia Smith Ida Tarbell Wilma L. Vaught Mary Edwards Walker Annie Dodge Wauneka Eudora Welty Frances E. Willard Dorothy H. Andersen Lucille Ball Rosalynn Carter Lydia Maria Child Bessie Coleman Dorothy Day Marian de Forest Althea Gibson Beatrice A. Hicks Barbara Holdridge Harriet Williams Russell Strong Emily Howell Warner Victoria Woodhull 2002 Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis Ruth Bader Ginsburg Katharine Graham Bertha Holt Mary Engle Pennington Mercy Otis Warren 2003 Linda G. Alvarado Donna de Varona Gertrude Ederle Martha Matilda Harper Patricia Roberts Harris Stephanie L. Kwolek Dorothea Lange Mildred Robbins Leet Patsy Takemoto Mink Sacagawea Anne Sullivan Sheila E. Widnall 2005 Florence Ellinwood Allen Ruth Fulton Benedict Betty Bumpers Hillary Clinton Rita Rossi Colwell Mother Marianne Cope Maya Y. Lin Patricia A. Locke Blanche Stuart Scott Mary Burnett Talbert 2007 Eleanor K. Baum Julia Child Martha Coffin Pelham Wright Swanee Hunt Winona LaDuke Elisabeth Kübler - Ross Judith L. Pipher Catherine Filene Shouse Henrietta Szold 2009 Louise Bourgeois Mildred Cohn Karen DeCrow Susan Kelly - Dreiss Allie B. Latimer Emma Lazarus Ruth Patrick Rebecca Talbot Perkins Susan Solomon Kate Stoneman 2010 -- 2019 2011 St. Katharine Drexel Dorothy Harrison Eustis Loretta C. Ford Abby Kelley Foster Helen Murray Free Billie Holiday Coretta Scott King Lilly Ledbetter Barbara A. Mikulski Donna E. Shalala Kathrine Switzer 2013 Betty Ford Ina May Gaskin Julie Krone Kate Millett Nancy Pelosi Mary Joseph Rogers Bernice Sandler Anna Schwartz Emma Willard 2015 Tenley Albright Nancy Brinker Martha Graham Marcia Greenberger Barbara Iglewski Jean Kilbourne Carlotta Walls LaNier Philippa Marrack Mary Harriman Rumsey Eleanor Smeal 2017 Matilda Cuomo Temple Grandin Lorraine Hansberry Victoria Jackson Sherry Lansing Clare Boothe Luce Aimee Mullins Carol Mutter Janet Rowley Alice Waters John Adams 2nd President of the United States, 1797 -- 1801 1st Vice President of the United States, 1789 -- 1797 U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, 1785 -- 1788 U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands, 1782 -- 1788 Delegate, Second Continental Congress, 1775 -- 1778 Delegate, First Continental Congress, 1774 Founding of the United States Braintree Instructions ( 1765 ) Boston Massacre defense Continental Association Novanglus ; A History of the Dispute with America, From Its Origin in 1754 to the Present Time ( 1775 ) Thoughts on Government ( 1776 ) Declaration of Independence May 15 preamble Committee of Five Model Treaty Treaty of Amity and Commerce Treaty of Alliance Board of War Chairman of the Marine Committee, 1775 - 1779 Continental Navy Staten Island Peace Conference Conference House Constitution of Massachusetts ( 1780 ) Treaty of Paris, 1783 Presidency Inauguration Quasi War with France XYZ Affair Commerce Protection Act United States Marine Corps Convention of 1800 Alien and Sedition Acts Naturalization Act of 1798 Navy Department Library Treaty of Tellico Treaty of Tripoli Midnight Judges Act Marbury v. Madison State of the Union Address ( 1797 1798 1799 1800 ) Cabinet Federal judiciary appointments Other writings Massachusetts Historical Society holdings Adams Papers Editorial Project Life and homes Early life and education Adams National Historical Park John Adams Birthplace Family home and John Quincy Adams birthplace Peacefield Presidential Library Massachusetts Hall, Harvard University Presidents House, Philadelphia Co-founder and second president, American Academy of Arts and Sciences United First Parish Church and gravesite Elections United States presidential election 1788 -- 1789 1792 1796 1800 Legacy Adams House at Harvard University John Adams Building U.S. Postage stamps Adams Memorial Popular culture Profiles in Courage ( 1964 series ) American Primitive ( 1969 play ) 1776 ( 1969 musical 1972 film ) The Adams Chronicles ( 1976 miniseries ) Liberty ! ( 1997 documentary series ) Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 animated series ) John Adams ( 2001 book 2008 miniseries ) Sons of Liberty ( 2015 miniseries ) Related `` Adams and Liberty '' campaign song Adams ' personal library American Enlightenment Congress Hall Federalist Party Federalist Era First Party System republicanism American Philosophical Society Gazette of the United States The American Museum American Revolution patriots Family Abigail Adams wife Quincy family Abigail Adams Smith ( daughter ) John Quincy Adams son presidency Charles Adams ( son ) Thomas Boylston Adams ( son ) George W. Adams ( grandson ) Charles Adams Sr. ( grandson ) John Adams II ( grandson ) John Q. Adams ( great - grandson ) Henry Adams ( great - grandson ) Brooks Adams ( great - grandson ) John Adams Sr. ( father ) Susanna Boylston ( mother ) Elihu Adams ( brother ) Samuel Adams ( second cousin ) Louisa Adams daughter - in - law First Lady ← George Washington Thomas Jefferson → Category John Quincy Adams United States House of Representatives, 1831 -- 1848 6th President of the United States, 1825 -- 1829 8th U.S. Secretary of State, 1817 -- 1825 U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, 1814 -- 1817 1st U.S. Minister to Russia, 1809 -- 1814 Massachusetts State Senate, 1803 -- 1808 U.S. Minister to Prussia, 1797 -- 1801 U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands, 1794 -- 1797 Presidency Inauguration American System Internal improvements Tariff of 1828 First Treaty of Prairie du Chien Treaty of Fond du Lac Treaty of Limits United States Naval Observatory Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori State of the Union Address, 1825 1827 1828 Federal judiciary appointments Other events Monroe Doctrine, author Treaty of Ghent Adams -- Onís Treaty Treaty of 1818 Smithsonian Institution United States v. The Amistad Mendi Bible President, American Academy of Arts and Sciences President, Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences Writings Lifelong diary Massachusetts Historical Society holdings Adams Papers Editorial Project Life and homes Early life Abigail Adams Cairn John Quincy Adams and abolitionism Adams National Historical Park Birthplace and family home Peacefield Presidential Library United First Parish Church and gravesite Elections United States presidential election, 1824 Corrupt Bargain United States presidential election, 1828 Legacy Adams Memorial Adams House at Harvard University U.S. Postage stamps Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar Popular culture Profiles in Courage ( 1957 book 1965 television series ) The Adams Chronicles ( 1976 miniseries ) Mutiny on the Amistad ( 1987 book ) Amistad ( 1997 film ) John Adams ( 2001 book 2008 miniseries ) Adams family Quincy family Louisa Adams ( wife ) George W. Adams ( son ) Charles Adams Sr. ( son ) John Adams II ( son ) Henry Adams ( grandson ) Brooks Adams ( grandson ) John Quincy Adams II ( grandson ) John Adams father presidency Abigail Adams mother First Lady Quincy family Abigail Adams Smith ( sister ) Charles Adams ( brother ) Thomas Boylston Adams ( brother ) John Adams Sr. ( paternal grandfather ) Susanna Boylston ( paternal grandmother ) Elihu Adams ( paternal uncle ) John Quincy ( great - grandfather ) Related National Republican Party Republicanism Quincy Patriot ← James Monroe Andrew Jackson → Category BIBSYS : 97043693 BNF : cb120500772 ( data ) GND : 118646923 ISNI : 0000 0001 0884 7335 LCCN : n79142790 NARA : 10581010 SNAC : w6p26xbn SUDOC : 028723538 ULAN : 500091068 VIAF : 32015075 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abigail_Adams&oldid=843524737 '' Categories : 1744 births 1818 deaths 18th - century American people 18th - century Unitarians 18th - century American women 19th - century American women 19th - century Unitarians Adams political family American Congregationalists American feminists American people of English descent American Unitarians Burials in Massachusetts Colonial American women Deaths from typhoid fever First Ladies of the United States Mothers of Presidents of the United States People of colonial Massachusetts People from Braintree, Massachusetts People from Weymouth, Massachusetts People of Massachusetts in the American Revolution Quincy family Second Ladies of the United States Women in the American Revolution Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages Use mdy dates from April 2012 Pages using infobox officeholder with unknown parameters All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from November 2016 Articles needing additional references from July 2014 All articles needing additional references Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from Appleton 's Cyclopedia Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the New International Encyclopedia Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the Encyclopedia Americana with a Wikisource reference Articles with Project Gutenberg links Articles with Internet Archive links Articles with LibriVox links Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Wikipedia articles with ULAN identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Wikisource Asturianu Azərbaycanca বাংলা Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская Български Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Қазақша Latina മലയാളം Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk پنجابی Polski Português Română Русский Scots Simple English Slovenčina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska ไทย Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 36 more Edit links This page was last edited on 29 May 2018, at 18 : 17. 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Question: who has been the wife and mother of a us president
Answer: Abigail Adams