Boston and Quincy, Massachusetts

Old South Meeting House

At least two important things happened here. The first was this was the place where Samuel Adams was speaking when he gave the verbal signal for the "Boston Tea Party." [It wasn't called that until a very LONG time after that--see The Shoemaker and the Tea Party by Alfred Young] The other important event was that the balcony you can see in these pictures is where the Declaration of Indpendence was first read on July 18, 1776 (It was written and adopted in Philadelphia)

These two houses are next door to each other. The unpainted house is the birthplace of John Adams; the gray house is the birthplace of his son John Quincy Adams . These are the oldest presidential birth places in the United States

This is the house the Adamses bought when they returned from public service in Europe. It was owned by the Adams family until the early 1900s and was lovingly and historically maintained in all that time.

This library was built after the time of John Quincy Adams. However, he designated in his will that if the funds were available his wishes were that a library might be built to house his extensive library. As you face the main house, the library is to the left and set back a little from the front of the house.

The two Adams presidents and their wives were originally buried in the cemetery across the street from United First Parish Church. John Adams donated a large parcel of property to the church in his will to be used for the completion of the church. This parcel of land included a quarry. After the completion of the church, the bodies of the Adams family were exhumed and reinterred in the crypt in the basement of the church.

This website shows the interiors of the Adams' homes. I was told I couldn't take pictures. I would disagree with the assessment of the photographer that the Adams neglected their children (excepting John Quincy). I suppose some might make that case for John because he was gone so much performing public service in Europe. Certainly Abigail could never be accused of neglecting her children.

John Quincy Adams is the only president to serve in the House of Representatives after his presidency. He died after suffering a stroke on the house floor. He was an ardent fighter against slavery and is known for his intervention in the Amistad incident. His wife Louisa Catherine Adams is the only foreign born First Lady (England).

Books I have enjoyed about the Adams family are John Adams by David McCullough, Arguing About Slavery by William Lee Miller, and Abigail Adams by Phyllis Lee Levin.