Abigail Adams

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2^nd First Lady of the United States
Abigail Ottis Adams

In office March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801
Preceded by	Martha Washington
Succeeded by	Martha Jefferson Randolph
1^st Second Lady of the United States
In office May 16, 1789 – March 4, 1797
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	Anna Thompson Gerry

Born	November 11, 1744(1744-11-11) Weymouth, Massachusetts
Died	October 28, 1818 (aged 73) Quincy, Massachusetts
Spouse	John Adams
Relations	William and Elizabeth Quincy Smith
Children	Nabby, John Quincy Adams, Susanna, Charles and Thomas
Occupation	First Lady of the United States, Second Lady of the United States
Religion	Congregational

Abigail Smith Adams (November 11, 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the wife of John Adams, the second President of the United States, and is seen as the first Second Lady of the United States and the second First Lady of the United States though the terms were not coined until after her death.

1 Early life
2 As First Lady and after
3 References
4 External links
5 First Spouse Coin

Abigail was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts to William Smith and Elizabeth Quincy on November 11, 1744. By the calendar used today, it would be November 21. On her mother's side, she was descended from the Quincys, a well-known family in the Massachusetts colony, by whom she descended from King Edward I of England and King Edward III of England [1] [2]. Her father and other forebearers were Congregational ministers, and leaders in a society that held its clergy in high esteem.

Although she did not receive a formal education, her mother taught her and her sisters Mary (1741-1811) and Elizabeth (known as Betsy) to read, write, and cipher; her father's large library enabled them to study English and French literature. As an intellectually open-minded woman for her day, Abigail's ideas on women's rights and government would eventually play a major role, albeit indirectly, in the founding of the U.S.^{[citation needed]}

When John Adams was elected President of the United States, she continued a formal pattern of entertaining, becoming the first hostess of the yet-uncompleted White House. Her account of the new but very incomplete Georgian mansion is quite entertaining. She mentioned that fires had to be lit constantly to keep the cold, cavernous place warm and she describes setting up her laundry in one of the great rooms.

The Adamses retired to Quincy in 1801 after John Adams' defeat in his bid for a second term as President of the United States. She followed her son's political career earnestly as her letters to contemporaries show.

Abigail Adams died on October 28, 1818 of typhoid fever, several years before her son became president, and is buried beside her husband in a crypt located in the United First Parish Church (also known as the Church of the Presidents).

Her last words were "Do not grieve, my friend, my dearest friend. I am ready to go. And John, it will not be long."

An Adams Memorial is proposed in Washington, D.C., honoring Abigail, her husband, and other members of their family.

The Adams women: Abigail and Louisa Adams, their sisters and daughters. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195038746/>

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Abigail Adams

The First Spouse Program under the Presidential $1 Coin Act authorizes the United States Mint to issue 1/2 ounce $10 gold coins to honor the first spouses of the United States. Abigail Adams's coin was released on June 19, 2007, and sold out in just hours.