Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams (1775-1852), wife of John Quincy Adams, was the first foreign-born first lady of the United States. She married John Quincy in London in 1797, and together they welcomed four children. Throughout their marriage, Louisa's skillful navigation of European courts and Washington social politics advanced John Quincy's career. She hosted parties, balls, and regular Tuesday “sociables” to gain the support of influential Washingtonians, particularly the congressmen who were instrumental in determining the presidential election of 1824. A prodigious author, Louisa penned letters, poetry, and autobiographical texts. Her writings include “Record of a Life” (1825), “Narrative of a Journey from Russia to France” (1836), and “Adventures of a Nobody” (1840), all of which have been published by The Adams Papers in Diary and Autobiographical Writings of Louisa Catherine Adams, 2 vols., ed. Judith S. Graham, Beth Luey, and others, 2013.
Louisa Catherine Adams by the documents:
Courtship with John Quincy Adams
“Now my most esteemed friend let us . . . by a constant, and tender correspondence, endeavor to alleviate the pang of inevitable separation,” Louisa wrote to John Quincy on 17 February 1797. During most of their 14-month engagement Louisa lived in London while John Quincy served as US minister to the Netherlands. The couple exchanged more than 70 letters during their courtship, many of which can be read in the Adams Papers Digital Edition.
Meeting the Adams Family
Louisa came to the United States in September 1801, four years after she and John Quincy married. She met Abigail and John that November. The Adamses' rural oasis bewildered the cosmopolitan Louisa, leading her to write: “Quincy! Had I steped into Noah’s Ark I do-not think I could have been more utterly astonished" (Adventures of a Nobody, 1 January 1802).
French Passport
After nearly six years in Russia, where Louisa charmed courtiers and buried her daughter, in 1815 Louisa and her seven-year-old son, Charles Francis, traveled from St. Petersburg to Paris. During their harrowing 40-day, 2,000-mile overland trip they dealt with dangerous roads, unscrupulous servants, and Napoleon’s resurgent forces awaiting his return from Elba.
Parlor Politics
“A man who is ambitious to become President . . . must make his wife visit the ladies of the members of congress first, otherwise he is totally inefficient to fill so high an office,” Louisa wrote to John Adams on 22 December 1819. Her savvy navigation of Washington’s complex rules of etiquette helped ensure John Quincy’s political success. Never was she more successful than with the 8 January 1824 ball the Adamses hosted to honor Andrew Jackson's war heroics. Louisa's "beautiful plan" put John Quincy center stage for the 1824 presidential contest.
Reticence at Returning to Public Life
Louisa had misgivings about John Quincy's post-presidential run for Congress. “My nervous system is too much shaken by long suffering to admit of my again plunging into the very focus of political machination. . . . Family is and must ever be a secondary consideration to a zealous Patriot,” she wrote to her son John Adams 2d on 30 October 1830.
Additional Resources
The published two-volume Diary and Autobiographical Writings of Louisa Catherine Adams is not yet online but is available in libraries or from Harvard University Press. Volumes of Adams Family Correspondence that include Louisa’s letters are freely available in the Adams Papers Digital Edition. Visit the Adams Bibliography for suggestions on further reading.