Now that we're talking about John Adams, it's hard to tell his whole story without talking about his wife, Abigail. Remember when we talked about how important Martha Washington was to George Washington's success, Well, he wasn't the only founding father whose marriage changed everything. John Adams and his wife Abigail are honestly a love story for the ages. People still talk about their letters today, So here is an episode all about Abigail. Abigail was born as Abigail Smith in seventeen forty four, so she was about nine years younger than her future husband John. But like her future husband, she was also from Massachusetts, a place called Weymouth, and her father was also in the clergy, but they were from very different so circles. Abigail's mother, Elizabeth, came from the prominent Quincy family, and her dad, Reverend William Smith, was part of a prestigious part of the Congregational Church, so she was of a much higher social rank. And while women at that time didn't get a lot of formal education in a school, Abigail was still educated. She had access to her father's library and was even encouraged to use it, and her mother helped her study topics like politics that most women never learned about. They also cared about the community, with Abigail and her mother taking care of the poor and sick around them. In seventeen fifty nine, when Abigail was fifteen, she met a young lawyer named John Adams. They met because John's friend, Richard Cranch, was courting Abigail's big sister Mary, so when Richard went to visit Mary, he brought his friend John along and they met Mary's little sister, Abigail. They didn't really think much of each other to start, she was young and didn't really pay much attention to him, and John said that both sisters were not frank nor candid. But John and Abigail did become friends, connecting through intelligence and the wit that he came to see in her, and that friendship grew to romance. Abigail's parents did not really approve of their courtship at first, because John Adams was a young, unestablished lawyer from a lower social class, but they came around, and her father even performed their marriage ceremony for them in seventeen sixty four, when she was nineteen and he was twenty eight, and if You're curious. Mary also ended up marrying John's friend, Richard Cranch. After Abigail and John Adams were married, they went on to live at the Adams farm in Braintree, and people noted that after the wedding they shared one horse to ride home. Over the years, they went on to have six children. First was Abigail Amelia, who they called Nabby. She was born the year after their marriage seventeen sixty five, and then was John Quincy Adams. Two years later. In seventeen sixty eight, Susannah Adams was born, but she died in seventeen seventy and that same year Charles Adams was born. Thomas Boyleston Adams came along in seventeen seventy two, and their last child, Elizabeth, died at birth. As John Adams became more involved in politics, he had to be gone for longer and longer periods of time. And it's a good thing he was married to Abigail because she managed his farm and his business while also raising their kids, and she made some really smart business decisions that made them money, so she knew what she was doing. Married women at the time didn't have many property rights, but John always called the property hers also because he was gone so much. The two wrote to each other all the time. And while we don't have George and Martha Washington's letters anymore, John and Abigail adams letters to each other are still around so people can read them and see what their marriage was like. And you can tell that it was a close, loving relationship and he really trusted her. He counted on his wife for advice from the farm to the children to political decisions. He respected her mind and really considered her a partner. But they're also love letters. They call each other cute little names like my dearest friend and misadorable, and they were happy together for fifty eight years until they were separated by death. But we will get to that in a later episode. I know this was just a quick one, but I wanted everyone to hear about Abigail's background before we move ahead with this John Adams story because she is such a big part of it. She will definitely be popping up later, so it was important to get to know her. Thanks so much for listening. Remember you can find links, videos, resources, all kinds of good stuff that goes with this episode and every episode at Growingpatriots Dot com see you next time.
