Like other women of the time, Abigail lacked formal education; but her curiosity spurred her keen intelligence, and she read avidly the books at hand. Reading created a bond between her and young John Adams, Harvard graduate launched on a career in law, and they were married in 1764. It was a marriage of the mind and of the heart, enduring for more than half a century, enriched by time.

The young couple lived on John's small farm at Braintree or in Boston as his practice expanded. In ten years she bore three sons and two daughters; she looked after family and home when he went traveling as circuit judge. "Alas!" she wrote in December 1773, "How many snow banks divide thee and me...."

Long separations kept Abigail from her husband while he served the country they loved, as delegate to the Continental Congress, envoy abroad, elected officer under the Constitution. Her letters--pungent, witty, and vivid, spelled just as she spoke--detail her life in times of revolution. They tell the story of the woman who stayed at home to struggle with wartime shortages and inflation; to run the farm with a minimum of help; to teach four children when formal education was interrupted. Most of all, they tell of her loneliness without her "dearest Friend." The "one single expression," she said, "dwelt upon my mind and played about my Heart...."

In 1784, she joined him at his diplomatic post in Paris, and observed with interest the manners of the French. After 1785, she filled the difficult role of wife of the first United States Minister to Great Britain, and did so with dignity and tact. They returned happily in 1788 to Massachusetts and the handsome house they had just acquired in Braintree, later called Quincy, home for the rest of their lives.

As wife of the first Vice President, Abigail became a good friend to Mrs. Washington and a valued help in official entertaining, drawing on her experience of courts and society abroad. After 1791, however, poor health forced her to spend as much time as possible in Quincy. Illness or trouble found her resolute; as she once declared, she would "not forget the blessings which sweeten life."

When John Adams was elected President, she continued a formal pattern of entertaining--even in the primitive conditions she found at the new capital in November 1800. The city was wilderness, the President's House far from completion. Her private complaints to her family provide blunt accounts of both, but for her three months in Washington she duly held her dinners and receptions.

The Adamses retired to Quincy in 1801, and for 17 years enjoyed the companionship that public life had long denied them. Abigail died in 1818, and is buried beside her husband in United First Parish Church. She leaves her country a most remarkable record as patriot and First Lady, wife of one President and mother of another.

Abigail Smith was born in 1744 at Weymouth, Massachusetts. Her mother was descended from the Quincys and her father and his forebearers were Congregational ministers.

Abigail lacked formal education as was common for females of the times. She was inspired by a strong intellect and therefore read the books at hand creating a basis for a relationship with John Adams who was a Harvard graduate and a lawyer. They were married October 25, 1764, a union that produced five children:

• Abigail Amelia Adams (1765-1813);
• John Quincy Adams (1767-1848);
• Susanna Adams (1768-70);
• Charles Adams (1770-1800);
• Thomas Boylston Adams (1772-1832)

Her husband's career expanded, as a circuit judge, delegate to the Continental Congress, foreign envoy, and elected official and his travels left her alone for long periods to maintain the household and raise the children. In 1784 she accompanied him to France when he served in a diplomatic post in Paris and curiously observed the manners of the French. After 1785, when her husband became the first United States Minister to Great Britain, she was well equiped to serve with him in that post.

It was as wife of the first Vice President that Abigail became a close friend to Martha Washington and a respected hostess in her own right. After 1791, however, poor health forced her to spend much of her time at home in Massachusetts.

When John Adams was elected President, she established a routine of formal entertainment but the conditions were difficult when they moved to the unfinished White House in November, 1800. Her letters to family and close friends describe the cold winters and lack of amenities but her manner to White House visitors did not reveal anything amiss.

The Adams retired to Quincy in 1801, and for the next 17 years they enjoyed private life.

Abigail died in 1818, and is buried with her husband at the United First Parish Church.