Adams political family

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Adams family
Coat of Arms of John Quincy Adams.svg
Current region Massachusetts, U.S.
Place of origin Barton St David, Somerset, Kingdom of England
Connected families Baldwin family (U.S.)
Taft family (U.S.)
Spencer family (UK)
MottoFidem libertatem amicitiam retinebis
("Hold fast to liberty, friendship, and faith")
Estate(s) Peacefield (Quincy, Massachusetts)

The Adams family is a prominent political family in the United States from the late 18th through the early 20th centuries. Based in eastern Massachusetts, they formed part of the Boston Brahmin community. The family traces to Henry Adams of Barton St David, Somerset, in England. [1] The two presidents and their descendants are also descended from John Alden, who came to the United States on the Mayflower .

Contents

The Adams family is one of four families to have produced two presidents of the United States by the same surname; the others were the Bush, Roosevelt, and Harrison families.

John Adams

Adams' birthplace in Quincy, Massachusetts John Adams birthplace, Quincy, Massachusetts.JPG
Adams' birthplace in Quincy, Massachusetts

John Adams was born on October 30, 1735 (October 19, 1735, Old Style, Julian calendar), to John Adams Sr. and Susanna Boylston. He had two younger brothers: Peter (1738–1823) and Elihu (1741–1775). [2] Adams was born on the family farm in Braintree, Massachusetts. [3] [lower-alpha 1] His mother was from a leading medical family of present-day Brookline, Massachusetts. His father was a deacon in the Congregational Church, a farmer, a cordwainer, and a lieutenant in the militia. [4] John Sr. served as a selectman (town councilman) and supervised the building of schools and roads. Adams often praised his father and recalled their close relationship. [5] Adams's great-great-grandfather Henry Adams immigrated to Massachusetts from Braintree, Essex, England, around 1638. [4]

Though raised in modest surroundings, Adams felt pressured to live up to his heritage. His family was descended from Puritans, whose strict religious doctrines had profoundly shaped New England's culture, laws, and traditions. By the time of John Adams's birth, Puritan tenets such as predestination had waned and many of their severe practices moderated, but Adams still "considered them bearers of freedom, a cause that still had a holy urgency". [6] Adams recalled that his parents "'held every Species of Libertinage in ... Contempt and horror,' ... and painted 'pictures of disgrace, or baseness and of Ruin' that would result from licentious behavior". [2] Adams later noted that "As a child I enjoyed perhaps the greatest of blessings that can be bestowed upon men – that of a mother who was anxious and capable to form the characters of her children." [7]

Adams, as the eldest child, was compelled to obtain a formal education. This began at age six at a dame school for boys and girls, conducted at a teacher's home, and was centered upon The New England Primer . Shortly thereafter, Adams attended Braintree Latin School under Joseph Cleverly, where studies included Latin, rhetoric, logic, and arithmetic. Adams's early education included incidents of truancy, a dislike for his master, and a desire to become a farmer. All discussion on the matter ended with his father's command that he remain in school: "You shall comply with my desires." Deacon Adams hired a new schoolmaster named Joseph Marsh, and his son responded positively. [8]

Members

Abigail Adams.jpg
Abigail Smith Adams – 1766 portrait by Benjamin Blyth
John Adams (1766).jpg
John Adams – 1766 portrait also by Blyth
Abigail Adams by Gilbert Stuart.jpg
Abigail Smith Adams – 1800-1815 portrait by Gilbert Stuart
John Adams A18236.jpg
John Adams – 1800-1815 portrait by Gilbert Stuart
Coat of Arms of John Adams, the second U.S. president Coat of Arms of John Adams.svg
Coat of Arms of John Adams, the second U.S. president

Family religion

Adams was raised a Congregationalist but left the denomination as a young man. By his early 20s, he identified as a Unitarian, a Protestant denomination that had been recently formed. [18] Adams always felt pressured to live up to his heritage. His family was descended from Puritans, whose strict religious doctrines had profoundly shaped New England's culture, laws, and traditions. By the time of his birth, the Congregationalists no longer called themselves "Puritans"; their severe practices had largely been dropped in the First Great Awakening of the 1730s. Adams praised them historically as bearers of freedom, a cause that still had a holy urgency". [6] Adams recalled that his parents "held every Species of Libertinage in ... Contempt and horror", and detailed "pictures of disgrace, or baseness and of Ruin" resulting from any debauchery. [2]

According to Dr. Sara Georgini, editor of The John Adams Papers: [19]

From John Adams through his grandson Charles Francis, the Adams family creed was conventionally Unitarian. They believed in a guiding Providence. They trusted that human will empowered them to freely accept or reject God’s grace. They turned away from miracles and revelation, preferring biblical criticism and lay inquiry to broaden the mind beyond the passive reception of dogma. Acknowledging Jesus as a “master workman” and gifted moral teacher, they grew fuzzy about his divinity, opting instead to scrutinize his teachings and doctrines as they related to contemporary culture. In line with their Protestant peers, most Adamses mistrusted the sensory emphasis and hierarchical nature of “Romish” Catholicism, but they revered Judaism as a source of lawmaking and ethics.

Family tree

The following is a selective family tree of notable members of the Adams family relative to Charles Francis Adams IV:

President John Quincy Adams Louisa Catherine Johnson Peter Chardon Brooks Abigail [Brown]
Charles Francis Adams Sr. Abigail Brown [Brooks]George Caspar CrowninshieldHarriet [Sears]
Charles Francis Adams Jr. John Quincy Adams II Frances Cadwalader [Crowninshield]
John Quincy Adams IIIGeorge Caspar Adams Charles Francis Adams III Frances [Lovering]Frances C. AdamsArthur AdamsMargery Lee [Sargeant]Abigail ("Hitty") AdamsRobert Homans
Catherine Lovering Adams Henry Sturgis Morgan Charles Francis Adams IV Margaret [Stockton]3 Sons, 1 Daughter
Five SonsAbigail AdamsJames C. MannyAllison AdamsPaul G. HaganTimothy Adams

Harvard University and the Adams family

The Adams family had an extensive relationship with Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The following members of the family attended and graduated from Harvard:

Adams House, one of 12 residential colleges at Harvard, is named after John Adams and later members of the Adams family.

Memorials

See also

Notes

  1. The site of the Adams house is now in Quincy, Massachusetts, which was separated from Braintree and organized as a new town in 1792.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Quincy Adams</span> President of the United States from 1825 to 1829

John Quincy Adams was an American statesman, politician, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diplomatic and political career, Adams served as an ambassador and also as a member of the United States Congress representing Massachusetts in both chambers. He was the eldest son of John Adams, who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801, and First Lady Abigail Adams. Initially a Federalist like his father, he won election to the presidency as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, and later, in the mid-1830s, became affiliated with the Whig Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quincy, Massachusetts</span> City in Massachusetts, United States

Quincy is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 101,636, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. Known as the "City of Presidents", Quincy is the birthplace of two U.S. presidents—John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams—as well as John Hancock, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence and the first and third governor of Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Francis Adams Sr.</span> American historical editor, writer, politician, and diplomat (1807–1886)

Charles Francis Adams Sr. was an American historical editor, writer, politician, and diplomat. As United States Minister to the United Kingdom during the American Civil War, Adams was crucial to Union efforts to prevent British recognition of the Confederate States of America and maintain European neutrality to the utmost extent. Adams also featured in national and state politics before and after the Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Brahmin</span> Upper class Bostonians

The Boston Brahmins or Boston elite are members of Boston's traditional upper class. They are often associated with a cultivated New England or Mid-Atlantic dialect and accent, Harvard University, Anglicanism, and traditional British American customs and clothing. Descendants of the earliest English colonists are typically considered to be the most representative of the Boston Brahmins. They are considered White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Francis Adams III</span> American politician (1866–1954)

Charles Francis Adams III was an American lawyer and politician, who served as the 44th United States Secretary of the Navy under President Herbert Hoover from 1929 to 1933. He was skipper of the Resolute which won the 1920 America's Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Francis Adams Jr.</span> American author and historian (1835–1915)

Charles Francis Adams Jr. was an American author, historian, and railroad and park commissioner who served as the president of the Union Pacific Railroad from 1884 to 1890. He served as a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War. After the war, he was a railroad regulator and executive, an author of historical works, and a member of the Massachusetts Park Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Adams Birthplace</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The John Adams Birthplace is a historic house at 133 Franklin Street in Quincy, Massachusetts. It is the saltbox home in which Founding Father and second president of the United States, John Adams, was born in 1735. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now administered by the National Park Service as part of the Adams National Historical Park, and is open for guided tours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United First Parish Church</span> Historic church in Massachusetts, United States

United First Parish Church is an American Unitarian Universalist congregation in Quincy, Massachusetts, established as the parish church of Quincy in 1639. The current building was constructed in 1828 by Boston stonecutter Abner Joy to designs by Alexander Parris. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 30, 1970, for its association with the Adams family, who funded its construction and four members are buried there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Washington Adams</span> American politician (1801–1829)

George Washington Adams was an American attorney and politician. He was the eldest son of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, and grandson of John Adams, the second President of the United States. Adams served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and on the Boston City Council. He is believed to have committed suicide at age 28.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts Historical Society</span> United States historic place

The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street in Boston, Massachusetts, and is the oldest historical society in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Adams</span> Founding Father, president of the United States from 1797 to 1801

John Adams was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain. During the latter part of the Revolutionary War and in the early years of the new nation, he served the U.S. government as a senior diplomat in Europe. Adams was the first person to hold the office of vice president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. He was a dedicated diarist and regularly corresponded with important contemporaries, including his wife and adviser Abigail Adams and his friend and political rival Thomas Jefferson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Quincy Adams II</span> American politician (1833–1894)

John Quincy Adams II was an American politician who represented Quincy in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1866 to 1867, 1868 to 1869, 1871 to 1872, and from 1874 to 1875.

Susanna Boylston Adams Hall was a prominent early-American socialite, mother of the second U.S. president, John Adams and the paternal grandmother of the sixth president, John Quincy Adams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Boylston Adams (judge)</span> Youngest son of John Adams (1772–1832)

Thomas Boylston Adams was the third and youngest son of second United States president John Adams and Abigail (Smith) Adams. He worked as a lawyer, a secretary to his brother John Quincy Adams while the latter served as United States ambassador to the Netherlands and Prussia, the business manager of and a contributor to the political and literary journal Port Folio, and a Massachusetts chief justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quincy political family</span>

The Quincy family was a prominent political family in Massachusetts from the mid-17th century through to the early 20th century. It is connected to the Adams political family through Abigail Adams.

Colonel John Quincy was an American soldier, politician and member of the Quincy political family. His granddaughter Abigail Adams named her son, the future president John Quincy Adams, after him. Two days after his great-grandson's birth, Quincy died. The city of Quincy, Massachusetts, is named after him.

John Adams Sr., also known as Deacon John, was an English-American colonial farmer and minister. Adams was the father of the second U.S. president, John Adams Jr., and paternal grandfather of the sixth president, John Quincy Adams. He was the son of Joseph Adams Jr. (1654–1737), the grandson of Joseph Adams (1626–1694), and the great-grandson of Henry Adams, who emigrated from Braintree, Essex, in England to Massachusetts Bay Colony in about 1638. His other ancestors include John and Priscilla Alden. Adams worked as a farmer and cobbler for most of his life.

Thomas Boylston Adams was an American business executive, writer, academician, and political candidate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bibliography of John Adams</span>

The following is a list and discussion of important scholarly resources relating to John Adams.

References

  1. Walker, Jane C. (2002). John Adams. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc. p. 14. ISBN   0766017044.
  2. 1 2 3 Ferling 1992, p. 11.
  3. Ferling 1992, p. 317.
  4. 1 2 McCullough 2001, pp. 29–30.
  5. Ferling 1992, pp. 11–14.
  6. 1 2 Brookhiser 2002, p. 13.
  7. Kirtley 1910, p. 366.
  8. Ferling 1992, pp. 12–14.
  9. John Adams: Biography
  10. John Adams bioguide at Congress.gov
  11. John Quincy Adams bioguide at Politicalgraveyard.com
  12. George Washington Adams bioguide at Politicalgraveyard.com
  13. Charles Francis Adams Sr. bioguide at Congress.gov
  14. John Quincy Adams II bioguide at Politicalgraveyard.com
  15. Gardner, Augustus Peabody (December 1906). "George Caspar Adams". In Huddleston, John Henry (ed.). Secretary's report. Harvard College Class of 1886. Harvard College Class of 1886 secretary's report no. 6. Vol. Report No. 6. New York: The De Vinne Press. pp. 7–8. hdl:2027/hvd.32044107298846. OCLC   903610243 . Retrieved 2018-06-12 via HathiTrust.
  16. Charles Francis Adams III bioguide at Politicalgraveyard.com
  17. Thomas Boylston Adams biography at Masshist.org
  18. David Waldstreicher, ed. A Companion to John Adams and John Quincy Adams. (2013) pp. 23, 39.
  19. Sara Georgini, Household Gods: The Religious Lives of the Adams Family ( Oxford University Press, 2019) pp 5–6.
  20. William E. McKibben (June 9, 1082). "Four More Years". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  21. Eric Pace (June 9, 1997). "Thomas B. Adams Dies at 86; Descendant of Two Presidents". New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2014. Adams... attended Harvard College from 1929 to 1932

Further reading

Biographies