Abigail Adams

ADAMS, Abigail, wife of John Adams, second president of the United States, born in Weymouth, Mass., 23 Nov., 1744; died in Quincy, Mass., 28 Oct., 1818.

Her father, Rev. William Smith, was minister of the Congregational church in Weymouth for more than forty years. Her mother was Elizabeth Quincy, a descendant of the Puritan clergy.

Abigail was often ill in childhood, and never attended school, but was taught at home, and read widely in English literature. She was married, 25 Oct., 1764, to John Adams, then a lawyer in Boston.

During the Revolution she remained at home, managing the farm at Braintree, and writing letters that are remarkable for their good sense and patriotism. In 1784 she joined her husband in France, and afterward in London, where he was minister.

She returned to the United States in 1788, and in 1797 became mistress of the White House. Her letters are among the most valuable records of the Revolutionary period.

She was the mother of John Quincy Adams (not a signer, but included here for completeness if needed).

Source:
Wilson, James Grant, and John Fiske, eds. Appleton’s Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1887. Patriot Echoes Archive