Explore the Adams family through the people who wrote its history, not just the offices they held. Start with four lives, then follow the citations back to the records.
Meet the Adams family1735–1826 · Lawyer, diplomat, second president
John Adams built a legal career in Massachusetts before serving in the Continental Congress and diplomacy abroad. He married Abigail Smith in 1764. Their years of separation made correspondence central to their family life, leaving a record that connects public decisions with daily responsibilities at home.
Read the National Park Service biographyExplore life records and citations →1744–1818 · Correspondent and political adviser
Abigail Smith Adams managed the family farm and her children's education during John's absences. Her letters conveyed news from Massachusetts and challenged the limits placed on women. Reading her correspondence alongside institutional biographies gives her own perspective a place in the family's history.
Read the National Park Service biographyExplore life records and citations →1767–1848 · Diplomat and sixth president
The son of John and Abigail Adams, John Quincy accompanied his father to Europe while still a child. His education, diplomatic work, and long-running diary offer another generation's view of the early republic. He married Louisa Catherine Johnson in 1797 before taking up his assignment in Prussia.
Read the National Park Service biographyExplore life records and citations →1775–1852 · Writer and first lady
Born Louisa Catherine Johnson in London, Louisa grew up in England and France. Her life with John Quincy included diplomatic postings and years in Washington. She wrote letters, poetry, and plays, and later helped organize antislavery petitions during his service in the House of Representatives.
Read the National Park Service biographyExplore life records and citations →Start with Louisa Catherine Adams's letter to John Quincy Adams, dated 5 August 1804, published in Founders Online by the National Archives. It provides a specific document to examine alongside the biographical accounts above.
Record the writer, recipient, date, repository, and permanent link. Distinguish the letter's words from the editors' notes.
Write down exactly what a passage supports. A shared surname or a familiar name alone does not establish a family relationship.
Check names and dates against another relevant record. Preserve disagreements rather than silently replacing one account with another.
