Presidential Biography: George Washington

Term of Office - President:

April 30, 1789 March 3, 1797

Born:
Wakefield Plantation, Virginia
1732, February 22.
Early Life:
George Washington was the first son of his father Augustine's second
marriage; his mother was the former Mary Ball of Epping Forest.
Washingtons father died in 1743, and young George grew restive
under his mother's management. He proposed at one point to follow
the sea, but instead divided his adolescence among the households
of relatives, finding a home and a model in his half-brother Lawrence
at Mount Vernon.
Older brother's influence:
From Lawrence, Washington learned trigonometry and surveying and cultivated a taste for ethics, novels, music, and
the theater. A ranking officer in the Virginia militia, Lawrence had served with Admiral Edward Vernon for whom
the plantation was named and thus imbued George with aspirations for military service.
Fairfax family influence:
Another early influence on George Washington was the
powerful Fairfax family of neighboring Belvoir, who
introduced him to the accomplishments and proprieties of
mannered wealth and provided him his first adventure. In
1748, Lord Fairfax sent George with a party that spent a
month surveying Fairfax lands in the still-wild Shenandoah
Valley. It was on this expedition that George began to
appreciate the uses and value of land, an appreciation that
grew the following year with his appointment as Culpeper
County surveyor, certified by the College of William & Mary.

Lawrence Washington dies:

Lawrence, suffering from a lung complaint, undertook a Barbados voyage in search of health in a warmer climate,
and George accompanied him. The younger brother contracted smallpox and returned to Virginia alone, but with an
immunity to a disease that later ravaged colonial-era armies. Lawrence died in 1752, and the Mount Vernon estate
passed by stages into George's hands until he inherited it outright in 1761.
Washingtons military career begins:
Washington also succeeded to Lawrence's militia office. Governor Robert Dinwiddie first appointed him adjutant for
the southern district of the colony's militia, but soon conferred on him Lawrence's adjutancy for the Northern Neck
and Eastern Shore. And so it happened that in 1753 the governor sent 21-year-old George Washington to warn
French troops stationed north of the forks of the Ohio River (modern Pittsburgh) that they were encroaching in
territory claimed by Virginia.
The French ignored the admonition, and the mission failed. Nonetheless, when Washington returned, Governor
Dinwiddie instructed Williamsburg printer William Hunter to publish his official report as The Journal of Major
George Washington, thus making the young officer well known at home and abroad.
First taste of battle:
In April, Washington returned to the Ohio country with 150 men to remove the intruders and received his first taste
of war in a skirmish with a French scouting party. He wrote to his brother Jack, "I heard the bullets whistle, and,
believe me, there is something charming in the sound."
A second engagement quickly followed, and
Washington, retreating to Fort Necessity, was
beaten by a larger French force. He surrendered
and, in his ignorance of the French language,
signed an embarrassing capitulation agreement.
But he later had opportunities to redress his
defeat. The whistling bullets heralded the start
of the Seven Years' War, as it was called in
Europe. In America, it was called the French and
Indian War or, sometimes, Virginia's War.
Washington returned to the field as an aide to
General Braddock in 1755 and performed with
distinction, despite debilitating illness, in the
disastrous campaign against Fort Duquesne.
Later that year, Dinwiddie gave him command of
all Virginia forces and promoted him to colonel.
Life at Mount Vernon:
Washington resigned his military commission at the end of December 1758 and retired to Mount Vernon. He was
defeated in election for the House of Burgesses in 1755, but won in 1758 and was seated that year from Frederick
County. For 15 years he devoted himself to his legislative work and his farm. During this period, he also became a
family man, marrying the widow Martha Dandridge Custis, the mother of two children, on January 6, 1759, in New
Kent County.

County Justice of the Peace:

In 1760, Washington took on the duties of a Fairfax County
justice of the peace. He also found time for the amusements
of a Virginia gentleman fox hunting, snuff taking, plays,
billiards, cards, dancing, and fishing. He delighted in bottles
of Madeira, plates of watermelon, and dishes of oysters.
In these years, his resentment of the subordination of
American interests to those of England grew. In 1765,
Washington told an acquaintance that Parliament "hath no
more right to put their hands into my pocket, without my
consent, than I have to put my hands into yours for money."
Defense of liberty:
By 1774 Washington was in the forefront of the defense of
Virginia liberties and was among the rebellious burgesses
who gathered at the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg on May
27 after Governor Dunmore dissolved the house. Washington
signed the resolves proposing a Continental congress and a
ban on the importing of British goods. On July 18, he chaired
the Alexandria meeting that adopted George Mason's
"Fairfax Resolutions."
Sent to the First Continental Congress, Washington returned home afterward to organize independent militia
companies in Northern Virginia and to win election to the Second Continental Congress. In Philadelphia on June 15,
1775, he was offered command of America's forces, accepted, vowed to accept no pay, and left to take over the
army at Boston.
Frustration in battle:
The years that passed before the victory at Yorktown in 1781 were marked as often by frustration as by success.
Hampered by shortages of supplies and the unreliability of enlistments, Washington commanded with caution.
Washington as military leader:
The war wound down and as danger diminished, congressional
neglect of the Army grew. Washingtons troops urged him to
seize power from the politicians, but he repudiated every such
suggestion. On March 15, 1783, Washington met his unhappy
and rebellious officers at Newburgh, New York, to discourage
them from marching on Congress over back pay, but the speech
he had prepared proved unpersuasive.
Washington decided to read a letter that he had received from a
congressman. As he reached into his coat for his glasses, he said
to his troops, "Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my
spectacles, for I have not only grown gray, but almost blind, in
the service of my country." The officers were so touched that some cried, and the day was carried. Biographer James
Thomas Flexner wrote, "This was probably the most important single gathering ever held in the United States."

Return to Mount Vernon:

On April 19, 1783 the anniversary of the Battle of Lexington Washington said farewell to his staff at the Fraunces
Tavern in New York and, on the way to Mount Vernon, stopped in Annapolis to resign his commission to Congress.
He resumed the life of a plantation squire, and set out to repair his finances.
Washington had long hoped to connect the Virginia seaboard to the Ohio River and the interior by means of canals.
In autumn 1784 he set out on a 650-mile journey for observations. Improvement of his long-neglected farms,
however, was his primary preoccupation.
President of a new nation:
Nevertheless, the weakness of the government created by the Articles of
Confederation concerned Washington and, in 1786, Shays' Rebellion
alarmed him. He reluctantly accepted a seat in the federal convention
and election to its presidency. His unanimous election as the first
president of the United States was certain before the Constitution was
even adopted and, again, he accepted with reluctance.
George Washington took the oath of office April 30, 1789 in New York.
He was 57 years of age.
Washington not only had to organize a government but also to create a
role for the highest officer of the new nation. Both tasks earned him
enemies. Always opposed to factions, his two administrations
nevertheless fostered the bitter rivalry of the Federalist and Antifederalist parties.
The Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania against a federal excise
tax on spirits was his critical domestic challenge. He rode partway to the
field at the head of the column of militia raised to put it down.

Jefferson splits with Washington:

After serving as Washington's Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson split with the president. The breach became
permanent due to the differences in their political opinions regarding the strength of the federal government.
Post-Presidential Life:
Nevertheless, historians credit Washington's conduct of the office with the preservation of the fledgling national
union under the American Constitution. Washington issued his farewell address on September 17, 1796, and was
succeeded by John Adams the following March 4. His last official act was to pardon the participants in the Whiskey
Rebellion.
When relations with France soured in 1798, his Country once more turned to Washington for his service. Adams
appointed him lieutenant general of a provisional army. The danger subsided before the troops assembled.

An artist's depiction of George Washington's final moments. - Life of George Washington: The Christian, lithograph by Claude Regnier, after Junius Brutus
Stearns,1853. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Gibby, 1984 [WB-55/A1], Washington Library, Mount Vernon, VA.

Death:
His home, Mount Vernon, Virginia
1799, December 14
67 years old
Burial:
Burial vault, Mt. Vernon, Virginia
In December 1799, after a day spent riding on his farms in foul weather, Washington's throat became inflamed. At 2
a.m. December 14, he awakened his wife to say that he was having trouble breathing. At sunrise she sent for Dr.
James Craig, who arrived at 9 a.m. and diagnosed the illness as inflammatory quinsy. During the morning
Washington was bled three times and two more doctors were summoned. One counseled against bleeding, but
more blood was taken and purges administered. At midnight Washington said to his secretary, Tobias Lear: I am
just going. Have me decently buried, and do not let my body be put into the vault in less than three days after I am
dead. Do you understand me?
Lear said, Yes.
Washington's last words were, 'Tis well.
http://www.history.org/almanack/people/bios/biowash2.cfm

First Lady Biography: Martha Dandridge Custis Washington

Born:
Chestnut Grove Plantation, New Kent County, Virginia
1731, June 2.
Marriage:
First marriage:
19 years old, married 1750 to Daniel Parke Custis (17111757), manager of New
Kent County plantation of his father Councilor John Custis of Williamsburg. They
lived at a mansion called "White House," on the Pumunkey River.

A latter 19th century print made from

an earlier painting which depicts
Martha Washington in the years
before her marriage to the first
President.

Second:
27 years old, married 1759, January 6
at "White House," to Colonel George
Washington (17321799) commander
of the First Virginia Regiment in the
French and Indian War, former
member, House of Burgess, Frederick
County (1758).

They lived at estate "Mount Vernon,"

initially leased from his half-brother Lawrence's widow, and inherited
upon her 1761 death.

George Washington proposing marriage to the

young widow Martha Custis as depicted by 19th
century illustrator Jean Leon Jerome Ferris.

Children:
By first marriage:
Daniel Parke Custis (17511754), Frances Parke Custis
(17531757), John Parke "Jacky" Custis (17541781),
Martha Parke "Patsy" Custis (17561773)
By second marriage:
None
Raised:
Grandchildren George Washington "Wash" or "Tub"
Parke Custis (1781-1857), Eleanor "Nelly" Parke Custis
(1779-1852) (Children of son Jacky Custis)

Occupation after Marriage:

With her extremely large inheritance of land from the Custis estate and the vast farming enterprise at Mount
Vernon, Martha Washington spent considerable time directing the large staff of slaves and servants. While George
Washington oversaw all financial transactions related to the plantation, Martha Washington was responsible for the
not insubstantial process of harvesting, preparing, and preserving herbs, vegetables, fruits, meats, and dairy for
medicines, household products and foods needed for those who lived at Mount Vernon, relatives, slaves and
servants - as well as long-staying visitors.

During the American Revolution, Martha Washington

assumed a prominent role as caretaker for her
husband, appointed the General of the American Army
by the Continental Congress, and his troops (winter
1775, Cambridge, Massachusetts; spring 1776, New
York; spring 1777, Morristown, New Jersey; winter
1778, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania). She lent her name to
support a formal effort to enlist women of the colonies
to volunteer on behalf of the Continental Army. It
involved her writing to the wives of all the colonial
governors and asking them to encourage the women of
their colonies to make not only financial contributions
but to sew and gather necessary supplies for the
Continental Army.
While at Valley Forge Martha Washington organized wealthy Philadelphia
women into committees to raise funds for troop supplies and sew needed
blankets and garments. (Library of Congress)

During the famously bitter winter spent at Valley

Forge, Martha Washington permanently endeared
herself to the soldiers. Often starving for want of food,
their feet freezing in the snow and their outer garments too thin to
withstand the cold, she made the rounds of visiting them, providing
as much food as she could have donated, sewing socks and other
outer garments and prevailing on local women to also do so, she
also nursed those who were ill or dying. Her commitment to the
welfare of the American Revolutionary War veterans would remain
lifelong. In appreciation, American servicemen addressed her as
"Lady Washington."

In Washington at Valley Forge (1854) artist Tompkins

Harrison Matteson depicted Martha Washington's
devoted care to American Revolution soldiers.

Presidential Campaign and Inauguration:

Since George Washington was unanimously named President, there was
no election campaign. Unable to attend his April 30, 1789 inaugural
ceremony in the first capital city of New York, Martha Washington
followed the route traveled by him a month earlier. She was honored as
"Lady Washington," a public figure in her own right in ceremony and
procession by local citizen groups, all of which was reported in the
national newspapers.
She was present for his second inaugural on March 4, 1793 in
Philadelphia but took no public role in the ceremonies.

A June 11 1789 newspaper notice of Martha Washington's

arrival in New York as the first President's wife, attesting to
press interest in her new role.

First Lady:
1789, April 30 - 1797, March 4
57 years old

After arriving in New York as

the first First Lady Martha
Washington was a person of
curiosity to the general public.
(Library of Congress)

Martha Washington's eight years as the first First Lady were extremely unpleasant to her
personally, but she viewed it as duty to her husband and her country. By the time she arrived
at the capital, her husband's secretary, who had lived in Europe, created a series of rigid
protocol rules that she found especially limiting of her, particularly the one which forbade her
and the President from accepting invitations to dine in private homes. Despite the company of
her two grandchildren, she expressed a sense of loneliness in New York, the first capital, where
she had fewer personal friends than she would find in the next capital of Philadelphia (17901800). She also discovered that even her mundane activities like shopping or taking her
grandchildren to the circus, which were recorded by the press.
Establishing her public role as hostess in the series of
presidential mansions (two in New York and one in
Philadelphia), Martha Washington held formal dinners on
Thursdays and public receptions on
Fridays.
She remained beloved by
Revolutionary War veterans, and
was publicly known to provide
financial support or to intercede on
behalf of those among them in
The first presidential mansion, on Cherry
need. Not only Americans, but
Street in New York.
Europeans responded to Martha
Washington as something of an American heroine, sometimes
sending her lavish gifts. One British engraver even sought to capture
her image and sell it to the mass public, creating a picture that looked
nothing like her but was labeled "Lady Washington."

Later painting by Daniel Huntington imagined one of Martha

Washington's regal and formal receptions. (Brooklyn Museum of Art)

There is evidence of great mutual care and affection between the first president
and his wife. She was conscientious about ensuring in every way she could the
dignity of him as a symbol and that his reputation was never compromised. She
also recognized the differentiation necessary between her own personal life and
the way she was perceived by the public.
After he underwent the surgical removal
of a possibly cancerous growth on his left
leg in 1789. Martha Washington made
arrangements to mitigate the pain of his
painful post-surgical recovery, ensuring
that the public streets near their home
were cordoned off and straw was laid
nearby to muffle sounds.

Martha Washington's approval of the famous portrait of

her husband by artist Gilbert Stuart realized in another
illustration by Ferris.

A European engraving of Martha

Washington with her unofficial title, the
image looking nothing like her. (Library of
Congress)

Post-Presidential Life:
Martha Washington was relieved when her husband's Administration
ended and they retired to Mount Vernon. Nevertheless, her life after
the presidency was not the idyllic private existence she had
anticipated. Rather, hundreds of American citizens as well as visiting
foreign dignitaries, such as Frances Marquis de Lafayette, came to
visit the former President at Mount Vernon. All expected to be
entertained, some even expected to be put up as overnight guests.
The former First Lady was not known to have accompanied the former
President across the Potomac River to the new federal city being built,
even after it began functioning as the official U.S. capital city in 1800.
The extent of her travel from Mount Vernon was only to the local city
of Alexandria, Virginia.
Upon his death on December 14, 1799, the slaves owned by the
Washingtons were promised their freedom upon Martha
Martha Washington with Nelly Custis were pictured in this
Washington's death. Making clear the tremendous personal sacrifice
imagined version of Lafayette's visit to the former President at
that the federal government asked of her in requesting that she
Mount Vernon.
permit the remains of the first president to be eventually interned at
the U.S. Capitol Building, she wrote to President John Adams that she would acquiesce with her sense of public duty.
As a widow, she welcomed visits from President John Adams and her old friend Abigail Adams, whom she
befriended when the latter was serving as the Vice Presidents wife. She also courteously welcomed the formal calls
from future Presidents and their wives, John Quincy Adams and Louisa Adams, and James Madison and Dolley
Madison.
Although she curtailed her life to Mount Vernon, once the new capital city was established in what was first called,
"The Federal City," and then named Washington for her late husband, Martha Washington welcomed political
figures who came to pay their respects to her and visit what was then thought to be the temporary burial place of
the late president. She expressed her loneliness for her late husband frequently and her desire to soon join him in
death. Despite her own self-identity as an entirely private person, her death was considered a matter of national
interest and her obituary was widely printed in regional newspapers.
Death:
home, Mount Vernon, Virginia
May 22
years old
Burial:
vault, Mt. Vernon, Virginia
As the first First Lady, Martha Washington was forever iconized in all forms of
commemoration alongside the image of her husband. For many generations,
pictures of both George and Martha Washington were hung in American
classrooms, Martha Washingtons patience, steadiness, optimism and loyalty
up as ideal virtues. Among the numerous engravings and illustrations made to
commemorate the life of George Washington, his wife was also almost always
depicted alongside him. She was also the first historical woman figure to be
depicted by the federal government on postage stamps and currency.
http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=1

Her
1802,
70
Burial

By virtue of the fact that

she was famous as the wife
of the legendary George
Washington, Martha
Washington's image was a
predominant image for long
decades after her death.

framed
held

Presidential Biography: John Adams

Term of Office - Vice President:
April 30, 1789 March 3, 1797
Term of Office - President:
March 4, 1797 March 3, 1801
Born:
Braintree, Massachusetts
1735, October 30.
Early Life:
John Adams father, John Adams Sr., was a farmer, a Congregationalist deacon and a
town councilman, and was a direct descendant of Henry Adams, a Puritan who emigrated from England to the
Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638. His mother, Susanna Boylston Adams, was a descendant of the Boylstons of
Brookline, a prominent family in colonial Massachusetts.
At age 16, Adams earned a scholarship to attend Harvard University. After graduating in 1755, at age 20, Adams
studied law in the office of John Putnam, a prominent lawyer, despite his father's wish for him to enter the ministry.
In 1758, he earned a master's degree from Harvard and was admitted to the bar.
Personal Life:
On October 25, 1764, five days before his 29th birthday, Adams married Abigail Smith. They had six children, Abigail
(1765), John Quincy (1767), Susanna (1768), Charles (1770), Thomas Boylston (1772) and Elizabeth (1777).
Adams found himself regularly away from his family, a sacrifice that both he and Abigail saw as important to the
cause, though Abigail was often unhappy.
Political Career:
Adams quickly became identified with the patriot cause, initially as the result of his opposition to the Stamp Act of
1765. He wrote a response to the imposition of the act by British Parliament titled "Essay on the Canon and Feudal
Law," which was published as a series of four articles in the Boston Gazette. In it, Adams argued that the Stamp Act
deprived American colonists of the basic rights to be taxed by consent and to be tried by a jury of peers. Two
months later Adams also publicly denounced the act as invalid in a speech delivered to the Massachusetts governor
and his council.
In 1770, Adams agreed to represent the British soldiers on trial for killing five civilians in what became known as the
Boston Massacre. He justified defending the soldiers on the grounds
that the facts of a case were more important to him than the
passionate inclinations of the people. He believed that every person
deserved a defense, and he took the case without hesitation. During
the trial Adams presented evidence that suggested blame also lay
with the mob that had gathered, and that the first soldier who fired
upon the crowd was simply responding the way anyone would
when faced with a similar life-threatening situation.
The jury acquitted six of the eight soldiers, while two were
convicted of manslaughter. Reaction to Adams's defense of the
soldiers was hostile, and his law practice suffered greatly. However,
his actions later enhanced his reputation as a courageous, generous
and fair man.

That same year, Adams was elected to the Massachusetts Assembly and was one of five to represent the colony at
the First Continental Congress, in 1774. When Congress created the Continental Army in 1775, Adams nominated
George Washington of Virginia as its commander-in-chief.
In May 1776, Congress approved Adams's resolution proposing that the colonies each adopt independent
governments. He wrote the preamble to this resolution, which was approved on May 15, setting the stage for the
formal passage of the Declaration of Independence. On June 7, 1776, Adams seconded Richard Henry Lee's
resolution of independence, and backed it passionately until it was adopted by Congress on July 2, 1776. Congress
appointed Adams, along with Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston and Roger Sherman, to
draft the declaration. Jefferson would write the first draft, which was approved on July 4.

Adams was soon serving on as many as 90 committees in

the fledgling government, more than any other
Congressman, and in 1777, he became head of the Board
of War and Ordinance, which oversaw the Continental
army. In 1779, Adams was one of the American diplomats
sent to negotiate the Treaty of Paris, which brought an
end to the Revolutionary War. After the war, Adams
remained in Europe, and from 1784 to 1785 he arranged
treaties of commerce with several European nations. In
1785 he became the first U.S. minister to England.
In 1788, Adams returned home after nearly 10 years in
Europe. In 1789, he was placed on the ballot for America's
first presidential election. As expected, George
Washington received the highest number of electoral
votes and was elected president. In accordance with the
Constitutional provision set for presidential elections at
that time, Adams was designated Vice President. The
same result occurred in the 1792 election.

The Peace Commissioners. Unfinished portrait by Benjamin West showing

the American peace commissioners who met with the British
representatives in Paris: John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and
Henry Laurens. The figure behind Franklin is his grandson. Courtesy of The
Henry Francis DuPont Winterthur Museum, Wilmington, Delaware

Presidency:
In 1796, Adams was elected as the Federalist nominee for president. Thomas Jefferson led the opposition for the
Democratic-Republican Party. Adams won the election by a narrow margin, becoming the second president of the
United States.
During Adams's presidency, a war between the French and British was causing political difficulties for the United
States. Adams's administration focused its diplomatic efforts on France, whose government had suspended
commercial relations. Adams sent three commissioners to France, but the French refused to negotiate unless the
United States agreed to pay what amounted to a bribe. When this became public knowledge, the nation broke out in
favor of war. However, Adams did not call for a declaration of war, despite some naval hostilities.
By 1800, this undeclared war had ended, and Adams had become significantly less popular with the public. He lost
his re-election campaign in 1800, with only a few less electoral votes than Thomas Jefferson, who became president.

Post-Presidential Life:
After his presidency, Adams lived quietly with Abigail on their family farm in Quincy, where he continued to write
and to correspond with his friend Thomas Jefferson. Both Adams and Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, the 50th
anniversary of American independence. Adams's last words were, "Thomas Jefferson survives."
John Quincy Adams, Adams's son, would eventually become the sixth president of the United States, though he was
a member of the opposition party, the Democratic-Republicans.
Died:
1826, July 4.
http://www.biography.com/people/john-adams-37967#synopsis

First Lady Biography: Abagail Smith Adams

Born:
Place: Weymouth, Massachusetts
Date: 1744, November 11
Education:
Although Abigail Adams was later known for advocating an education in the
public schools for girls that was equal to that given to boys, she herself had
no formal education. She was taught to read and write at home, and given
access to the extensive libraries of her father and maternal grandfather,
taking a special interest in philosophy, theology, Shakespeare, the classics,
ancient history, government and law.
Occupation before Marriage:
No documentation exists to suggest any
involvement of Abigail Adams as a young
woman in her father's parsonage activities.
She recalled that in her earliest years, she
was often in poor health. Reading and corresponding with family and friends
occupied most of her time as a young woman. She did not play cards, sing or dance.
Marriage:
19 years old, married 1764, October 25 to John Adams, lawyer (1735-1826), in Smith
family home, Weymouth, Massachusetts, wed in matrimony by her father, the
Reverend Smith. After the ceremony, they drove in a horse and carriage to a cottage
that stood beside the one where John Adams had been born and raised. This
became their first home. They moved to Boston in a series of rented homes before
buying a large farm, "Peacefield," in 1787, while John Adams was Minister to Great
Britain.
The earliest known image of Abigail Adams
painted at the time of her marriage.
(original source unknown)

Children:
Three sons and two daughters;
Abigail " Nabby " Amelia Adams Smith (1765
1813),
John Quincy Adams (17671848),
Susanna Adams (17681770),
Charles Adams (17701800),
Thomas Boylston Adams (17721832)
The first home Abigail Adams shared with her husband, his own birthplace in the
foreground (Library of Congress)

Occupation after Marriage:

Abigail Adams gave birth to her first child ten days shy of nine months after her
marriage, thus working almost immediately as a mother. She also shared with her
husband the management of the household finances and the farming of their property
for sustenance, while he also practiced law in the nearby city of Boston.
When John Adams went to Philadelphia in 1774 to serve as his colony's delegate to the
First Continental Congress, Abigail Adams remained home. The separation prompted
the start of a lifelong correspondence between them, forming not only a rich archive
that reflected the evolution of a marriage of the Revolutionary and Federal eras, but a
chronology of the public issues debated and confronted by the new nation's leaders.
The letters reflect not only Abigail Adams' reactive advice to the political contentions
and questions that John posed to her, but also her own observant reporting of New
England newspapers' and citizens' response to legislation and news events of the
American Revolution.

Abigail Adams as depicted

during the American
Revolutionary era. (public
domain)

As the colonial fight for independence from the mother country ensued, Abigail Adams
was appointed by the Massachusetts Colony General Court in 1775, along with Mercy Warren and the governor's
wife Hannah Winthrop to question their fellow Massachusetts women who were charged by their word or action of
remaining loyal to the British crown and working against the independence movement. "you are now a politician
and now elected into an important office, that of judges of Tory ladies, which will give you, naturally, an influence
with your sex," her husband wrote her in response to the appointment. This was the first instance of a First Lady
who held any quasi-official government position.
As the Second Continental Congress drew up and debated the
Declaration of Independence through 1776, Abigail Adams
began to press the argument in letters to her husband that the
creation of a new form of government was an opportunity to
make equitable the legal status of women to that of men.
Despite her inability to convince him of this, the text of those
letters became some of the earliest known writings calling for
women's equal rights.

An early 20th century depiction of the New England kitchen of

Abigail Adams, where she was known to melt down pewter
tableware to make bullets for the musket guns of Revolutionary
War soldiers. (public domain, postcard)

Separated from her husband when he left for his diplomatic service as
minister to France, and then to England in 1778, she kept him informed
of domestic politics while he confided international affairs to her. She
joined him in 1783, exploring France and England, received in the latter
nation by the king. Upon their return, during John Adams' tenure as
the first Vice President (1789-1797), Abigail Adams spent part of the
year in the capital cities of New York and Philadelphia, while Congress
was in session.

The bedroom Abigail Adams shared with her husband, in

which, during his long years of absence she penned many
of her famous letters to him. (National Park Service)

Presidential Campaign and Inauguration:

As much of her political role was conducted in correspondence, so too was Abigail Adams's active interest in her
husband's two presidential campaigns, in 1796 and 1800, when his primary challenger was their close friend, antiFederalist Thomas Jefferson. Caring for her husband's dying mother Abigail Adams was unable to attend his March
4, 1797 inaugural ceremony in Philadelphia. She was highly conscious, however, of how their lives would change
that day, with "a sense of the obligations, the important trusts, and numerous duties connected with it . " Although
she relished a good political conversation, she increasing found it a profession beset by envy, hatred, malice, and all
uncharitableness" in all three branches of government.
First Lady:
1797, March 4 - 1801, March 4
52 years old
Of the four years her husband served as President, Abigail Adams
was actually present in the temporary capital of Philadelphia and
then, finally, the permanent " Federal City, " of Washington, D.C.
for a total of only eighteen months. She nonetheless made a strong
impression on the press and public.

The White House as would have appeared to Abigail Adams

when she moved into it in November of 1800. (White House
Historical Association)

Her caution about their old friend Thomas Jefferson had grown to
mistrust by this point, he having come in second in the presidential
election campaign against her husband and, in the old system, was
thus declared the new Vice President.

Abigail Adams couldnt help herself from writing in letters and

saying in public exactly what she thought. When she looked directly at Alexander Hamilton while speaking to him,
for example, she declared that she had just" looked into the eyes of the devil himself."
Highly conscious of her position as the president's wife,
Abigail Adams saw her role largely as a hostess for the
public and partisan symbol of the Federalist Party.
Abigail Adams made no attempt to hide her contempt
for the Anti-Federalists loyal to Jefferson who looked for
any chance to publicly attack the Federalist followers of
Adams. Almost immediately, the Presidents Lady
became a popular target of attack. The sarcastic AntiFederalist Albert Gallatin widely spread the story about
a friend who heard her majesty as she was asking the
names of different members of Congress and then
pointed out which were our people. Abigail Adams
gave as good as she got, sarcastically calling him "the
sly, the artful, the insidious Gallatin..." Gallatin shot
back, dubbing her Mrs. President, not of the United
States but a faction. However sharp, the nickname was
accurate. It would stick with Abigail Adams for the rest
of history.

The Philadelphia presidential mansion which served as the official home of

the President and Mrs. Adams for all but four months of their tenure.
(public domain)

Wounded as she was, the remark did not make Abigail

Adams recede in public. She was unofficially titled "Lady
Adams," and encouraged such recognition by assuming a visible ceremonial role.

Often mentioned in the press, her opinions were even quoted at a New England town hall meeting. Even the private
letters exchanged between the presidential couple could be purloined and intercepted by political enemies in the
chain of the postal system. It wasnt long before one of Presidents Ladys stolen letters to the President was being
waved about and quoted by a man at a public debate in Massachusetts. Abigail Adams was livid.
Mrs. Adams helped forward the interests of the Administration
by writing editorial letters to family and acquaintances,
encouraging the publication of the information and viewpoint
presented in them. She was sarcastically attacked in the
opposition press, her influence over presidential appointments
questioned and there were printed suggestions that she was
too aged to understand questions of the day.
Indeed, Abigail Adams supported the sentiment behind her
husband's Alien and Sedition Acts as a legal means of
imprisoning those who criticized the President in public print.
Fearful of French revolutionary influence on the fledgling
United States, she was unsuccessful in her urging the President
to declare war with France. She remained an adamant
advocate of equal public education for women and
emancipation of African-American slaves.
A later impression of Abigail Adam being welcomed to the new
presidential mansion in Washington by her husband. (White House
Historical Association)

A mid-20th century depiction of Abigail Adams overseeing the hanging of her family's
wet laundry in the East Room to dry. (White House Historical Association)

The first First Lady to live in the White House, she resided there for four months, arriving in November 1800. During
that time she famously hung her family's laundry in the unfinished East Room to dry.
Post-Presidential Life:
When Thomas Jefferson finally managed to defeat John Adams in his attempt to win a second term, Abigail Adams
was ready to leave politics, writing shortly beforehand, she was Sick, sick, sick of public life.In a November 13,
1800 letter to her son, she reflected: The consequence to us, personally, is, that we retire from public life. For
myselfI have few regrets. At my age, and with my bodily infirmities, I shall be happier at Quincy. Neither my habits,
nor my education, or inclinations have led me to an expensive style of living, so that on that score I have little to
mourn over. If I did not rise with dignity, I can at least fall with ease, which is the more difficult taskI feel not any
resentment against those who are coming into power

While her central focus in retirement was on her

home and raising her granddaughter Susanna
Adams to maturity, Abigail Adams nevertheless
remained interested in national political issues.
Upon learning of Maria Jefferson Eppes' death,
Abigail Adams wrote to the girl's father,
President Jefferson, thus initiating a renewal of
their contact and while she remained mistrustful
of his politics, a new friendship through
correspondence opened between Jefferson and
John Adams. She corresponded upon at least one
occasion with her successor Dolley Madison.
Relieved at the return of her son John Quincy
Adams from his diplomatic missions in Europe,
Abigail Adams had an initially strained
relationship with his English-born wife, Louisa Catherine Johnson. She did not live to see her son become President,
which occurred six years after her death. When once approached for permission to publish some of her political
letters, Abigail Adams refused, considering it improper for a woman's private correspondence to be publicly
divulged. However, one of her grandsons arranged for the publication of some of her famous letters in 1848,
becoming the first published book pertaining to a First Lady.
Peacefield, the Adams family home and farm which Abigail Adams managed.
(National Park Service)

Death:
Her home, Quincy, Massachusetts
1818, October 28
73 years old
Burial:
First Unitarian Church, Quincy Massachusetts
*Not only is Abigail Adams buried beside her husband but also along
with their son, the sixth President and his wife, John Quincy and Louisa
Catherine Adams.

http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=2

A silhouette of former First Lady Adams. (National

Portrait Gallery)

Presidential Biography: Thomas Jefferson

Term of Office Vice President:
March 4, 1797 March 3, 1801
Term of Office President:
March 4, 1801 March 3, 1809
Born:
Shadwell, Virginia
1743, April 13.
Early Life:
Jefferson was born into one of the most prominent families of
Virginia's planter elite. His mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson, was
a member of the proud Randolph clan, a family claiming descent
from English and Scottish royalty. His father, Peter Jefferson, was a successful farmer as well as a skilled surveyor
and cartographer who produced the first accurate map of the Province of Virginia. The young Jefferson was the third
born of ten siblings.
As a boy, Thomas Jefferson's favorite pastimes were playing in the woods, practicing the violin and reading. He
began his formal education at the age of nine, studying Latin and Greek at a local private school run by the Reverend
William Douglas. In 1757, at the age of 14, he took up further study of the classical languages as well as literature
and mathematics with the Reverend James Maury, whom Jefferson later described as "a correct classical scholar."
Education:
In 1760, having learned all he could from Maury, Jefferson
left home to attend the College of William and Mary in
Williamsburg, Virginia's capital. Although it was the
second oldest college in America (after only Harvard),
William and Mary was not at that time an especially
rigorous academic institution. Jefferson was dismayed to
discover that his classmates expended their energies
betting on horse races, playing cards and courting women
rather than studying. Nevertheless, the serious and
precocious Jefferson fell in with a circle of older scholars
that included Professor William Small, Lieutenant
Governor Francis Fauquier and lawyer George Wythe, and
it was from them that he received his true education.
College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

After three years at William and Mary, Jefferson decided

to read law under Wythe, one of the preeminent lawyers of the American colonies. There were no law schools at
this time; instead aspiring attorneys "read law" under the supervision of an established lawyer before being
examined by the bar. Wythe guided Jefferson through an extraordinarily rigorous five-year course of study (more
than double the typical duration); by the time Jefferson won admission to the Virginia bar in 1767, he was already
one of the most learned lawyers in America.

Marriage:
From 1767-'74, Jefferson practiced law in Virginia with great
success, trying many cases and winning most of them. During these
years, he also met and fell in love with Martha Wayles Skelton, a
recent widow and one of the wealthiest women in Virginia. The pair
married on January 1, 1772. Thomas and Martha Jefferson had six
children together, but only two survived into adulthood: Martha,
their firstborn, and Mary, their fourth. Only Martha survived her
father.
Political Beginnings:
The beginning of Jefferson's professional life coincided with great
changes in Great Britain's American colonies. The conclusion of the
French and Indian War in 1763 left Great Britain in dire financial
straits.
Thomas Jefferson was one of the earliest and most fervent
supporters of the cause of American independence from Great
Britain. He was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1768
and joined its radical bloc, led by Patrick Henry and George
Washington. In 1774, Jefferson penned his first major political
work, "A Summary View of the Rights of British America," which
established his reputation as one of the most eloquent advocates of the American cause. A year later, in 1775,
Jefferson attended the Second Continental Congress, which created the Continental Army and appointed Jefferson's
fellow Virginian, George Washington, as its commander-in-chief. However, the Congress's most significant work fell
to Jefferson himself.

Drafting the Declaration of Independence:

In June 1776, the Congress
appointed a five-man
committee (Jefferson, John
Adams, Benjamin Franklin,
Roger Sherman and Robert
Livingston) to draft a
Declaration of Independence.
The committee then chose
Jefferson to author the
declaration's first draft,
selecting him for what John
Adams called his "happy talent
for composition and singular
felicity of expression." Over
the next 17 days, Jefferson
drafted one of the most
beautiful and powerful
testaments to liberty and
equality in world history.

After authoring the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson

returned to Virginia, where, from 1776 to 1779, he served as a
member of the Virginia House of Delegates. There he sought to
revise Virginia's laws to fit the American ideals he had outlined in
the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson successfully abolished
the doctrine of entail, which dictated that only a property owner's
heirs could inherit his land, and the doctrine of primogeniture,
which required that in the absence of a will a property owner's
oldest son inherited his entire estate.
In 1777, Jefferson wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious
Freedom, which established freedom of religion and the
separation of church and state. Although the document was not
adopted as Virginia state law for another nine years, it was one of
Jefferson's proudest life accomplishments.
Governor of Virginia:
On June 1, 1779, the Virginia legislature elected Jefferson as the
state's second governor. His two years as governor proved the
low point of Jefferson's political career. Torn between the
Continental Army's desperate pleas for more men and supplies
and Virginians' strong desire to keep such resources for their own
defense, Jefferson waffled and pleased no one. As the Revolutionary War progressed into the South, Jefferson
moved the capital from Williamsburg to Richmond, only to be forced to evacuate that city when it, rather than
Williamsburg, turned out to be the target of British attack.
On June 1, 1781, the day before the end of his second term as governor, Jefferson was forced to flee his home at
Monticello (located near Charlottesville, Virginia), only narrowly escaping capture by the British cavalry. Although he
had no choice but to flee, his political enemies later pointed to this inglorious incident as evidence of cowardice.
Jefferson declined to seek a third term as governor and stepped down on June 4, 1781. Claiming that he was giving
up public life for good, he returned to Monticello, where he intended to live out the rest of his days as a gentleman
farmer surrounded by the domestic pleasures of his family, his farm and his books.
Minister to France:
Thomas Jefferson was spurred back into public life by private tragedy: the death of his beloved wife, Martha
Jefferson, on September 6, 1782, at the age of 34. After months of mourning, in June 1783, Jefferson returned to
Philadelphia to lead the Virginia delegation to the Confederation Congress. In 1785, that body appointed Jefferson
to replace Benjamin Franklin as U.S. minister to France.
In Europe, Jefferson rekindled his friendship with John Adams, who served as minister to Great Britain, and Adams's
wife, Abigail. The brilliant Abigail Adams, with whom Jefferson maintained a lengthy correspondence on a wide
variety of subjects, was treated as an intellectual equal. Jefferson's official duties as minister consisted primarily of
negotiating loans and trade agreements with private citizens and government officials in Paris and Amsterdam.
After nearly five years in Paris, Jefferson returned to America at the end of 1789 with a much greater appreciation
for his home country. As he wrote to his good friend, James Monroe, "How little do my countrymen know what
precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy."

Secretary of State:
Jefferson arrived in Virginia in November 1789 to find George
Washington waiting for him with news that Washington had been
elected the first president of the United States of America, and that he
was appointing Jefferson as his secretary of state. Besides Jefferson,
Washington's most trusted advisor was Treasury Secretary Alexander
Hamilton. A dozen years younger than Jefferson, Hamilton was a New
Yorker and war hero who, unlike Jefferson and Washington, had risen
from humble beginnings.
Incredibly rancorous partisan battles emerged to divide the new
American government during Washington's presidency. On one side, the
Federalists, led by Hamilton, advocated for a strong national
government, broad interpretation of the constitution and neutrality in
European affairs. On the other side, the Republicans, led by Jefferson,
promoted the supremacy of state governments, a strict constructionist
interpretation of the constitution and support for the French revolution.
Washington's two most trusted advisors thus provided nearly opposite advice on the most pressing issues of the
day: the creation of a national bank, the appointment of federal judges and the official posture toward France. On
January 5, 1794, frustrated by the endless conflicts, Jefferson resigned as secretary of state, once again abandoning
politics in favor of his family and farm at Monticello.
Vice President:
In 1797, despite Jefferson's public ambivalence and previous claims that he was through with politics, the
Republicans selected Jefferson as their candidate to succeed Washington as president. In those days, candidates did
not campaign for office openly, so Jefferson did little more than remain at home on the way to finishing a close
second to then-Vice President John Adams in the electoral college, which, by the rules of the time, made Jefferson
the new vice president. Besides presiding over the Senate, the vice president had essentially no substantive role in
government.
The long friendship between Adams and Jefferson had cooled due to political differences (Adams was a Federalist),
and Adams did not consult his vice president on any important decisions.
To occupy his time during his four years as vice president, Jefferson authored "A
Manual of Parliamentary Practice," one of the most useful guides to legislative
proceedings ever written, and served as the president of the American
Philosophical Society.

President:
John Adams's presidency revealed deep fissures in the Federalist Party
between moderates such as Adams and Washington and more extreme
Federalists like Hamilton. In the presidential election of 1800,
Hamiltonian Federalists refused to back Adams, clearing the way for the
Republican candidates Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr to tie for first
place with 73 electoral votes each. After a long and contentious debate,
the House of Representatives selected Jefferson to serve as the third
U.S. president, with Burr as his vice president.
The election of Thomas Jefferson in 1800 was a landmark of world
history, the first peacetime transfer of power from one party to another
in a modern republic. Delivering his inaugural address on March 4,
1801, Jefferson spoke to the fundamental commonalities uniting all
Americans despite their partisan differences. "Every difference of
opinion is not a difference of principle," he stated. "We have called by
different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans,
we are all Federalists."
President Jefferson's first term in office was remarkably successful and
productive. In keeping with his Republican values, Jefferson stripped
the presidency of all the trappings of European royalty, reduced the size of the armed forces and government
bureaucracy and lowered the national debt from $80 million to
$57 million in his first two years in office.
Louisiana Purchase:
Jefferson's most significant accomplishment as president was the
Louisiana Purchase. In 1803, he acquired land stretching from the
Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains from cash-strapped
Napoleonic France for the bargain price of $15 million, thereby
doubling the size of the nation in a single stroke. He then devised
the wonderfully informative Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore,
map out and report back on the new American territories. Jefferson also put an end to the centuries-old problem of
Barbary pirates disrupting American shipping in the Mediterranean by forcing the pirates to capitulate by deploying
new American warships.
Although Jefferson easily won re-election in 1804, his second term in office proved much more difficult and less
productive than his first. The greatest challenges of Jefferson's second term were posed by the war between
Napoleonic France and Great Britain. Both Britain and France attempted to prevent American commerce with the
other power by harassing American shipping, and Britain in particular sought to impress American sailors into the
British Navy.
In response, Jefferson passed the Embargo Act of 1807, suspending all trade with Europe. The move wrecked the
American economy as exports crashed from $108 million to $22 million by the time he left office in 1809. The
embargo also led to the War of 1812 with Great Britain after Jefferson left office.
Post-Presidency:
On March 4, 1809, after watching the inauguration of his close friend and successor James Madison, Jefferson
returned to Virginia to live out the rest of his days as "The Sage of Monticello." Jefferson's primary pastime was
endlessly rebuilding, remodeling and improving his beloved home and estate.

University of Virginia:
Jefferson also dedicated his later years to organizing the University of Virginia, the nation's first secular university.
He personally designed the campus, envisioned as an "academical village," and hand-selected renowned European
scholars to serve as its professors. The University of Virginia opened its doors on March 7, 1825, one of the proudest
days of Jefferson's life.

University of Virginia

Library of Congress:
Jefferson also kept up an outpouring of correspondence at the end of his life. In particular, he rekindled a lively
correspondence on politics, philosophy and literature with John Adams that stands out among the most
extraordinary exchanges of letters in history. Throughout his life, books were vital to Thomas Jefferson's education
and well-being. When his family home Shadwell burned in 1770 Jefferson most lamented the loss of his books. In
the midst of the American Revolution and while United States minister to France in the 1780s, Jefferson acquired
thousands of books for his library at Monticello. Jefferson's library went through several stages, but it was always
critically important to him. By 1814 when the British burned the nation's Capitol and the Library of Congress,
Jefferson had acquired the largest personal collection of books in the United States. Jefferson offered to sell his
library to Congress as a replacement for the collection destroyed by the British during the War of 1812. Congress
purchased Jefferson's library for $23,950 in 1815. A second fire on Christmas Eve of 1851, destroyed nearly two
thirds of the 6,487 volumes Congress had purchased from Jefferson.

Monticello, Virginia home of Thomas Jefferson

Died:
Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia
1826, July 4.
Legacy:
Jefferson died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, only a few hours before John Adams also
passed away in Massachusetts. In the moments before he passed, John Adams spoke his last words, eternally true if
not in the literal sense in which he meant them, "Thomas Jefferson survives."
As the author the Declaration of Independence, the foundational text of American democracy and one of the most
important documents in world history, Thomas Jefferson will be forever revered as one of the great American
Founding Fathers. http://www.biography.com/people/thomas-jefferson-9353715#synopsis

First Lady Biography: Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson

Born:
1748, October 19
"The Forest " plantation, Charles City County, Virginia
Martha Wayles Jefferson never knew her mother Martha Eppes Wayles since she had
died two weeks and three days after giving birth to her.
*No facial image of Martha Jefferson survives;
there is one silhouette; some visitors left
descriptions of her as being of medium to tall
height, with auburn hair.
Occupation before Marriage:
No record of her early years exist but in light of
her father's wealth and prominence, Martha
Wayles Jefferson likely played a social role at
their plantation; later skills at Monticello would
also suggest she received basic training on
running a plantation, making household
staples; she also assisted her father with
management of crop business accounting.
Marriage:
First Husband
18 years old, to Bathurst Skelton ( June 1744 30 September 1768 ) planter, on 20, November 1766; they lived at his Charles
City County plantation for one year and ten months, the endurance of their
marriage as Bathurst died in 1768.

A 1965 oil portrait of Martha Wayles Skelton

Jefferson by artist George Geygan, based on
contemporary descriptions of her physical
attributes and executed 183 years after her
death. (First Ladies Cookbook, Parents Press)

Second Husband
23 years old, to Thomas Jefferson (13, April 1743 4, July 1826) lawyer and
member of the House of Burgesses for Albemarle County ( 1769-1775 ), on
1, January, 1772 at " The Forest " plantation; they departed for a
honeymoon in the cottage on the property of what would become later
famously known as Monticello, though the mansion house was not yet
built.
Children:
by her first marriage, one son; John Skelton (17671771)
by her second marriage, five daughters, one son; Martha "Patsy" Jefferson
Randolph (17721836), Jane Randolph Jefferson (17741775), an unnamed
son (died in infancy, 1777), Maria Polly Jefferson Eppes (17781804), Lucy
Elizabeth Jefferson[1] (1780-1781), Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson[2] (1782-1785)

The cottage on grounds of Monticello, where

Thomas Jefferson and his new wife Martha
Wayles, the widow of Bathurst Skelton, spent
their honeymoon. (Thomas Jefferson
Foundation)

Occupation after Marriage:

Martha Jefferson ran the plantation life of Monticello. It was a considerable responsibility: reading recipes to slaves
and overseeing food preparation in the kitchens; food preservation; clothing needs for the family and slaves; and
managing the house slaves and their responsibilities.

Among the few remaining examples of her handwriting is

a precise ledger of the plantation's main cash crop,
tobacco, suggesting she worked with Jefferson more as a
full partner in this one aspect of life at Monticello than
would be otherwise usual.
Numerous contemporary accounts of visitors and guests
to Monticello consistently suggest that Martha Jefferson
was an active hostess when she felt well; her beauty,
grace and especially her musical skills were frequently
commented upon; she and Jefferson read literature and
poetry to each other, and played musical duets together,
he on the violin.
For the first three years of her marriage, while Jefferson
was still a member of the House of Burgesses, Martha
A ledger book in the handwriting of Martha Wayles Jefferson, including
Jefferson would likely have accompanied him to the
her sketch of a little bird. (Thomas Jefferson Foundation)
colonial capital of Williamsburg when the burgesses was
in session, and taken part in the social life there, that she had known from her own early years. Martha Jefferson
was separated from her husband during his tenure as a Virginia delegate to the Second Continental Congress in
Philadelphia (1776), at which time he authored the Declaration of Independence. While Jefferson served as
Governor of Virginia (1779-1781) during the American Revolution, however, Martha Jefferson briefly joined him in
Richmond, to where he moved the capital city from Williamsburg, then more vulnerable to British attack by sea.
As the Governor of Virginia's wife during the Revolution, Martha
Jefferson assumed one large public role, albeit more symbolic than
active; in response to a request from Martha Washington, she agreed
to lead the drive among women of Virginia to raise funds and donate
necessary supplies for the state militia of the Continental Army;
however, she had to write the wife of another political leader to
assume the work, since her own weak health prevented doing so
herself.
Martha Jefferson's health began to rapidly deteriorate, the result likely
of having given birth to seven children in less than fourteen years. The
British invasion of Virginia under Lord Cornwallis in 1781 forced her to
flee Monticello for their more isolated Bedford County home "Poplar
Forest," and it weakened her16-month old daughter Lucy, who died
weeks later. Jefferson shortly thereafter resigned his position as
governor and promised his wife that he would refuse any more
political posts. Thus Jefferson turned down an important diplomatic
mission to Europe. Her final pregnancy proved more burdensome than
her marital separations; she died four months after childbirth.
Death:
33 years old
September 6, 1782
Monticello, Virginia

The only full letter written by Martha Wayles Jefferson

known to survive, regarding a drive among women of
Virginia to aid the colonys militia during the American
Revolution (Swem Library, College of William and Mary)

Burial:
Monticello, Virginia
*Martha Jefferson died 18 years before Thomas Jefferson was elected President in 1800; she is the first of five
women who were married to men who would become President after their deaths.
http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=3