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“The more one reads the more one sees We have to read.” John Adams to Abigail Adams, 28 December 1794 

The MHS provides digital access to a variety of Adams family papers. This includes letters written and received by various members of the family, their diaries and autobiographical writings, legal papers, and more.

Digital editions by the Adams Papers Editorial Project

Adams Papers Digital Edition

The conversion of previously published print volumes of The Adams Papers to online presentation, including verified transcriptions, full annotation, indexes, and a cumulative search tool.

John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

A born-digital edition with verified, searchable transcriptions and manuscript page images for John Quincy Adams’s complete 51-volume diary.

Adams-related digital collections, images, and publications by the Massachusetts Historical Society

Adams Digital Collection

Manuscript images and transcriptions of all MHS-owned letters between John Adams and Abigail Adams along with the diary and autobiography of John Adams.

Civil War Diaries of Charles Francis Adams

Unverified transcriptions of the diary kept by Charles Francis Adams from 1 January 1861 to 30 April 1865.

Diaries of John Quincy Adams

Cover-to-cover page images for each of the 51 volumes of John Quincy Adams’s diary.

Marian "Clover" Hooper Adams Photographs

Photographs taken by Clover Adams, along with her letters, the notebook she used to record the technical aspects of her photographs, Henry Adams's letters, and other family materials.

For additional online content related to the Adams family, please visit our Digital Collections page.