by Miriam Liebman, Adams Papers
The newest Adams Papers publication is here! Adams Family Correspondence, volume 16, follows the Adams family from the end of 1804 through the middle of 1809 as John and Abigail Adams spent time at Peacefield and guided their growing family through challenges, big and small. Several of the volume’s main themes will be explored over the course of three blog posts, including family, the Miranda Expedition and its repercussions, and the deteriorating politics between the United States and Great Britain.
Part One: The Adams Family at Home
At the center of volume 16 of Adams Family Correspondence is the growing Adams family at their home, Peacefield. The 236 letters in this volume highlight the bustle of almost every family member crossing paths with John and Abigail, including some of the first letters to their older grandchildren. Settled into their retirement, Abigail oversaw the household, cared for grandchildren, and even looked at houses to rent in Cambridge for John Quincy and his family, while John took care of his farm and educated the grandchildren. Daughter Nabby and all three of her children briefly lived at Peacefield to escape her husband William Stephens Smith’s financial and political troubles before they moved to a new homestead in upstate New York. John Quincy and Louisa Catherine Adams spent Senate recesses in Boston, and briefly moved to the area during John Quincy’s short tenure as a professor at Harvard. They also welcomed son Charles Francis Adams. Thomas Boylston Adams tried the family business of politics but settled instead into his career as a lawyer. He lived at Peacefield with his new wife Ann Harrod Adams, where two daughters were born to the youngest Adams couple.

Family Record, by Ann Harrod Adams, 1806–1825. Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Even with all their family events, Abigail and John remained apprised of and involved with political happenings. Abigail questioned John Quincy’s Senate votes and his attendance at a Democratic-Republican caucus writing that it was “inconsistant both with Your principles, and your judgment, to have countananced such a meeting by Your presence.” John began to write about his political life for the newspaper Boston Patriot in the endeavor to pursue “Truth and Justice” in shaping his legacy. From their home, they worried as domestic scandals and international tensions challenged the new nation.
The Adams Papers editorial project at the Massachusetts Historical Society gratefully acknowledges support for this volume from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, and the Packard Humanities Institute.