1Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 10 June 1778 (Adams Papers)
Tis almost four Months since you left your Native land and Embarked upon the Mighty waters in quest of a Foreign Country. Altho I have not perticuliarly wrote to you since yet you may be assured you have constantly been upon my Heart and mind. It is a very dificult task my dear son for a tender parent to bring their mind to part with a child of your years into a distant Land, nor could I have...
2Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 29 September 1778 (Adams Papers)
Writing is not A la mode de Paris, I fancy or sure I should have heard from my son; or have you wrote and have I been so unfortunate as to lose all the Letters which have been written to me for this five months. I have sufferd great anxiety in not hearing from your pappa, or you. I hope you have not been so unlucky in those Letters sent to you. I want to know your situation, what proficiency...
3Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 15 December 1778 (Adams Papers)
I have a very bad soar finger and it pains me to write, yet a few lines I must write to my dear son to tell him that he is never forgotton by his Mamma, tho he does not receive a Letter every time his pappa does. Many Letters to and from you are lost I make no doubt or I should certainly hear oftner. Barns by whom you say you wrote a very long Letter has not arrived and is supposed to be lost...
4Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 19 January 1780 (Adams Papers)
I hope you have had no occasion either from Enemies or the Dangers of the Sea to repent your second voyage to France. If I had thought your reluctance arose from proper deliberation, or that you was capable of judgeing what was most for your own benifit, I should not have urged you to have accompanied your Father and Brother when you appeared so averse to the voyage. You however readily...
5Abigail Adams to John Quincy and Charles Adams, 26 February 1780 (Adams Papers)
I am happy to hear of your safe arrival tho not at the port, I wished to hear you were. You will however have a more extensive opportunity of seeing that part of the world, if you travel by land to France. I wrote you largely by Mr. Austin which I hope you have received. A very soar hand prevents my writing many things which I have in my mind, and which will be committed to paper as soon as I...
6Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 2 March 1780 (Adams Papers)
I cannot close the packet, without acknowledging the recept of your Letter, and thanking you for it. You have great reason for thankfullness to your kind preserver, who hath again carried you through many dangers, preserved your Life and given you an opportunity of making further improvements in virtue and knowledge. You must consider that every Moment of your time is precious, if trifled away...
7Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 20 March 1780 (Adams Papers)
Your Letter last evening received from Bilboa relieved me from much anxiety, for having a day or two before received Letters from your Pappa, Mr. Thaxter and Brother in which packet I found none from you, nor any mention made of you, my mind ever fruitfull in conjectures was instantly allarmed. I feard you was sick, unable to write, and your Pappa unwilling to give me uneasiness had concealed...
8Abigail Adams to Charles and John Quincy Adams, 22 July 1780 (Adams Papers)
I must write you a few lines by this opportunity, altho tis a long time since I had the pleasure of hearing from you by your own Hands. You used to be fond of writing and have been very good since your absence. Letters are always valuable from those we Love, if they con tain nothing but an account of their Health. I cannot but reflect with thankfullness to the Great Preserver of my dear...
9Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 21 January 1781 (Adams Papers)
Tis a long time since I had the pleasure of a Letter from you. If you wrote to me by Capt. Davis as I suppose you did, your Letters were all thrown over Board. If you have since written by a Brig call’d the Fame , I fear it will never reach me. She is still missing and must be taken or lost. The Mars from France we daily expect. The last Letters which I received from you came by the Alliance,...
I fear you will think Mamma is unmindfull of you if she does not write you a few lines by so good an opportunity. I wrote to both of you by Mr. Beals of this Town about a week ago, and my notice by this vessel is very short. I can only find time to tell you that tis a very long time since I heard from your Pappa, and much longer since I had a Letter from either of you. I think Dr. Lee brought...
11Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 26 May 1781 (Adams Papers)
I hope this Letter will be more fortunate than yours have been of late. I know you must have written many times since I had the pleasure of receiving a line from you, for this month completes a year since the date of your last Letter. Not a line from you or my dear Charles since you arrived in Holland, where I suppose you still are. I never was more anxious to hear yet not a single vessel...
12Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 13 November 1782 (Adams Papers)
How is it my dear son? You who used to be so punctual in your returns to your Friends that I your affectionate Mother have received but one Letter from You since you left Amsterdam. Has the cold Nothern Regions frozen up that Quick and Lively immagination which used to give pleasure to your Friends? Has it chilled your affections, or obliterated the Remembrance of her who gave you Birth? To...
13Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 20 November 1783 (Adams Papers)
This evening as I was Setting, with only your sister by my side, who was scribling at the table to some of her correspondents, my Neighbour Feild enterd, with “I have a letter for you Madam”; my immagination was wandering to Paris, ruminating upon the long, long absence of my dear son, and his parent; that I was rather inattentive to what he said, untill he repeated; I have Letters for you...
14Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 26 December 1783 (Adams Papers)
Your Letters by Mr. Thaxter I received; and was not a little pleased with them; if you do not write with the precision of a Robertson, nor the Elegance of a Voltaire, it is evident you have profited by the perusal of them. The account of your northern journey and your observation upon the Russian Goverment; would do credit to an older pen. The early age at which you went abroad; gave you not...
15Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 15 March 1784 (Adams Papers)
As I did not write you by the last conveyance I will not omit the present. I supposed your sister had got a Letter for You, but I found afterwards that she did not send it, because she could not please herself. This Week I received your trunk which Mr. Dana brought with him. You cannot conceive the pleasure I took in looking it over. The Books it is true were in a language that I understand...
16Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 25 April 1784 (Adams Papers)
I have been much dissapointed in not receiving any Letters from your Father or you by the late arrivals from England. Capt. Lyde, and a Brig have come in very short passages, but not a single Letter. This is very painfull as well as unfortunate for me just at this period. I thought it not prudent to take passage for Europe untill I heard from your Pappa. If I had received letters I should have...
17Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 26 June 1785 (Adams Papers)
I have not written you a single line since you left me. Your sisters punctuality I saw would render my pen unnecessary and I have resignd to her all the minutia, as her leisure is much greater and her cares fewer. Capt. Dashood is to sail in a few days for America, and tho as you may well imagine I have much upon my hands, and miss your assistance not a little, I have determined to write you a...
18Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 11 August 1785 (Adams Papers)
I went from my own little writing room below stairs just now into your Pappas; where Mr. Storer was writing for him. Col. Smith having set of upon a Tour in order to see the Prussian Review which takes place upon the 20 of this Month, Mr. Storer whilst he remains here; has offerd to supply his Place. Upon my going into the room he told me that a vessel would sail for Boston tomorrow, which is...
19Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 23 August 1785 (Adams Papers)
I hope this will find you upon terra firma, tho in vain I searcht the New York papers of july 7th. to find you, since which I have been very anxious. Your passage I hope has been safe tho long and tedious. I have written to you twice before since you left me and I believe you have a steady and faithfull correspondent in your sister, who having substituded you as her correspondent in lieu of...
20Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 6 September 1785 (Adams Papers)
Yesterday being Sunday I went with your papa to the Foundling Church, Dr. Price whom we usually attend being absent a few weeks in the Country. When I returnd from Church I went into my closet and took up my pen with an intention of writing to you; but I really felt so trist at not having heard of your arrival that I could not compose myself sufficently to write to you, so I scribled to your...
21Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 12 September 1785 (Adams Papers)
Mr. Storers departure is delayed from day to day so that I fear he will have a dissagreeable time upon our Coast. It gives me an opportunity of adding a few more lines to you. Col. Franks arrived here on Saturday with dispatches from Mr. Jefferson. The Ministers not hearing a Syllable of Lamb, and reports growing every day more serious, tho many of them are really false, yet they have the...
22Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 5 October 1785 (Adams Papers)
I began a Letter to you yesterday which I designd to have finishd last evening, but as we had a great deal of company, many of them Ladies who staid the evening, I could not command my time, and Captain Callihan wrote us a card last evening that he should go by nine this morning, so that I have only time to write you a few lines, to tell you about a fortnight after the arrival of Mr. Church,...
23Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 16 February 1786 (Adams Papers)
Captain Lyde is arrived to our no small joy and brought us a charming parcel of Letters, amongst which I found one from each of my Dear Sons. You know how happy a circumstance of this kind always makes me. Two days before we had heard of his arrival in the River, and waited every hour with impatience for the Letters, for those by Young have not yet come to hand, he is still at Plimouth...
24Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 20 March 1786 (Adams Papers)
Altho I have written you a very long Letter by way of Newyork, yet should one vessel go to Boston without a few lines from me, I flatter myself you would be dissapointed. Captain Cushing and Lyde both dined here yesterday. Each of them expect to sail in all this month, but Cushing in the course of the present week. By him I send you a set of shirts, as we had your measure I supposed it was as...
25Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 24 April 1786 (Adams Papers)
Your Father and Col Smith are gone to Night to Covent Garden theatre to See the School for Scandle represented, it being a Benifit Night, no places for Ladies who would not lavish Guineys. Now as I can See it at any other time at a common price I did not think it worth my while to gratify my curiosity at the expence of my purse, tho it is one of the best modern plays which has appeard upon the...
26Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 22 May 1786 (Adams Papers)
I have time only to write you a line or two, not expecting captain Bigolow to Sail so Soon. I was yesterday informd that he would not go till the middle of the week, but this morning he has sent for the Letters. I thought your sister had letters, but she says they are not ready. She wrote you by mr Jenks 3 weeks ago. I must refer you to your Friend Storer for further information as I have...
27Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 13 June 1786 (Adams Papers)
And so my Dear son your sister is really and Bona fida married, as fast as the Bishop and a Clerk could tie them, in the ceremony too of the Church of England with all its absurdities about it, and that through necessity, for you know that Such is the liberality of this enlightned Country that the disenting Clergy are not permitted to Marry. To your Aunt Cranchs Letter I must refer you for...
28Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 21 July 1786 (Adams Papers)
Altho afflicted to day with one of my bad headaches; I must write you, least the vessel should Sail in my absence with out a Letter from me. A few weeks ago we Breakfasted with mr Bridgen whom you know. He collected several gentlemen of literature, and amongst them mr Hollis, who has often dinned with us. He is a Worthy good Man, and so well known at the university that I need give no further...
29Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 27 September 1786 (Adams Papers)
Since I wrote you last I have made two excursions one to Holland, and one of a Week to the Hyde the seat of mr Brand Hollis. Here I was both entertaind and delighted. In the first place I must describe mr Hollis to you. He is a Neat, nice Batchelor of about 50 years old a learned Sensible Antiquarian. The late mr Hollis whose Name he bears could not have chosen a better Representitive to have...
30Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 22 November 1786 (Adams Papers)
It is a long time since I received a line from you, or any other of my Friends, nor have we learnt with certainty whether your Brother Tommy was admitted Colledge. By captain Folger I wrote to you, and hope it went Safe to your hand, as the Letter containd Something more than words. As I know you will not wish to Spend any time Idle it may not be too early to consult you respecting the...