Whether a member of the Abigail Adams Historical Society, an admirer of Abigail, a history lover, or a student, it is our goal to bring you an enjoyable website on one of the most inspirational women of all times as well as information about the house in which she was born and raised in. On the 11th of November in 1744 it became the birthplace of a baby girl named Abigail. The rest, as they say, is history. Tabs and links will help you get to know Abigail and the times in which she lived.
We welcome new members to join in preserving and protecting this special home, built in 1685. We aim to keep A.A.H.S. members well informed with Birthplace and Society news, events, activities and accomplishments. It has been a little over 60 years since an all-volunteer group known as the A.A.H.S. acquired and began to restore, preserve and protect the home and grounds. To continue the dream and commitment of these founding members, donations, membership dues, admission fees and income from our gift shop are needed to continually maintain the home.
Thousands of visitors and students from near and far have been lovingly guided from room to room in the footsteps of those who have dwelled beneath its roof. At one time or another for the past 323 years, those who have lived or visited here have included a future First Lady and three future presidents, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Senator John F. Kennedy. Along with local school classes studying American History we have received authors, actors, church groups, history organizations, history lovers-young and not so young, people from all walks of life and from all over the world. With ongoing donations and support we will be able to continue giving everyone the opportunity to leave their own footprints at our national treasure.
It is at her birthplace in Weymouth*, the second oldest town in Massachusetts, that Abigail began one of the most famous courtships and correspondences in history, with a lawyer named John Adams. She and her "dearest friend" were married during a ceremony at the home of her birth on 25 October 1764. Later that same day they moved to nearby Braintree (now Quincy) in the adjacent home to John’s birthplace.*
Here, they began the most incredible journey that life could bring, until the death of Abigail in 1818 at their retirement home named Peacefield. Though physically apart for a total of 10 years during their 54 year marriage, it is only in death that they could truly be separated. This changed on 4 July 1826 when ninety-year-old John died. After eight years without her, John was with his Abigail again.
Thomas Jefferson had died just hours before. John never knew that he had followed his fellow founding father and old friend into history. Perhaps the dispatched messengers passed each other en route to Peacefield in Quincy and Monticello in Virginia to inform John and Thomas that the other had died on such a momentous day, the fiftieth anniversary of American Independence, a day so important to not only them but to all Americans.
Side by side, Abigail and John are entombed in "The Church of the Presidents"*, where visitors by the thousands still pay there respects each year. Their son, 6th U.S. President, John Quincy Adams, and his First Lady, Louisa Catherine Adams, share the small white room in the lower level of the church. The four sarcophagi are identical and simply marked, with their names carved into the granite.
The tombs of the First Ladies are adorned seasonally with wreaths from the Abigail Adams Historical Society. Abigail was the first woman to be both wife and mother to U.S. Presidents and the first to live in the White House. Born in England, Louisa Catherine is the first and only foreign born First Lady to date.
The Presidents’ tombs have wreaths from the Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution (MDAR). Also on the Presidents’ tombs U.S. Flags (as they appeared in design when they were in office) are respectfully draped above their names. The tradition of laying a wreath on the final resting place of all U.S. Presidents on their birthday was started during the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The United First Parish Church* in Quincy is the only place in the country that hosts two wreath laying ceremonies each year.
United First Parish Church
Adams National Historical Park
www.weymouthhistoricalsociety.org
Weymouth Historical Society
