Abigail Adams was a unique women because she had an education and aninterest in politics. She learned how to read and write and enjoyed poems most.
She was also very resourceful by helping her husband on difficult problems.
Abigail was born on November 11 on the Julian calendar, or November 22 onthe modern Gregorian calendar. Abigail had two sisters named Mary and Elizabethor Betsy. She had one brother named William or Billy. Abigail’s name wasoriginally Abigail Smith. Each baby was baptized on the first Sabbath of itslife and was recorded in their parish records. Abigail live in a comfortablehouse. When Abigail was sixteen, her father added a wing that was bigger thanthe original building to make room for the children, servants, and visitors.
When I say servants it means that they were probably slaves but were calledservants to avoid the dehumanizing effect that the word ‘slave’ can mean. Theirhouse was a sight of luxury in the eyes of the common folk in the parish.
Though they lived well, the Smiths had no fortune. Abigail’s father oftenworked with his own hands, planting corn and potatoes, gathering hay, sowingbarley, or making sure that his sheep received proper care. Abigail, with thehelp of her family grew a very religious bond between each other and a longlasting friendship.
Abigail never went to a real school because of poor health. So, shelearned at home. Her father’s library was not big, but she still went to it toread books. Abigail’s favorite books were novels by Samuel Richardson.
Abigail’s father knew John Adams by working with him and she grew rather closeto him starting a wedding. This now made her name Abigail Adams. Their weddingwas held on October 25, 1764, a month before her twentieth birthday. John was alawyer and very often was not at home due to court cases he had to attend to.
When Abigail was pregnant with her first son, John was only at home for eightout of the nine months. The baby was born on a hot day on the morning of July14, 1765. The baby’s name was ‘Abigail’, but was called Nabby. She was withher parents when she had the baby. Shortly after, she was again pregnant. July11, 1767, she delivered a healthy boy named John Quincy. John Adams soon movedhis family to Boston to be closer to his important clients and the center ofpolitical action. In Boston, Abigail had two more children. one named Susanna,who died thirteen months later, and Charles who was born healthy at the end ofMay 1770. John Adams sent everyone in his enlarged family back to there oldhouse because of the recent Boston Massacre happening. While Abigail was there,She had her last son named Thomas. John soon bought a brick house back inBoston and moved everyone back in. Abigail started teaching the children toread and write.
John told Abigail almost everything that he knew and went to her forpolitical problems. He understood what she could understand and trusted her.
Abigail became the most informed woman on public affairs in the nation. OnAugust 10, 1774, Abigail parted with John as he left to attend the Congresscalled at Philadelphia to try and unite the colonies against Great Britain’splan to punish Boston and Massachusetts. Though her sons would not be ofmilitary age for another decade, Abigail dreaded war, in which only God knewwhat would happen. When the shots at Lexington and Concorde were fired, Johnwas again off to the Congress and cautioned Abigail that she should ‘fly to thewoods’ with the children if the British attacked Boston. Abigail prayed for thewar and on June 17 John Quincy and Abigail went to Bunker Hill and watched theroar of the cannons and saw the flames of burning Charleston atop of Penn’s Hillnear where they lived. Soon they learned of the British losses and how greaterthey were, but Abigail knew someone named Dr. Warren who died. He helped JohnQuincy from the loss of his finger. Abigail wrote many letters to her husbandand it became a way of life for her. She was always keeping John up to datewith what’s happening at the immediate point in time. Abigail sometimes calledherself ‘Mrs. Delegate’ because she was the wife of a Revolutionary leader.
Abigail continued to keep in tact with her husband throughout the war. She alsowas very political. Then later she led a very productive life.
