Title: Peter Whitney, Funeral Sermon for Abigail Smith Adams, 1 November 1818
From: Whitney, Peter
To:

					1 Nov. 1818

				In the wise and righteous purposes of Providence we have been called to commit to the grave one of the excellent of our Society; One whose virtues were numerous and whose Character was extensively known and admired. It is due to eminent worth, like hers to retain the remembrance of her virtues, to shew by the willing tribute of respect we pay to her Character the sense we feel of obligation to God for his precious gifts, and to excite in all an emulation of virtues, which will conduct them in the path of honor and usefulness here, and raise them to glory and happiness here-after.In guiding our reflections on this occasion I have chosen those words of Scripture recorded in the 14th chapr of the book of Proverbs and 32d verseThe righteous hath hope in his death.The term righteous in this connection is of comprehensive import, including all the attributes of Character, which belong to the qualified subjects of heaven. With us who are favored with the religion of Jesus, the righteous who hath hope in his death is a christian; and that he only has a claim to this unspeakable privilege will appear by considering in what this hope consists.The hope of the Christian in Death consists in the certain expectation of another and a better State of being: that the Soul with all its faculties will survive the dissolution of the body and enter on a state of ever growing improvement and happiness. Whence but from the religion of the bible is this assurance of immortality to be derived? The mere desires of nature for continued being are unable to bring satisfaction to the mind in the contemplation of futurity.  Notwithstanding all the arguments of reason in support of another life, the grave must still appear to close upon its victims forever. It is only by the light of the Gospel that the darkness of the Sepulchre   has been dispersed, and the region beyond it seen to be peopled with living forms. To the Christian “life and immortality are brought to light,” he has no fears or doubts or misgivings of mind in relation to his future existence. But resting upon the unchangeable promise of the Savior that the “Dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live” he meets the summons to depart  with a hope that is as an “Anchor to his soul both sure and stedfast.” This hope of a renewed and immortal existence unmingled with doubts and capable of cheering and supporting the soul in the moment of his departure is built solely upon the declarations of the gospel. But in addition to this hope which the divine promise has so fully confirmed the Christian has that hope also which proceeds from the testimony of an approving conscience, from the review of a character, which God into whose presence he is about to enter, must behold with complacency, and which will fit him for the destiny of happy immortal beings. It is this review of a character which has been habitually governed by the principles and expectations of the Gospel, this consciousness of a well spent life, which disarms death of its sting, and opens to the prospect of the dying Christian “joys unspeakable and full of glory.”The assurance of living again is not exclusively confined to any particular Character. The wicked no less than the righteous are the subjects of future resurrection. The Judge hath told us that the hour is coming when all that are in the graves shall come forth; they that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation.”But it is the good man only, the sincere and upright Christian who can look into futurity with comfort and with hope.To the unfaithful and disobedient the grave must be the avenue to indescribable sorrow. No voice of consolation is permitted to speak peace to him who has come to his last hour unprepared for death. The grave must close upon him in despair, and the unknown destiny of the wicked be his portion in futurity. It is the privilege the exclusive privilege of the Christian to be able to meet death without alarm, and to see the darkness of the grave vanishing from before him.In looking back upon the course he has pursued though failings and imperfections have marked its progress, yet as it has been his ruling principle to fear God and keep his commandments” he is encouraged by the promises of the Gospel to repose his trust in the Divine mercy and has reason to hope that he is in some good measure qualified for seeing and enjoying God forever. To him Death whenever it arrives must be the harbinger of eternal rest and joy.He can view it as the termination of his sufferings As the mode by which he is to pass from a state of trial to the rewards of Christian obedience, to the Society of purer beings to the presence of his Savior, to God the inexhaustable source of all felicity.These are among the hopes which God has given to cheer and support the righteous in death, to enable him to meet his last hour with triumph and in the language of an Apostle to exult and say, O death where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory?Blessed indeed are the righteous who have these hopes in death; and blessed also are those who are called to witness in the objects of their affection the consolations and the hopes of piety in the last trying scene; who have reason to believe that they who were nearest to their hearts are “fallen asleep in Jesus” and entered on the Christians inheritance. With an eye of faith they can follow their immortal spirits to God, and behold them already united to the vast assembly of holy and of happy beings, and beginning the songs and the services of eternity. The imperfections and the sufferings of earth are done away. Their faculties enlarged and expanded to the survey of celestial objects enable them to contemplate and enjoy all their ineffable realities in all the splendor of heaven those incorruptable rewards which no mortal eye hath seen, nor ear heard Nor human thought conceived. Blessed are the dead which die in the lord for they rest from their labors and their works do follow them.”In this blessedness we have reason to believe the respected and beloved friend whose remains were yesterday conveyed to the tomb, is gone to partake. Her acquisitions and her virtues, the devotion of her time and faculties to the great purpose of her being; that constant and supreme veneration of God which pervaded her soul, that deep sense of responsibility to him, which led her to connect the motives and the actions of her life with the Solemnities of a future judgement and the retributions of eternity, while they raised her in the estimation of all who were favored with a knowledge of her Character must also have recommended her to him to whom she has given her account.Mrs Adams possessed a mind elevated in its views and capable of attainments above the common order of intellects. Her discernment was quick, her judgement solid and all her faculties so happily adjusted as to form at once the intelligent discrete and captivating mind. In the dispositions of Providence her lot was castt in a period of time and on a theatre of duties and events favorable to the development and exercise of her powers. Her Opportunities for improvement were not lost. An habitual intercourse with one of the most enlightened Characters at home, and in her travels abroad an Acquaintance with some of high rank and attainments in other Countries and a subsequent correspondence with them, united to a taste for reading and reflection had enriched her intellectual treasures and stored her mind with a fund of rare and useful knowledge. Her acquaintance with men and with events with the civil and political interests of her own country; from the sphere in which she was called to act was deep and extensive. Conversant with the circumstances that led to the dismemberment of this from the parent Country and partaking in the feelings of the leading Characters in the mighty struggle, she had early formed an attachment to the liberties of her Country which was strengthened by her connection and Sympathy and cooperation with the bereaved companion of her life in the exulted stations he has filled.But though her Attainments were great and she had moved in the highest walks of society and was fitted for the lofty departments in which she moved acted, her elevation had never filled her soul with pride or led her for a moment to forget the feelings and the claims of others. She was always the same meek and humble and obliging Christian; nor will one voice be heard, uncommon as it is, but in commendation of her worth.Her conversation was adapted to improve and endear those who were favored with the privilege of her acquaintance. She was easy of access communicative in her intercourse, and all who were admitted to her presence were both entertained and made happy.In her domestic Character—in the oversight and management of her family concerns, in her discretion and prudence, and in all the qualities that could contribute to the comfort and well being of her house hold She stood almost without a rival.Among the members of this Society who had long known her excellencies She was beloved and respected without a solitary  exceptionThe tidings of her illness were heard with grief in every house and her death is felt as a common loss. To the afflicted she had consolations to impart and to the destitute her charities were timely and unremitted. Multitudes in sickness and in want have been the subjects of her liberal distribution, and have occasion to rank her among the first of earthly benefactors. Often has she wiped the tears from the cheek of sorrow and carried relief and comfort to the mansions of cold and hunger and nakedness.Her deeds of kindness her sympathy in the sufferings of those who in the allotments of Providence were struggling with poverty are inscribed on the imperishable records of eternity, and will we doubt not be a source of happiness to her when the treasures of the unfeeling and the merciless are no more. In her religious faith and character she was among the deciples whom Jesus loved. Early initiated into the belief of the Christian doctrine its heavenly influences had dispensed a lustre over all the faculties of her Soul and formed her to the mild and humble to the amiable and engaging temper which all beheld and admired.Her faith in the Gospel was built on rational and Solid grounds. The conversation and the writings of Infidels which she had heard and read, were unable to shake the firmness of her hold on this system of light and comfort of purity and hope which the Christian revelation presents. In the religion of Jesus she saw the Character of God in all its holiness and perfection, in all its adorable and endearing excellencies. She viewed it as a system of benevolence and love, as designed to enlighten and purify the Soul of Man, to exalt his views and pursuits, and to train him up for a nobler existence, for an endless carrer of improvement and happiness.Having deeply imbibed the benevolent spirit of her Master she had nothing of the bigotry and exclusiveness of sects and parties, but could see the followers of Christ, the destined subjects of eternal Salvation, no less in this than in that denomination of Christians. In her estimation the creeds of erring Mortals were less than nothings and doctrines of no further importance than as they contributed to the growth of virtuous dispositions and the moral improvement of the Character. Her religion was the religion of the heart and the affections. It was that religion which we cannot but think will abide the trial of the last day and continue with the soul when the “hay and the stubble” the follies and destinctions of flaming partizans shall be consumed.But we are drawing to a scene where the christians faith and hope are felt in all their unutterable importance in all their sublime and consoling effects. The approaches of the last Evening were rapid but not overwhelming to her mind. A constitution which for thirty years has suffered the most violent attacks of disease without any long intermissions was unable with the strength of youth to sustain the final shock.Mrs Adams sank under the debilitating weight of her Malady; and that mind which had been so clear and vigorous was occasionally bewildered. Life for several days seemed to be suspended on a thread which the motion of a leaf might rend Asunder. But while reason was spared religion enlivened and supported her Soul. She expressed her perfect submission to Gods will and her readiness at his call to resign herself to his merciful disposal.Death came to her as the messenger of peace, to add another to the countless multitudes of pure and blessed and immortal spirits.Such are the outlines of a character whose worth is confessed by all who knew her—and whose memory will be cherished in the heart of the speaker till that heart shall cease to beat. In turning our thoughts from the dead to the living we would not add a pang to bosoms that are already bleeding under a loss which nothing earthly can supply. But we may be permitted and it is our duty as Christians to tender our Sympathies to the bereaved, to express to them the deep interest we take in their sorrows and our fervent prayers to God for their support.Afflictive as is the event they deplore it is however attended with this best of consolations.That the deceased object of their affections is numbered among the children of the highest that she has entered into the ranks of ministering spirits around the throne of God. They do not wish that his most wise and good purposes were reversed. They do not wish that she were still an inhabitant of earth detained in a frail and dying body from those celestial joys which alone can fill and satisfy the mind. In language which the Savior uttered, and which should be on the lips of every Christian, they are ready to say “Father not our will but thine be done.” A little while and the curtain which now hides from human view, the scenes and the beings that are invisible, will drop, and She whose death they mourn may be commissioned perhaps to welcome their arrival to the Mansions of the blessed.My friends we have been contemplating The character of One who shone with no common lustre splendor who diffused through an extended circle her various  and benign influences and who we are happy to believe is gone to a world of everlasting rest and joy. Have we turned one serious thought to the character we individually possess? has the enquiry been excited whether we are living to useful purposes whether we are fulfilling the end of our being and fitting ourselves for the hope of the righteous in Death? And for his reward in heaven. Every individual be his rank or condition in life whatever it may has an object of equal and everlasting moment to secure. The exalted and the humble are alike the subjects of Gods Moral government, and accountable to him for their talents and improvements. No elevation of rank or powers—no humbleness of station or abilities will exempt us from the final scrutiny and decision of the Judge. “For we must all appear before the Judgement seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad”This my bretheren this is the doctrine which above all others should be imprinted on our minds in living Characters. Our responsibility is solem and certain as Death. We are now acting parts that have an inseperable relation to our happiness or misery in futurity. In every object we seek to attain accomplish, in every thing we do which has an influence upon our Moral Character, let us raise our thoughts to that tribunal where we must shortly stand and ask with all the seriousness it deserves whether we can justify our motives and actions to him who will judge us in righteousness. Let us be wise for eternity fulfilling our allotted duties improving our time and opportunities to the purposes for which they are given, awaiting with patience and with due preparation for the period of our departure remembering for our encouragement in the service of God and virtue that if we are faithful unto death, we shall receive a crown of life that fadeth not away.”


Title: From Harriet Welsh to Caroline Amelia Smith De Windt, 1 November 1818
From: Welsh, Harriet
To: De Windt, Caroline Amelia Smith

				The few first days after I came to Quincy namely 19th. 20th. & morning of 21st—She was very weak but we had hopes which did waver much till Dr Holbrook came on Thursday he then declared that 24 hours were very important—that if the Bark did not produce some addition to her strength she must fail very shortly after—she did gain some strength but was uniformly of opinion that she should not sustain the attack—She had attended to some business at intervals—evidently with the dea that she should not recover—Your G Father told me it was fifty four years the next Sunday (Octr. 25) since the happiest and most fortunate event of my life—I fear the day will be the most calamitous also—It was on that day I wrote my first two Letters to you & two to Washington and two to Washington on Friday—I wrote Mr. Vanderkemp as your G-Mother had previously requested—I told her how glad I was that Dr. H. thought her better—“Dear Soul, said she, I am very weak” & so true was this that it was painful to see how excessively debilitated she was especially had it been on the Tuesday night which I had sat up first with her Mrs. Dexter happened to come down, about 12 to see how she was & while she sat your G. mother pulse was falling I found suddenly—We lifted her up and gave her power every five minutes powerful stimulants (of spiced Wines &c) for an hour before she seemed to regain strength to speak—It was on Saturday morning before any one was up—She told me to say to you what I have written already—This day as it advanced seemed to diminish her strength—Your G. Father was in great distress declaring that he should “be poor and miserable and desolate without her—at noon we sent into Town for the Boys to come out & to Cambridge for George—They came Mr. Shaw Mrs. Greenleaf & Mrs. Foster were here—I had been too much engaged to write home two days & they had heard your Grandfather  was better our sending alarmed them—My father and Mother came early on Sunday morning Dr H—asked for a consultation with the former—I went to your Grandmother by his request & asked him if she had any objection  “objection to be sure not” was her answer—blisters were applied & she called them a present from Dr. Welsh” at noon Mrs. Hall came out with Mrs. Foster to offer to set up—Mrs. O—not knowing it came out with Sam O—after dinner for the same purpose—She staid and Mrs. H went home—Your G. M. was not told who it was as another Miss M. Marston sat up too—but toward morning discovered her and thanked her for coming—Mother was not well and went home Sunday—father staid till morning—when she seemed revived—Your G. F. went up and sat by her—She told him she was going and if it was the will of heaven she was willing—She had no wish to live but for his sake—He came down and said in his energetic manner and said, “I wish I could lay down beside her and die too—Mrs. F. went into Town—Mrs. O. staid Mr. Adams and I sat with her the first part of the night she told me she thought she felt stronger than she had any night—to-ward morning she lost strength—Your G. F. went into see her and usual came away as usual—much agitated—“I cannot bear to see her in this state shall I pray for a stroke of Lightning which killed my friend Otis—or that an Appoplectic fit may put an end to her sufferings” (she had complained to him she was in some pain) what shall I pray for”—He said repeatedly  he was resigned—That he was convinced after such a sickness that the rest of her days must be but labour and sorrow—he could not wish her to live—She had said too that she did not wish to live any longer than she could be useful—She never could have been otherwise so long as the power to speak remained—for even weak as she was she could give directions some times—Upon some more fine wines being brought by Mr. Shaw she said that all her Boston friends were very kind to her”—She desired Louisa to give the pin of Mrs. Warren’s hair to Mrs. Otis—Mrs. Smith came up on Tuesday to watch it was evident she grew weaker and talked with difficulty Towards noon however she sat up in her bed and would fan herself weak as she was—She asked who was to watch she was told Mrs. Smith—she replied Mrs. Smith was very good—My father came up that night and she was so low in the morning he did not go away—Your father went early into the room she spoke so indistinctly he could not understand her—she said in the course of the morning to those about her she should like Mr. Whitney—She should like to have the family together once more—I have told you that your G. F. told her he feared it would hurt her to have Mr. Whitney (he meant it would excite her feelings too much) she said “no I dont think so he is so mild” he was instantly sent for but was not at home—she did not ask to again tho’ she had twice very early in the morning—Your G. F. said that the whole of her life had been filled up in doing good if there was ever one who could expect a happy one it was her—She was so very low that little change could be perceived before she fell asleep to awake unincumbered by the pains and weaknesses mortality in the brighter happier world above—Mrs Dexter (her Nurse) Mrs. Greenleaf, Mrs. J. B. A. Susan Louisa and myself present—I could not realize that all was over till my father came up and so your G. F. with him who was seated in a chair beside the bed for he trembled so he could not stand—after a few moments of silence—he went into the middle room where Louisa was taken and sat down by her saying we should soon have to perform the same offices of Kindness for him—and told Louisa she must be firm as he was This with the belief in the goodness and mercy of God was his only consolation—We kept him as quiet as possible removing all the bustle of necessary preparation of clothing into the next  other part of the house on the three succeeding day’s all the neighbours were usual very kind in giving assistance—Mr D. Greenleaf made all arrangements assisted  by Mr Shaw & Mr Beale—The two former Mr Quincy & Mr. J Greenleaf were with your G father that he need not be left alone while we were obliged to leave him George too staid here and was considerately attentive—Your Uncle A—was here occasionally—All admired the magnanimity and resignation which your G F. displayed—occasionally his mind was led into Foreign channels of thought but was not interupted when it  returned to that which it most naturally flowed into—He related anecdotes of her past life uttered the praises of others mingled with his own—& at times broke out in expressions as this “blessed are the dead who die in the Lord” with all that energy which you have so often witnessed—The house was crowded with the most respectable people in Boston & the Country round no person was sent for to attend it was the spontaneous expression of respect & love—Very many came in mourning who had no relationship but that of the mind and heart and they continue to wear it—these and the outward shew—which is too unsatisfactory—and her praises are on every tongue—Ann Black has once manifested her sense of obligation by putting on Black and has been much affected as others and there is scarcely an inhabitant of Quincy who does not wear a Black Ribbon—Mrs. Quincy & Mrs. Whitney have put it on their children to whom the former considers it a great loss as well as to themselves an irreparable one to me—& to whom is it not so—The Pall bearers were the Gov. and Lieut Gov (Brooks and Phillips) Mr. Gray—Mason and Tudor (who attended your dear Mothers also) with President Kirkland—The prayer of Mr. Whitney for your G. F—the children Grand children relations and friends the poor the town the Community at large was responded by every heart—it has been pronounced excellent by the best judges in this part of the Country—There were more than 120 who claimed affinity—

					H Welsh—


Title: From John Quincy Adams to John Adams, 2 November 1818
From: Adams, John Quincy
To: Adams, John

					My dear Son.
					Washington 2. November 1818.

				Your Letter of the 28th. of last Month, has this day brought me the most distressing intelligence that I ever received; yet my dear John, if there was any thing that could soften its bitterness, it was that it should first come from a beloved and affectionate hand—Such it was coming from yours, and I thank you, for the kind and filial attention with which you immediately communicated the Event, by which it has pleased God to remove my ever blessed Mother to a better world. I thank you too for the same attention, with which you repeatedly wrote to your mother, during the illness of mine, and which apprized  us of her real situation, when we were too ready to trust in the hopes, which other friends fondly cherished by listening to their ardent wishes—I prey you to return your mothers and my most affectionate and grateful thanks to Miss Harriet Welsh, both for her kind and unwearied attendance on my Mother in her illness, and for the assiduous and active friendship, with which she wrote from time to time, while a lingering hope was left, to keep it alive in our breasts.You have lost, my dear Son, one of the kindest, and most precious of Parents; for such she truly was to you, and to all my children. If you live, as I hope and pray you may, to an age as advanced as hers, you will never meet on earth one, to whom you will owe deeper obligations, or who will be to you a more faithful and affectionate friend—May it be your lot in life to enjoy the Society even of a few Spirits, so nearly approaching to perfection as hers, and above all, my Son, may he who is the Supreme Good, inspire and guide your conduct through your earthly career, so that at the final scene, you may surrender your Spirit to its creator as unsullied as was hers—I have no greater blessing to bestow—Be it yours; and be it that of your Brothers! from your ever affectionate father.

					John Quincy Adams.


Title: From Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams to Harriet Welsh, 4 November 1818
From: Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson
To: Welsh, Harriet

					Washington 4 Novbr 1818

				Expecting constantly to hear from you my dear Harriet I have felt involuntarily inclined to procrastinate every effort to write on a subject which has filled all our hearts with the keenest sorrow—How can we sufficiently thank you for all your kind attention? My poor boys will have still to call on you for that kindness you have always chosen shewn them and which now will be doubly desirable in consequence of the loss they have sustained in their dear and affectionate Grandmother—7 November—I was so ill when I began this Letter that I was forced to lay aside my pen and retire to Bed, and until this day my perpetual head ache has incapacitated me from any exertion—We are in a state of great anxiety at not receiving a line of any kind from Boston, (excepting a short Letter from Mr. De Grand) since the 28h. and can in no way account for this continued silence, making every allowance for the grief and respect which you all feel for our dear departed Mother, we participate too sincerely in this sad event not to require some little share of your attention, to allay the irritable dread of evil which absence necessarily creates—Every kind of apprehenssion siezes on the mind already weakened by affliction in turn, until each miserable moment comes winged with some new calamity—When I turn my eyes to Quincy nought but desolation strikes my view, and I can scarcely bear the idea of the change which forces itself upon my imagination. The soul which actuated every thing is fled and left nothing but sadness and mourning to supply her place—and all the sufferers to whom she was so kind and sympathizing a friend, where will they turn for consolation? Tis true this dispensation was hourly to be expected, yet did it come like a Sirrocco to wither and blight the few remaining hours of our venerable Parent, to whom she was all that earth had left of love and joy—Oh may kind Heaven in pity to his sufferings grant him strength of mind to sustain  himself under this to him, most dreadful of all calamities, and releave release him from the load of life which he must yet support, until the Almighty fiat shall be issued, which shall reunite him to the pure Spirit so recently transplanted to the realms of peace and love.I intend writing to Caroline de Wint in a few days—hitherto I have not been able to touch on a subject which I know will cause her so much sorrow—Mr. Adams was dreadfully shocked at the news, and would immediately have left this for Quincy had he not been in the midst of a Treaty with Spain, which the P.— said no one could finish but himself—and he must have resigned his situation, which I thought would have produced additional uneasiness at such a crisis This is for you only and perfectly confidential—You have no doubt had the kindness to do every thing necessary for the boys? I will thank you to procure me a Canton Crape Shawl of Black and I hope you have not purchased the coloured Silk—I wish likewise to procure a handsome set of jet ornaments with a Comb to match price not to exceed 12 Dollars including Bracelets—Make my love to all at your house and again let me offer the united thanks of Mr. Adams and myself for your kind attention to the last suffering moments of our dear Mother and believe us both most gratefully and affectionately yours.

					L. C. Adams

					8h. of November 1818.


Title: From John Quincy Adams to John Adams Smith, 7 November 1818
From: Adams, John Quincy
To: Smith, John Adams

					Dear Sir,
					Washington 7 November 1818.

				It is not for me to complain that the private correspondence between you and me has ceased—for I find upon my files letters from you from N 27. Novr. 27. 1817 to N 32 May 19th 1818. the receipt of which I have not yet acknowledged—As for your letters, they went on brisk and punctual to N31. Feby 7—from which time commenced a hiatus to the 19th of May—on which day two letters filled with the Stratagems and Spoils of the Duke of San Carlos and his pamphleteering warfare closed the account of your volunteer despatches—Since then altum Silentium! Not a word from Mr. Smith!—At which, I repeat—it is not for me to complain—Nevertheless, if the humour of writing should come upon you again, I shall be happy to profit by it.My present object is to recommend to your attention and services Mr. James A. Hillhouse of New York, son of a very worthy friend of mine Mr. Hillhouse of New Haven, with whom I had the honour of sitting five years in the Senate of the United States—Though not personally acquainted with his son, I am assured from a mutual friend in whom I have the most unqualified confidence that his character and talents are such that I have no doubt you will derive high gratification from an acquaintance with him.Would to God, that I had not another, and a far different motive for writing you at this time—that of communicating to you the decease on the 28th of last Month of my beloved and ever affectionate Mother and your Grandmother—It was but four weeks previous to that day that I had left her, in apparently better health than she had been for years—But within a week afterwards she was seized with a bilious fever which after an illness of three weeks removed her to a state of existence where I trust will be no more sorrow or pain, and where in the assembly of blessed Spirits she will find an abode congenial to her own. I have myself received but a few slight and broken notices of her disease and of its fatal termination—I have lost in her more than this world can give or take away; but the loss to my father, is more not only than language can express, but that I can dare to think—when my imagination turns to it, I shrink involuntarily from the contemplation—Among the strongest, and most distinguished features of his character, is fortitude in adversity; and I hope with the blessing of Heaven, it will support him in this heavy calamity—I intreat you to write to him, and to manifest that sympathy with his distress, which as a mark of your affection will tend to its alleviation—I made with Mrs. Adams an excursion of six weeks at the close of the Summer, to Boston and Quincy; and on returning we came by land from Boston to Albany, and thence down in the Steam boats, to New York—At Albany we met Mr. Johnson and his Wife your double cousin Abby, with a fine boy, three years old their Son. They came down the river with us to Cedar Grove, where we spent three days, with your Sister Mrs. De Wint and her amiable and respectable family. The Johnsons were then going on a visit to Quincy, from which we had just returned—But they found my beloved Mother on her Death bed, and that a house of mourning which had she been in health, would have received them with a welcome of delight. They were obliged to depart upon their return a few days before the distressing scene had closed. Your Sister is the living image of what my Mother must have been at her age—She has all that sweetness of disposition, all that active and earnest but  silent benevolence, and all that engaging affability, which made her a blessing, to all around her. She has a husband whose heart is as kind and affectionate as her own, and two infant daughters both lovely children—His Mother a most respectable and amiable Woman lives with them, and several relations of the family, forming all together a picture of the highest felicity that can be enjoyed upon Earth—I never passed three days more delightfully than upon my visit to them.There is, or was at the Shop of Booth a Bookseller in, I forgot what Street, but not far from N. 10. Blandford Street Portman Square, a set of Almon’s Remembracesr, with the Prior Documents, I believe complete, in seventeen or eighteen Volumes, the price of which is marked in the Catalogue, at about £3:16—I will thank you to purchase them, and have them packed up, and sent by the Galen or any other safe Vessel to Boston—Addressed “To William Plumer Esqr. Epping. New Hampshire—To the care of Messrs: Wells and Lilly, Booksellers Boston,” and charge the expence to my account.Give my best respects to Mr. Rush and to Mr. Gallatin, if yet in London when you receive this, and tell them that I hope to write shortly to both of them. Mr. Everett who is to sail this day from Boston, has one joint dispatch for them, and would have had others but for the domestic calamity which has befallen me. Tell Mr. George Joy also that I have received his Letter of 29 August, and at last though very lately, duplicates or originals of his preceding Letters from November Last—I will answer him as soon as I possibly can. That is as soon as I can make time to write a long Letter.I am, Dear Sir, faithfully and affectionately yours

					John Quincy Adams.


Title: From Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams to John Adams, 8 November 1818
From: Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson
To: Adams, John

					My Dear John
					Washington 8 Novbr. 1818

				Your sudden silence after the affectionate and unremitted attention you shewed during your dear Grandmothers illness and the total want of information  since on the subject of the family in general has occasioned both your father and myself much uneasiness and we are counting the mails every day to meet fresh disappointmentYour Fathers Messenger has just been and I flew down in the hope of finding Letters but again met a cruel check to all my pleasing anticipations. my mind is in a state of agonizing anxiety. I know not what to fear or what to dread yet my heart seems full of melancholy presages. oh write let somebody write even if they have nothing but evil to communicate for this state is truly insupportable—I enclose you a few lines I wrote yesterday they are a poor tribute to the memory of her who is now an Angel in Heaven—or rather an Invocation to her departed Spirit.Depart thou Sainted Spirit wing thy happy flightTo the bright realms of everlasting lightYet fondly hover oer thy lonely friendIn nightly visions resignation SendCheer his great mind attune his soul to peaceTill in this world his hopeless griefs may ceaseAnd when his Spirit quits this mortal clayLead him to heavenly bliss and guide him on his way.Your affectionate Mother

					L. C. Adams


Title: From John Adams to John Quincy Adams, 10 November 1818
From: Adams, John
To: Adams, John Quincy

My ever dear, ever affectionate, ever dutiful and deserving Son,

Quincy November 10th. 1818

The bitterness of Death is past. The grim Specter So terrible to human Nature has no Sting left for me.
My consolations are more than I can number. The Separation cannot be So long as twenty Separations heretofore. The Pangs and the Anguish have not been So great as when you and I embarked for France in 1778.
The Sympathy and Benevolence of all the World, has been Such as I Shall not live long enough to describe. I have not Strength to do Justice to Individuals. Louisa, Susan Miss Harriet Welsh, have been with Us constantly. The Three Families of Greanleafs, Mrs John Greanleaf, has been, (your Mother Said it to me, in her last moments “a Mother to me”). Mr Daniel Greenleaf has been really the good Semaritan.
Louisa Harriet and Mrs John Greanleaf have been above all praise, Mr and Mrs Quincy have been more like Sons and Daughters than like Neighbours. Mr Shaw and your Sons have been all you could desire
Your Letter of the Second is all and no more than all that I expected. Never was a more dutifull Son. Never a more Affectionate Mother. Love to your Wife. May you never experince her Loss. So prays your Aged and Afflicted / Father
John Adams


Title: Obituary Notice for Abigail Smith Adams, 12 November 1818
From: Adams, Abigail Smith
To:

				OBITUARY NOTICE Of the late Mrs. Adams, Lady of President Adams.

					Nov. 12, 1818.

				In the death of Mrs. ADAMS, her friends and society lament no ordinary loss. The grave has closed over the mortal remains of one, whose character combined with as much practical wisdom and substantial virtue as have ever been possessed by any individual. Society is not adorned with a purer example; virtue had not a firmer prop; religion cannot number among its friends a more rational, intelligent, consistent, serious advocate and disciple.Mrs. Adams was endowed by nature with strong intellectual powers. These were improved by a good education, and by the best use of the advantages, afforded by the distinguished station in society which, in mature life, she was called to occupy, and by that extensive intercourse with mankind to which she was introduced, from her connexion with that great and good man, who was destined by Providence to perform a most important part in the affairs of human life; and who, by a faithful and magnanimous discharge of the highest duties of patriotism and philanthropy, is privileged to be enrolled among the most distinguished benefactors of his country and of mankind.—She might not, perhaps, be called an accomplished woman, as we now use the term, for female education, at the period of her youth, was very different from what it now is; but she was a truly enlightened woman, and adorned with the most valuable accomplishments of the understanding and heart. Her mind was richly stored from various reading, and her taste in polite literature highly cultivated and refined. Her observation of mankind was exact, and her acquaintance with men and things extensive. Her perceptions were quick and penetrating; her judgment sound and mature; her imagination brilliant; and the flashes of her wit, which continued to burst forth even amidst the snows of old age, rendered her the delight of those who were honored with her society.—Her conversation was intelligent, frank and independent, and her manners remarkably kind and condescending, combining the greatest simplicity, with a dignity and propriety which always commanded respect.In her domestick character, she shone pre-eminent. Never was there a more affectionate and faithful mother, and never was a woman more attentive to the appropriate duties of the head of a family. Ordinary minds, when placed in situations such as she occupied, dazzled by the glare of distinction or inflated by the pride of rank and power, deem the common yet most important duties and cares of domestic life beneath their regard; but her strength of mind, her excellent principles, her good sense and a high sentiment of duty, preserved her from even the shadow of a reproach of any neglect of  this kind. On the contrary, they led her to be most assiduous and punctual in the performance of her family duties and attentive to every arrangement of domestick economy; and her servants and dependants experienced her maternal care and kindness. As a friend and neighbor she evinced a cordial sympathy in the prosperity and adversity of all around her; administering to the relief of the distressed whenever an opportunity was presented, and exhibiting a tender concern in sorrows which it was beyond her power to remove or assuage. The poor of her vicinity have lost in her a discreet and generous benefactor.The excellences of her character were consummated by religion; this formed its basis; this was the origin of her virtues; and her eminent virtues did honor to the holy source from which they arose. She was a serious and humble Christian. Her religious sentiments were of the most enlightened and enlarged nature, truly worthy of herself; and were of that practical character which gave them an habitual influence over her conduct: they afforded to her direction and support amidst the various trials of a long life;—and, we humbly trust, she has departed to enter upon the rewards of her faith and hopes.The evening of her life was marked by a cheerful serenity, and her virtues, reflecting the mellow tints and the rich lustre of mature age, exhibiting rather the beautiful scenery of autumn than the desolation of winter, imparted delight and instruction to all whose privilege it was to observe her in this interesting and venerable period.Greatness and goodness, intellectual superiority, and a correspondent eminence in virtue, are not always found united;—in her the combination was consistent and complete; and human nature has seldom, if ever, more fully or more beautifully displayed its noblest attributes. By those persons who knew her, her memory will ever be cherished with the highest veneration. To the young, emulous of the best distinctions which this life affords, her conduct may be held up as one of the purest models for imitation; wisdom and virtue claim her as a favorite daughter; and, those who are capable of estimating the highest order of moral excellence, mourn in her death the removal of one of the richest ornaments of her sex and species. The light of life, long quivering in its socket, has expired on earth, but will be enkindled anew, and burn with a pure flame among the inextinguishable lights of the celestial world.This imperfect and inadequate sketch of her character is the tribute of gratitude and respect from one, who esteems it among the greatest blessings of his life, that he was honored with her friendship.

					C.


Title: From Thomas Boylston Adams to Ebenezer Francis Thayer, 12 November 1818
From: Adams, Thomas Boylston
To: Thayer, Ebenezer Francis

					Dear Sir.
					Quincy November 12th: 1818.

				I have received a few more returns from the war Department, of Certificates for pension. Among others, one for old Mr Amos Thayer and one for Mr Solomon Thayer; I saw Dr Wild—one of your Selectmen on Tuesday and informed him as to Mr: Amos Thayer. He promised to call and take the Certificate, and when he does, I wish to know what compensation I shall demand for your services, in taking his original examination and subsequent deposition. Also in the Cornets case, for taking a deposition. So  many of the applicants which first came before me have failed to obtain their certificates that unless those who have obtained pay us for our trouble we Shall never get our quantum meruit, in this world. I shall tax therefore in Some cases of extraordinary services—extra—fees, and in each of the above cases, I shall demand Eight Dollars, Five of which I think due to you; Three for Amos Thayer’s & Two for the Cornet’s, and will pay you when I get it. Stephen Cheesman had drawn from the third of April, and Jacob Hayden from the 1st: October; Cheesman will receive Five months pay, and Hayden, Five months, one to draw on the 4th September last, and the other on the 4th March next. Hayden’s declaration was among the last which I have sent, but it was supported by good Witnesses—viz his brother Levi & St Ichabod Holbrook—Silas Lovell’s declaration is returned with this indorsement viz—”cannot be admitted without a more explicit statement of services. What Regiments did Captain’s Wales & Johnson belong to?” This omission must be Supplied, either by Lovell himself or some one or two disinterested witnesses, whose deposition must be sworn to before me, but can be taken by you, if you please—Lovell had better come before me again; he served the 8 months in Capt: John Vinton’s company. Col. Paul D Sargent’s Regiment; Afterwards in Capt Jacob Wales’s company, and after that nine months in Captain Johnsons Company, but in What Regiment he did not state. I have no doubt his case can be made clear—James Penniman’s case Still lags behind, though I think him better fortified than most of the applicants, if he dont lie Some. He seemed to remember a good deal more than he ever knew, as I thought, but I have taken a deal of trouble for him. It is unaccountable to me, why the returns are made in this desultory manner. In the case of Amos Thayer & the Cornet’s I wrote very pathetically to the Secy of War and certified to his heart’s content—I think it had an effect.I will thank you to give notice to Such as I have mentioned, who have need of further evidence that I can attend on them only this week, or after Plymouth Court, which is next week—I am, dear Sir, with esteem / Your Obedt Servt

					Thomas B Adams.

					PS. If you think I have made a fair estimate of your trouble in the two cases I have mentioned, you may make a bill against them and send it to me, as soon as you can—


Title: Obituary Notice for Abigail Smith Adams in New England Galaxy and Masonic Magazine, 13 November 1818
From: New England Galaxy,Masonic Magazine
To:

					Obiuary Notice Of Madam Abigail Adams.
					Boston: Friday, November 13, 1818.

				The late wife of the Ex–President Adams was a woman, whose talents and virtues will place her on the list of those, who have benefited their generation and honoured their country. She was the daughter of a New–England Clergyman, settled within a few miles of Boston—a man respectable in his holy office, and who educated his children in the best manner of the times; an unquestionable proof of his good sense. The personal and mental accomplishments of his daughter attracted the attention and secured the respect and affections of Mr. Adams, then a young man of distinction and promise at the bar in Massachusetts. They were married in the year 1764, and resided in Boston. The revolutionary difficulties were then fast increasing, and Mr. Adams was conspicuously engaged. When a Continental Congress was formed he was sent a delegate from Massachusetts to this body. It was a perilous moment. The wise were baffled, the courageous hesitated, and the great mass of the people were inflamed, but confused; they had no fixed and settled purpose, but all was left for the developement of time. Mr. Adams was one of the boldest in the march of honest resistance to tyranny. He looked farther than the business of the day, and ventured, at that early period, to suggest plans of self government and independence. To Mrs. Adams he communicated his thoughts freely on all these high matters of state, for he had the fullest confidence in her spirit, prudence, secrecy, and good sense, without the test, which the Roman Portia gave her lord to gain his confidence, in matters of policy, “when the state was out of joint.” When Mr. Adams was appointed to represent his country at the Court of St. James, his wife went with him, and such was her exquisite sense of propriety, her republican simplicity, her delicate and refined manners, her firmness and dignity, that she charmed the proud circles in which she moved, and they speak of her, to this day, as one of the finest women that ever graced an embassy to that country.When Mr. Adams was chosen Vice President, she was the same unaffected, intelligent, and elegant woman. No little managements, no private views, no sly interference with public affairs was ever, for a moment, charged to her. When her husband came to the chair of the Chief Magistrate, then the widest field opened for the exercise of all the talents and acquirements of Mrs. Adams; and such was her whole course, that her fondest admirers were not disappointed. She graced the table by her courtesy, and elegance of manners, and delighted her guests by the powers of her conversation. Through the drawing room, she diffused ease and urbanity, and gave the charm of modesty and sincerity to the interchanges of civility. But this was not all; her acquaintance with public affairs, her discrimination of character, her discernment of the signs of the times, and her pure patriotism made her an excellent cabinet minister; and, to the everlasting honour of her husband, he never forgot or undervalued her worth; and in the pride of place and power, he never despised the New–England simplicity of manners, in which it is a rule to take counsel from a wife. The politicians of that period speak with enthusiasm of her foresight, her prudence and the wisdom of her observations. Tracy respected, Bayard admired, and Ames eulogized her. All parties had the fullest belief in the purity of her motives and in the elevation of her understanding.It was a stormy period and the world went wrong. Fatigue and anguish often overwhelmed the President from the weight and multiplicity of his labours and cares; but her sensibility, affection and cheerfulness chased the frown from his brow, and plucked the root of bitterness from his heart. To those who see the matters of state at a distance, or only through the medium of letters, all things seem to go on fairly and smoothly; but, those practically acquainted with the difficulties in administering the best of governments, will easily understand how much necessity there is for the wisdom of the serpent united with the gentleness of the dove; and they too can comprehend how much the delicate interference of a sagacious woman can effect. Pride, vanity, and selfishness are full of claims and exactions, all bustling and importunate for office and distinction. Peremptory denial produces enmity and confusion, but gentle evasion and cautious replies soften the hearts of the restless and temper the passions of the sanguine. An intelligent woman of address can control these repinings and hush these  murmurings with much less sacrifice or effort than men. A woman knows when to apply the unction of soft words without forgetting her dignity or infringing on a single principle which the most scrupulous would wish to maintain. Mrs. Adams calmed these agitations of disappointment, healed the rankling wounds of offended pride, and left them in admiration of her talents and in love with her sincerity.Notwithstanding these numerous duties and great exertions as the wife of a statesman, Mrs. Adams did not forget that she was a parent. She had several children and felt in them the pride and interest, if she did not make the boast, of the mother of the Gracchi.Many women fill important stations with the most splendid display of virtues; but few are equally great in retirement; there they want the animating influence of a thousand eyes and the inspiration of homage and flattery. This is human nature in its common form, and the exception is honourable and rare. Mrs. Adams, in rural seclusion at Quincy, was the same dignified, sensible, and happy woman, as when surrounded by fashion, wit and intellect. No hectic of resentment, no pangs of regret were ever discovered by her, while indulging in the retrospection of an eventful life in these shades of retirement. Her conversation shewed the same lively interest in the passing occurrences as though she had retired for  a day only, and was to have returned on the morrow to take her share in the business and pleasures of political existence. There was no trick, no disguise in this. It arose from a settled and perfectly philosophical and christian contentment, which great and pious minds only can feel. Serenity, purity, and elevation of thought preserve the faculties of the mind from premature decay, and, indeed, keep them vigorous in old age. To such the lapse of time is only the change of the shadow on the dial of life. The hours which are numbered and gone are noticed, but their flight does not “chill the genial current of the soul.” Religious thankfulness for the past, and faith in assurances for the future—that mortal shall put on immortality—make the last drop in the cup of existence clear, sweet and sparkling.When the biographer of a future age, shall do justice to the characters of the illustrious women of our country, Mrs. Adams will be found conspicuous on his page, as a dutiful daughter, an excellent wife, a kind, affectionate and careful mother; one who lived long and did much, who discharged the duties of common life with faithfulness and alacrity, and filled the highest stations with success and honour; one, who, though a politician, “could be defended from the cradle to the grave,” and who, though a philosopher, had no doubts of the christian religion.Mr. Adams is now far advanced into the vale of years, and must feel his loss as irreparable; but he is too wise to repine and has too much to be grateful for to be cast down. The wife of his youth lived with him for more than half a century. With her in his heart and in his hand he “sounded all the depths and shoals of honour.” While he mourns her loss, her virtues will crowd on his soul, clothed in colours made brighter by death. This patriarch is now turned of eighty and possesses his intellectual faculties in an extraordinary degree. May they long continue to be fresh and vigorous, that he may give to the world the mental portraits of his cotemporaries, and illustrations of our history. In him the lamp of life seems to burn more vividly as he gathers the gems which oblivion was about to receive. The genius of the sage is every where respected, and his long and important services to his country every where acknowledged; but our last gaze shall be on his domestic virtues; for they were the brightest in the constellation of his merits. Moral and religious principles, and pure and virtuous affections are indestructible; God has put on them the value of his promise, and the seal of eternity.


Title: From Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams to George Washington Adams, 17 November 1818
From: Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson
To: Adams, George Washington

					Dear thoughtless George
					Washington 17. Novbr. 1818.

				What have you been doing? where has your reason flown? while your poor Grandmother was yet warm in her grave; while your own mother whose all of happiness in this world depends upon the good conduct of her children was confined to her bed with a fever, what were you doing? following the foolish example of a set of wild and  unruly young men whom you had not fortitude to condemn tho’ you must have been conscious of their folly and what is worse have known the real anguish you were inflicting on the heart of  a mother whose even gratitude you had excited by what she imagined your affectionate desire to attain eminence both in virtue and talents for her sake.Dear George, I am grieved thus to write you, but I have thought it would spare your feelings if I wrote before your father should answer your Letter which has given him so much pain—We yet Know nothing of the particulars or the cause of the trouble you have got into therefore I implore you to write me all the particulars and not only this but to take every step in your power to restore to yourself the friendship of the President and the respect of the College Government if it can be done after Conduct so outrageous as  it that of your class is said to have been—remember my beloved son that every thing of this kind will prove a stab to the reputation which you expect and hope to make in your outset in  life and that reparation for such evils becomes more difficult every  time they view again my Son suffer me to beg you will not permit a foolish, weak, and childish pride to obscure your understanding and prevent your making those submissions on which the rest of your happiness in life depends and do not by a fatal and misguided obstinacy or what you may fancy honour  and do not bring down misery on yourself and on the head of your devoted Mother

					L. C. Adams

					I thank you for sending the Box of books—


Title: From John Quincy Adams to Henry Coolman, 18 November 1818
From: Adams, John Quincy,Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson
To: Coolman, Henry

					Wednesday Morning 18. Novr. 1818

				Will Mr Coleman do Mr and Mrs Adams the favour of coming and dining with them, this day at five O’Clock—of if engaged this day, to-morrow?


Title: From Harriet Welsh to Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, 18 November 1818
From: Welsh, Harriet
To: Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson

Boston November ’18 1818

Your letters dear Mrs Adams have been very much neglected apparently by me—but my confidence in your knowledge of the cause of it has prevented any uneasiness on my part on this account—My mind & heart have formed constant occupation for the last month at Quincy & it—is yet difficult for me to fall into the train of the common & ordinary occurences of life—I too have met with a loss—which none but the heart that feels it can estimate; she has forgotten all difference between us—& been my friend counselor—mother for many years—could I but feel the most intense anxiety to save—if by any feeble assistance of mine—a life so precious might be saved?— No thanks are due for efforts—which resulted from the same feelings that made every other person who was privileg’d as I was in attending upon her—Spare no exertion to prolong a life that was so much of a blessing to them—And yet when we could for a moment forget ourselve we saw that what your father had said to us was true "I know not whether I ought to ask that her life may be spared, for to her it must be—after such an illness but labour & sorrow"—It is not easy to divest ourselves of selfish feelings—even where we are entirely sensible as in this case that they are so—. She is released from sorrow and sickness—& needed not more (as we cannot but believe) to fit her for that Heaven where they can no longer assail—The wish of all who were most interested was that no attempt should be made to give a delineation of her character as is common in the newspapers: the editors were desired not to publish any—Mr Bentleys Salem Register—broke the silence which should have been sacred:—In a paper little known in this town (Masonic Magazine) The last week there was a long article by a lawyer (Mr. Knapp formerly of Haverhill & Newbury-Port, recently removed to Boston:—no one could for some days conjecture who wrote it—Mr. Colman has to day sent (in the form of a printed letter) from Baltimore an attempt of his—Mr. Quincy has written an article for the next North American Review—; this is the most respectable manner of publishing an obituary notice,—Mr. Q—has all the feeling necessary if not the talent—There is one pen & one only which could do all that love & justice would dictate
Upon recuring again to your letter I find that you did not understand why we were silent several days after the 28th Caroline suffered the same anxiety from not recollecting that combined with the sorrow we felt was was the necessary preparations to be made for the family, of clothing &c including Ms. T. B. A’s—; family—this distracted & exhausted our minds so much that we could think of nothing else but your father—George & Mr. Shaw came into town to make arrangements twice or 3 times & when at Q—sat constantly with your father; Mr. T B A. was much engaged.—On Sunday there were all the relations from town after dinner to attend church in the afternoon—on Monday I understood all the three gentlemen Mr. A. Mr. S—& George had written. I wrote Caroline—& by request to Mr. Vanderkemp &  Mrs. Rush at Philadelphia—but could not find courage to attempt more. I do not at all wonder that you felt so unhappy at the silence you complain of. Mr. A has told me he has written three times; these letters have no doubt relieved your anxiety—George is at Cambridge again pursuing his studies as usual—. John & Charles well: We had procured for them such mourning as was thought necessary and the shortness of the time would admit of—my mother procured for them black waistcoats—hose & hat bands, the buttons on their coats were covered with cloth like the coat—George had a suit of black—J & C—would have had black pantaloons but the taylor their uncle took them to could not finish all the clothes & I thought it was not afterward necessary to get them; as the blue they have is very dark & their dress as it is a respectable one, they wear it every day as their old clothes are too much soil’d to wear at present—. As it was entirely out of my power to execute the commission wholly for your brother I paid the money to Mr. Harrod who will do it for him—expect the articles from the Apothecaries & the tea which Mr. Hall has sent by my request to Mr. Harrod the charge for these was 10$—5—. I transcribed the order for Mr. A’s boots & shoes, a fortnight or 2 weeks since & sent to Marsh & the part of your letter for Mr. Cruft & sent in to him—he was & is in New-York—but expected this week back—your shawl is dyed, but they pry into packages so closely in the post office here, that I dare not send it thus—the first private opportunity will be embraced—& the blue satin with it & a Canton shawl—which has not yet been purchased as I came to town only on Monday & am not well—The jet I fear it will not be in my power to purchase so low as you wish—. The woman who put the feet to your hose is too ill to work at present—those you sent yesterday were broken open at the side as if by accident—I understand they are very conscientious at our post office about these matters—for other people I felt provoked at hearing the other day that one of the clerks held up your muslin to be examined calling it "a document"
19th. My mother thanks you for the jack with which she is much pleased—she must not give you commissions in the future—Mrs. Clark expects her husband home he wrote that he was very sick, but not to her—Young Gerry I hear has written to his friends that "Mr. C, is very sick—"
The family were all well at Quincy on the 16th—
20th There is not yet a bracelet necklace or comb to be found at the jewelers I have been to all except one, & if he has any will let you know in a day or two—earings are to be had at 2$25 but I shall not get them without a set—I shall procure a Shawl when I can send it or before at $9 7 quarters—Yours with affection

H Welsh


Title: From John Quincy Adams to Thomas Boylston Adams, 22 November 1818
From: Adams, John Quincy
To: Adams, Thomas Boylston

				 N. 15.
					My dear Brother.
					Washington 22. November 1818.

				Since writing my last, I have received your Letters of the 10th. and 15th. with the papers enclosed in them. The obituary notice of our dear and excellent Mother, which I mentioned to you as having been published in the Baltimore Newspapers was as I had supposed, written by Mr Colman—You have doubtless seen it. A short notice has also appeared in the Alexandria Gazette, written by Judge Cranch, which I have not seen and two days ago, I received a number of the New England Galaxy, containing an Article, longer than any that I had before seen, which upon perusal of the first part of it, I supposed to be from the pen of Dr. Waterhouse, but before finishing it I could not conjecture from whom it came—These tributes to her memory are all kindly intended, and if none of them give adequate testimonial to her worth, it is because no language can do Justice to it—Its estimation like its reward is beyond the grave. I have been greatly mortified and chagrined at the accounts of the foolish insurrection of George’s Class, and still more so that having been absent when his Class undertook the reformation of the Government of the University, he had not the sense or the spirit, to reserve upon his return, his talents at reforming his Superiors for a better occasion—After the demonstration they have now given of their superiority over all other Classes past present and to come. I hope they will be content for the remainder of their Collegiate Career, to repose upon their laurels, and leave the arduous task of further reforming the Government to their Successors—I am anxious to hear that they have returned to their studies. Mr Hubbard has paid me nine hundred and fifty dollars upon Justus B. Smith’s Note, upon which according to the promise in my last Letter, your Commission for receiving and paying is $95. which sum shall either be endorsed as a further payment, on your Note of $600 to me, or you may charge it to me in your annual account, which I pray you to be careful to send me at the close of the year. I have received a short Letter from our dear and honoured father, have heard from various quarters of the fortitude with which he has met the most distressing of calamities. Knowing his character as I do this was what I expected: But the struggle which is not apparent to the world, is not the less but the more trying within—Watch over his health, my dear brother with unremitting, though if possible to him imperceptible attention. Assist him with unwearied assiduity in the management of his affairs; and always according to his own deliberate opinions and wishes—It has been suggested to me, with some regret, that he as determined to dismiss his Carriage and horses—No one can regret more than I do the necessity under which he feels himself to forego the convenience at his years, but I know that his judgement is so sound his resolution so firm, and his motives so noble-minded that I think no effort ought to be made to dissuade him from it—I would say the same of every thing for which he made express an inclination—Let the study of every one around him be to gratify his wishes according to his ideas, and not according to their own. It is always easy to see when advice would be agreeable to him, and useful advice, though he does not always assent to it when first given, never fails to have upon his final determination all the influence that it ought to have.Among the most kind and attentive of my friends, during our beloved mother’s illness, and since her decease has been De Grand—His friendship for me, has not been, and is not of that kind which evaporates in words—If it is chargeable with any fault, it is of over–ardent zeal—It is of that genuine character too which is not afraid of warning me with proper delicacy of my own deficiencies. I mention him now, because among the services which my friends of another description in Boston, my federal friends, in Boston, have been willing to render me has been that of guarding me against social intercourse with him; by insinuations against his character—Upon enquiry into the only specific charge that I ever had heard against him, I found his conduct in the transaction to which it referred was irreproachable—I believe his unpardonable sins there have only been 1. That he has been my steady, undeviating and active friend. 2. That he has been an ardent partizan of the Republican side. 3. That he is by birth a frenchman. 4. That he does a great deal of business, which they have a notion, ought to be done by only a town–born-child—Now although every one of these are is a heinous crime in the decalogue of the bulwarks of our holy religion, yet I have been a little surprized to see that an undefinable prejudice against De Grand, has infected the most unquestionable of my real friends—I have sometimes fancied that they knew something against him, which they had particular reason for withholding—If you have an opportunity, I will thank you to make enquiry, whether there is any thing charged against him; besides the above–mentioned enormities. Do not ask it as for me, but as an accidental or occasional enquiry of your own—Mr W. Gray, G. Blake and Mr Shaw, perhaps can tell you what is said against him—But you may also ask Dr Walsh, judge Davis and J. H. Kostar, as well as others of your own selection—I remain every faithfully yours.

					J. Q. Adams.


Title: From Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams to Harriet Welsh, 25 November 1818
From: Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson
To: Welsh, Harriet

					Dear Harriet
					Washington 25 Novbr. 1818

				I yesterday received your kind Letter in which you so feelingly lament the loss of Mrs. Adams—The loss to her family is irreparable and like yourself there is nothing I dislike so much as common public newspaper puffs which blazon virtues to the multitude who feel and respect them as little as if they never had existed and by whom they are no sooner read than forgotten—Hers were excellencies which were engraved in the hearts of those who know her and which could never be forgotten but in the pangs of expiring nature when all remembrance is passed and life is no more—They will dwell in the mind and operate on the heart as the evening breeze which succeeds a sultry day soothing the soul to peace by dwelling on the perfections she possessed in this world and from thence soaring into the contemplation of the exquisite all perfect happiness to which she is translated This consciousness my dear Harriet of the bliss she now enjoys ought to be to us a source of rejoicing instead and teach us to curb the grief which makes us lament her removal from our own Sphere in which there is so much of suffering—I beg you on no account to send any thing what ever by the Post I was very much astonished at receiving the Muslin as I supposed it would either come by George some private opportunity or by water with the things still to be sent by Mr. Cruft to whom I beg you to mention that we will thank him to send 6 or 8 lb of Chocolate Shells—I do not want the yet so you need not take any further trouble about itI am very to hear that Mr. Clark is so ill but I expected it—Give my love to your Mother The Boys must have a new Coat apiece to carry them through winter Black or Blue as they please—Ever yours

					L C Adams


Title: From Thomas Boylston Adams to Nathaniel Ruggles, 27 November 1818
From: Adams, Thomas Boylston
To: Ruggles, Nathaniel

					Dear Sir,
					Quincy November 27th: 1818

				Almost a twelvemonth Since I transmitted to the department of war, Section of bounty Lands, a claim of Charles Newcomb of Quincy, as legal representative of one Peter Ellino, a Frenchman who served during the revolutionary war, in a Company of which John Lillie was Capt: in Col John Crane’s Regiment, and received an honourable discharge under Genl Washington’s hand. The documents which I have transmitted in support of this claim are, 1st: A power of Attorney and a quit-claim or release from Peter Ellino to Charles Newcomb. 2d: A discharge under Genl: Washington’s hand. 3d: A Certificate of Alden Bradford Esqr. Secretary of this Commonwealth, which I recently sent to my Brother, with a request that he would deliver it to you. These are all the vouchers that can be procured, and I should think they were Sufficient for the purpose. The power of Attorney was executed at Boston in the year 1783, just after the peace and acknowledged before Justice Gardner. The Frenchman left this Country and has never returned, as is believed, nor has he any known heir here or else where. Mr: Newcomb the legal Representative applied to me in January last to transmit his papers to Washington, which I did, under cover to the Secretary of State, who handed them over to the proper department and received a paper of printed instructions, as to the mode of proceeding under such applications, from Nathl Cutting Esqr. I have to ask the favour of you to call at the proper Office and endeavour to ascertain the present State of the claim, and to inform me what further forms & ceremonies must be gone through to Satisfy the requirements of Official scrupulosity. Should the warrant be issued in favour of Newcomb as “the person who has a right to receive it,” I can obtain his written “Order addressed to the Secretary of War” for the delivery of it to you, as the Representative of this district. You will be required to Sign a receipt for it on the Record.The President’s message at the opening of the Session has been read with interest and satisfaction by all classes and some of us are desirous of seeing the documents accompanying the same. If they are not too voluminous I should esteem it as a favour if you would Send me a copy.I have the honour to be, respectfully / Your very Obedt Servt

					Thomas B Adams


Title: From John Quincy Adams to Charles Francis Adams, 30 November 1818
From: Adams, John Quincy
To: Adams, Charles Francis

					My dear Son Charles.
					Washington 30. November 1818.

				Your dear Mother not long since received a Letter from you, in which I read with great pleasure, that you get on at School pretty fast, and that in three weeks you hope to begin College Studies—As it is just three weeks since you wrote that Letter; if your hopes have been fulfilled you will this very day begin upon your College studies; and Oh! how happy shall I be, if you can hereafter write me with the sanction of your teachers, you get on with them pretty fast.—You know that when I was last at Boston and Quincy, I told you I should  expect you would be prepared, with the blessing of God, to enter the University, in three years from last Commencement—That you can be prepared in that time, if you will take the pains, I have no doubt—There are many boys, with no better advantages than you enjoy, who enter, younger than you will then be, and I know your capacity is equal to attaining in that time the necessary proficiency for it, if you will have the ambition to undertake it—I was disappointed in the wish I had to speak to Mr Gould before I left Boston, and to request him if he could consistently with the rules of his School, to put you into a Class where you would have a harder task with your lessons than you had where you were—You remember, you yourself told me that you could do more, if you were in a higher Class. Now you may show Mr Gould this Letter, and I am sure when he knows that you are willing to learn harder lessons than you now have, he will, if he can with propriety, indulge you with the opportunity of proving yourself equal to your promise.We are yet in deep affliction, my dear Charles, at the heavy loss we have met with in the decease of my ever honoured Mother, who was to you and your bothers—as a Parent—I was just about your present age, or perhaps a year younger, when her Mother, who like her was a Saint upon Earth, died—She had been kind, tender and affectionate to me, as your Grandmother has ever been to all my children; and now, at the distance of more than forty years, I still cherish her memory as that of one of the dearest friends I have ever had in my life—It is a pleasing, though a melancholy remembrance; that of virtuous friends who were the benefactors of our childhood, and although your long absence from this Country with your Parents, has prevented you from partaking  so long and so constantly as your brothers the tender solicitude and unwearied care of your departed Grandmother, yet it is not among the smallest of my consolations under this bereavement, that we were by a kind Providence permitted to return home from Europe, and to enjoy the happiness though but for a short time of her Society; and that you particularly have known her and shared her kindness and affection to a degree which will remain rooted in your heart, to the last long hour of your life.Give my love to your brother John from whom your Mother yesterday received a very good Letter—and believe me your ever affectionate father

					John Quincy Adams.