Past Events

Join an Adams Papers editor for an in-depth look at the display.

Institution: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215

Fee: Free

“The Earth is putting on a new Suit,” Abigail Adams wrote, savoring the arrival of spring amid the tumult of national politics in 1800. Tending her kitchen garden and nurturing the new republic with equal care, Abigail delighted in learning about the natural landscape and sharing that knowledge with her family and friends.

This is the second of four rotating exhibits on display at the Massachusetts Historical Society in 2019. Nature & Nurture will be on display from April 29 through June 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Institution: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215

Fee: Free

Edith Gelles, Stanford University

Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren are the two most famous women of Revolutionary America. We know them from their exquisite early portraits, the one in pastel by the limnist Benjamin Blyth and the other by the incomparable John Singleton Copley. We know them, too, from their surviving writings that create portraits in prose. Each type of portraiture, however, has something unique to suggest about the identity of the two women. Paintings show color, expression, context that are vivid and lasting. Words capture action and reaction, change as well as continuity. Each has a different impact, but together they are complementary, and provide a fuller story of two fascinating Founding Mothers.

Edith Gelles is a senior scholar at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University. Her research has focused on women in colonial America and especially on Abigail Adams. Most recently, Dr. Gelles edited the Library of America edition of Abigail Adams: Letters, which includes the full range of Adams's correspondence and more than 100 letters published for the first time. Dr. Gelles has also written two biographies of Adams: Portia: World of Abigail Adams,which won the American Historical Association's Herbert Feis Award, and Abigail Adams: A Writing Life. Her double biography, Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage, was a finalist for the George Washington Prize. She is a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians and has appeared in several documentaries.

This program is co-sponsored by the Abigail Adams Birthplace and the Hingham Historical Society. Doors will open at 6:30; the program begins at 7:00. Ms. Gelles's talk will be followed by a book signing and wine and cheese reception. Books will be available for sale.

Tickets are $35 each, or $60 for two. Space is very limited, and pre-purchasing tickets is recommended, online at www.abigailadamsbirthplace.org or by calling 781-749-7721 ext. 101.

Location: Ames Chapel, 12 South St. Hingham, Mass.

Edith Gelles, Stanford University

There will be a pre-talk reception at 5:30.

Edith Gelles, a senior scholar with the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University, is an award-winning historian and author of Abigail & John: Portrait of a Marriage and Portia: The World of Abigail Adams. Gelles will discuss her current research on Abigail’s thoughts and experiences with slavery and race.

There is a $10 per person fee (no charge for MHS Fellows and Members or EBT cardholders). To register, visit the MHS calendar.

This focus tour will start from the park Visitor Center and will continue to the John Quincy Adams Birthplace and Penn's Hill. Participants will visit Abigail's and John's first home with a focus on Abigail, the "Patriot on the Home front." They will continue to Penn's Hill, where Abigail will recount that day as she and John Quincy watched the Battle of Bunker Hill and the beginning of the Revolutionary War unfold right in front of their eyes.

Institution: Adams National Historical Park

Location: ANHP Visitor Center

There are additions times for this event at: 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., & 2:00 p.m.

This focus tour will start from the park Visitor Center and will continue to the John Quincy Adams Birthplace and Penn's Hill. Participants will visit Abigail's and John's first home with a focus on Abigail, the "Patriot on the Home front." They will continue to Penn's Hill, where Abigail will recount that day as she and John Quincy watched the Battle of Bunker Hill and the beginning of the Revolutionary War unfold right in front of their eyes.

Institution: Adams National Historical Park

Location: ANHP Visitor Center

There are additions times for this event at: 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., & 2:00 p.m.

This focus tour will start from the park Visitor Center and will continue to the John Quincy Adams Birthplace and Penn's Hill. Participants will visit Abigail's and John's first home with a focus on Abigail, the "Patriot on the Home front." They will continue to Penn's Hill, where Abigail will recount that day as she and John Quincy watched the Battle of Bunker Hill and the beginning of the Revolutionary War unfold right in front of their eyes.

Institution: Adams National Historical Park

Location: ANHP Visitor Center

There are additions times for this event at: 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., & 2:00 p.m.

Please join us for open hours. Visits are by guided tour only between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m., with tours given on the hour and half hour. The 2019 tour season at the Birthplace will highlight selections from Abigail Adams's letters. Last tour at 3:30 p.m.

$5 adults, $1 children

Institution: Abigail Adams Historical Society

Location: 180 Norton St., N. Weymouth, Mass.

The Abigail Adams Historical Society, in partnership with the First Church in Weymouth and North Weymouth Cemetery, will offer special tours of the historic North Weymouth Meeting House District, the backdrop to Abigail Adams's early life. Tours of the 1685 Abigail Adams Birthplace, where Abigail Smith Adams was born in 1744 and where she married John Adams in 1764, will take place at 1:00, 2:00, and 3:30 p.m.; tours of the North Weymouth Cemetery, one of the oldest burying grounds in Massachusetts and the site of Abigail Adams's parents' graves, are scheduled for 1:30 and 3:00 p.m. and will leave from the Birthplace. The First Church in Weymouth (17 Church St.), one of the oldest continuing congregations in the United States and the church where Abigail Adams’s father, Reverend William Smith, served from 1734 to 1783, will offer tours 1:00-4:00 p.m. (The current building, the third on the site, dates from 1833.) In 1776, Reverend Smith read the Declaration of Independence to the congregation, the first time they would have heard it. Tours will feature Reverend Smith’s Bible.

Tour hours: Abigail Adams Birthplace: 1:00, 2:00, and 3:30; North Weymouth Cemetery: 1:30 and 3:00 (tours will begin at the Birthplace); First Church: 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Cost: $5 for Birthplace and Cemetery tours; First Church tours by donation

Institutions: Abigail Adams Historical Society; The First Church in Weymouth; North Weymouth Cemetery

Location: Abigail Adams Birthplace: 180 Norton St., N. Weymouth, Mass., and The First Church in Weymouth: 17 Church St., N. Weymouth, Mass.

Join an Adams Papers editor for an in-depth look at the display.

Institution: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215

Fee: Free

The Abigail Adams Birthplace offers its first tours of the season! The 2019 tour season at the Birthplace will highlight selections from Abigail Adams's letters. Tours are offered on the hour and half hour; last tour at 3:30 p.m.

$5 adults, $1 children

Institution: Abigail Adams Historical Society

Location: 180 Norton St., N. Weymouth, Mass.

Long before they won the right to vote, early American women, like Abigail Adams, harnessed the power of economic citizenship and made their mark on the world as buyers and consumers. Abigail learned to appraise goods, to act as a retailer, and to develop a critical eye for popular fashion. This exhibit shows how Abigail and a generation of women carved out vital public roles and helped steer the early American economy.

This is the first of four rotating exhibits on display at the Massachusetts Historical Society in 2019. Style & Substance will be on display from February 1 through April 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Institution: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215

Fee: Free

Doors will open at 2:30; the program begins at 3:00. Dr. Georgini's talk will be followed by a reception, book signing, and tours of the Presidential crypt.

This event is free and open to the public.

The Abigail Adams Historical Society (AAHS), stewards of the Abigail Adams Birthplace, and the Church of the Presidents present a talk by historian Sara Georgini on her new book, Household Gods: The Religious Lives of the Adams Family. Spanning nearly four centuries of faith from Puritan New England to the Jazz Age, Household Gods tells a new story of American religion, as the Adams family lived it.The Adamses, globetrotters who extensively chronicled their religious journeys, ultimately developed a cosmopolitan Christianity that blended discovery and criticism, faith and doubt. Georgini, series editor for the Papers of John Adams at the Massachusetts Historical Society, draws on this rich archive to demonstrate the significance of Christianity—as the different generations understood it—in shaping the family's decisions, great and small.

Sponsors: Abigail Adams Historical Society and the Church of the Presidents

Location: Church of the Presidents (United First Parish Church), 1306 Hancock Street, Quincy

Kimberly Alexander, University of New Hampshire and Sara Georgini, MHS

Antique textiles, images of historical figures, and material culture hold a wealth of information that can enrich personal stories and explain relationships. Adding color and context to the world of early Americans like Abigail Adams, fashion sources can help us explore themes of cultural power and economic citizenship. Two experts on fashion and material culture will guide you through unraveling the stories woven into history’s fabric.

Registration is required at no cost. To register, visit the MHS calendar.

Sara Georgini, MHS

There will be a pre-talk reception at 5:30.

Reflecting on his past, President John Adams mused that it was religion that had shaped his family's fortunes and young America's future. Globetrotters who chronicled their religious journeys extensively, the Adamses developed a cosmopolitan Christianity that blended discovery and criticism, faith and doubt. From Abigail Adams’s use of religion during the Revolution to her Victorian descendants’ journeys through foreign faiths, Sara Georgini demonstrates how pivotal Christianity--as the different generations understood it--was in shaping the family's decisions, great and small.

There is a $10 per person fee (no charge for MHS Fellows and Members or EBT cardholders). To register, visit the MHS calendar.

Long before they won the right to vote, early American women, like Abigail Adams, harnessed the power of economic citizenship and made their mark on the world as buyers and consumers. Abigail learned to appraise goods, to act as a retailer, and to develop a critical eye for popular fashion. This exhibit shows how Abigail and a generation of women carved out vital public roles and helped steer the early American economy.

This is the first of four rotating exhibits on display at the Massachusetts Historical Society in 2019. Style & Substance will be on display from February 1 through March 31 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Institution: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215

Fee: Free

Commemorate African-American History Month by learning more about colonial slavery and the early history of Africans brought to New England. This latest in the Abigail Adams Historical Society's series of programs exploring New England slavery is co-sponsored with the Thomas Crane Public Library and will be presented by Emerson College Professor Kerima Lewis.

Free of charge

Institution: Thomas Crane Public Library

Location: 40 Washington St., Quincy

A Presidents' Day Event! Follow the words and history of four generations of Adamses. John, Abigail, and their descendants were prolific writers. The trove of documents they left behind intimately describe their lives, public service, and Boston from the eve of the Revolution to the turn of the twentieth century.

$15 (general admission) / $5 (BBF members)

More information and purchase tickets at Boston By Foot.

What was love like in Colonial America? The enduring letters of John and Abigail Adams provide an insightful picture of 18th-century American life in the Boston area and beyond. These intimate letters also reveal the intellectually and emotionally fulfilling relationship between them that lasted almost 54 years and withstood historical upheavals, long periods apart, and personal tragedies. Their iconic personalities come to life as actors from the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum read a selection of letters and reveal, in the words of John and Abigail Adams, their teasing humor and their undying love and respect for each other.

Institution: Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

Location: Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum; 306 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210 (doors open at 6:30 pm)

What was love like in Colonial America? The enduring letters of John and Abigail Adams provide an insightful picture of 18th-century American life in the Boston area and beyond. These intimate letters also reveal the intellectually and emotionally fulfilling relationship between them that lasted almost 54 years and withstood historical upheavals, long periods apart, and personal tragedies. Their iconic personalities come to life as actors from the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum read a selection of letters and reveal, in the words of John and Abigail Adams, their teasing humor and their undying love and respect for each other.

Institution: Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

Location: Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum; 306 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210 (doors open at 6:30 pm)

What was love like in Colonial America? The enduring letters of John and Abigail Adams provide an insightful picture of 18th-century American life in the Boston area and beyond. These intimate letters also reveal the intellectually and emotionally fulfilling relationship between them that lasted almost 54 years and withstood historical upheavals, long periods apart, and personal tragedies. Their iconic personalities come to life as actors from the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum read a selection of letters and reveal, in the words of John and Abigail Adams, their teasing humor and their undying love and respect for each other.

Institution: Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

Location: Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum; 306 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210 (doors open at 6:30 pm)

The Abigail Adams Historical Society, stewards of the Abigail Adams Birthplace, welcomes members to a special, members-only reception. Advance details will be provided about special year-long "Remember Abigail" programming and events meant to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Abigail Adams's death in October 2018 and the 275th anniversary of her birth in November 2019.

Free to members

Institution: Abigail Adams Historical Society

Location: 180 Norton St., N. Weymouth, Mass.

Abigail Adams lived at the heart of American politics for nearly half a century. She was a revolutionary First Lady, urging her husband to “Remember the Ladies” in the colonial quest for independence, and a huge influence on the nation’s sixth president, John Quincy Adams. In her letters to her family and a wide circle of influential colleagues, Abigail was candid and colorful in depicting the hard work and great reward of nation-building. Join us as we remember the life and legacy of Abigail Adams, one of the many women who helped build early America.

Institution: Massachusetts Historical Society

Fee: $25.00

Please RSVP

This program is open to all educators of K-12 students. Teachers can earn 22.5 Professional Development Points or 1 graduate credit (for an additional fee).

If you have any questions, please contact Kate Melchior at education@masshist.org or 617-646-0588.

The Abigail Adams Birthplace will be holding a special tea to celebrate Abigail Adams's 274th birthday! Enjoy tea and dessert served on fine china in the same rooms where Abigail Adams lived for the first twenty years of her life and where she married John Adams in 1764.

Pre-paid tickets are necessary, and admission is limited to 50. For more information, contact AAHS1947@yahoo.com.

Institution: Abigail Adams Historical Society

Location: 180 Norton St., N. Weymouth, Mass.

Due to the forecast, this event has been moved from Saturday, October 27 to Saturday, November 3.

This one-day-only tour explores Abigail Smith Adams's life from cradle to grave. Participants will follow in Abigail's footsteps on a free park trolley to the Abigail Smith Adams Birthplace in Weymouth, the John Quincy Adams Birthplace in Quincy, and finally to the United First Parish Church, Church of the Presidents in Quincy.

Participants will be served tea and explore the homes where Abigail was born, was married, and where she raised her children during the American Revolution. They will be welcomed by Abigail Adams herself and hear stories of her life before ending the tour with a visit to Abigail's tomb in the Adams Crypt.

Institutions: The Abigail Adams Birthplace, Adams National Historical Park and United First Parish Church, Church of the Presidents

Fee: FREE

For more information and to register: Visit Event Brite.

Space is limited to 24 participants on the tour. You must have reservations/tickets through Event Brite in order to participate in the tour.

Join us as the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail celebrates the 15th anniversary of the Boston Women’s Memorial on the Commonwealth Mall. Festivities will include the reflections by Mercy Otis Warren, Arbour Tanner, and Elizabeth Brown Blackwell on their friendships with the memorial’s figures: Abigail Adams, Phillis Wheatley, and Lucy Stone.

Location: Women's Memorial, Commonwealth Mall

Due to the forecast, this event has been moved from Saturday, October 27 to Sunday, October 28.

Follow the words and history of four generations of Adamses. John, Abigail, and their descendants were prolific writers. The trove of documents they left behind intimately describe their lives, public service, and Boston from the eve of the Revolution to the turn of the twentieth century.

$15 (general admission) / $5 (BBF members)

More information and purchase tickets at Boston By Foot.

Join the Abigail Adams Historical Society, stewards of the Abigail Adams Birthplace, as we mark the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Abigail Adams's death with a special service and readings commemorating her remarkable life. The First Church in Weymouth is one of the oldest continuing congregations in the United States and the church where Abigail Adams's father, Reverend William Smith, served from 1734 to 1783.

Institution: Abigail Adams Historical Society, First Church in Weymouth

Location: The First Church in Weymouth, 17 Church St., N. Weymouth, Mass.

No reservations necessary.