Meet the Adamses

Meet Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams and First Ladies Abigail Adams and Louisa Catherine Adams.

For biographies of other members of the Adams family, click here.

Family Tree

The Adams Family Tree includes nine generations of John and Abigail Adams' ancestors and descendants, dating from 1590 to 1935.

Building Closed: Memorial Day
Saturday, 25 May 2019

Building Closed: Memorial Day
Monday, 27 May 2019

Library Closed; Notice: Library and Exhibitions Closed
Friday, 31 May 2019

See our calendar for all closings

Upcoming Events

Brown Bag; Research Fellow

The Right to Hail an Officer at Night: Contests of Authority in Occupied Boston

29May 12:00PM 2019

Who had authority in occupied Boston? The arrival of British regulars and the encounters that followed raised such questions for Boston’s night watch. Using ...

Author Talk

Oliver Wendell Holmes: A Life in War, Law, and Ideas

29May 6:00PM 2019

There will be a pre-talk reception at 5:30.

Oliver Wendell Holmes twice escaped death as a young Union officer in the Civil War when musket balls missed his heart and spinal cord by a fraction of an inch at the ...

MHS Tour

The History and Collections of the MHS

1Jun 10:00AM 2019

The History and Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society Tour is a 90-minute docent-led walk through our public rooms. The tour is free, open to the public, ...

See our calendar for all events

From our Blog

This Week @MHS

Join us for a program this week! Here is a look at what is going on: - Tuesday, 29 January, 5:15 PM: Better Teaching through Technology, 1945-1969, with Victoria Cain, Northeastern ...

Founder to Founder

Like so many good stories here at the Historical Society, it began with a reference question. Jeremy Belknap, hunting through his sources, asked Vice President John Adams for some help. Belknap, the ...

Have you seen?

Prospect Hill. Bunker's Hill.