Wedding Cake in a Library?

__By Tiffany Amber Stockton__



In June, a few wedding traditions received the spotlight focus. One of them was about saving the top layer of a wedding cake, and since this month is *my* anniversary, I thought I'd share a little about a piece of wedding cake from over 150 years ago!

Library of Congress, Not Only for Books

America’s Founding Fathers loved reading. What a fantastic pastime. :) I'd say our writers and readers on this blog are in good company with them. To encourage and support this love, Congress funded its own library. Philadelphia and New York City housed some of the earliest American libraries. When Congress moved to Washington, D.C., President John Adams created the Library of Congress in 1800 to help keep legislators informed. The library started with 3,000 books, mostly legal texts, but British soldiers destroyed it in 1814 when they burned parts of the city. President Thomas Jefferson helped rebuild it.

Today, the Library of Congress holds over 173 million items and adds nearly 10,000 new materials every day. Can you imagine the task of cataloguing all those materials? And not all of them are books. This might be hard to believe, but the Library of Congress also has a piece of wedding cake from the 1800s.

For many reasons, celebrity weddings have always fascinated Americans. Take Charles Stratton, aka General Tom Thumb, for example. Known for his small stature at only 3 feet 4 inches tall, Stratton had a successful career singing, dancing, and acting. He worked with the famous showman P.T. Barnum, who called him the "smallest man alive."

In February 1863, Stratton married Lavinia Warren, also diminutive in stature, in a grand New York wedding to which Barnum sold several thousand reception tickets. Given the inflation rate from then to now, the total take from the sales would be in the millions today. Those with tickets could meet the newlyweds and receive a boxed slice of brandy-soaked wedding fruitcake as they left.

After Stratton's death in 1883, Lavinia's career struggled. In 1905, she sent a then 42-year-old slice of her wedding cake to an actress and her editor husband with a letter saying, "The public thinks I'm not alive." Lavinia continued to perform into her 70s, even starring in a silent film with her second husband, "Count" Primo Magri.

Today, two pieces of their wedding cake still exist—one at the Library of Congress and another at the Barnum Museum in Connecticut.

Other celebrity weddings have also drawn massive crowds. In 1956, thousands gathered to watch the wedding of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco. More recently, the 2011 royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton attracted millions of viewers worldwide, with thousands lining the streets of London.

Fun little facts:

• Charles Stratton began performing for audiences at the age of 5.
• It cost $75 to attend the Stratton-Warren wedding in 1863.
• Queen Victoria's wedding cake weighed 300 pounds.
• The most expensive wedding cake slice sold at auction for $29,900.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* What do you think makes celebrity weddings so fascinating to the public?

* If you could ask Charles Stratton or Lavinia Warren one question about their lives and careers, what would it be?

* If you could submit an item to be housed in the Library of Congress, what would it be and why?

** This note is for our email readers. Please do not reply via email with any comments. View the blog online and scroll down to the comments section.

Come back on the 9th of each month for my next foray into historical tidbits to share.

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BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having a very active imagination and cited with talking entirely too much. Today, she has honed those skills to become an award-winning, best-selling author and speaker who is also a professional copywriter/copyeditor. She loves to share life-changing products and ideas with others to help improve their lives in a variety of ways.

She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children, one dog, and three cats in southeastern Kentucky. In the 20+ years she's been a professional writer, she has sold twenty-six (26) books so far and is represented by Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook and GoodReads.

Happy October Birthday to Five Former Presidents & A First Lady

Five former U.S. presidents celebrated their birthdays in October. 

And so did one remarkable First Lady.

These accomplished individuals have multiple books written about them. 

This post shares only a few basics.

Happy 288^th Birthday to John Adams ~ 2^nd U.S. President

• October 30, 1735 ~ born in Braintree, Massachusetts
• 1776 ~ helped to draft the Declaration of Independence
• 1789 ~ elected first Vice-President of the U.S.
• 1796-1801 ~ presidential term
• July 4, 1826 ~ died at the age of 90 (the same day as Thomas Jefferson, our 3^rd president; James Madison, our 5^th president, died on July 4, 1831).

Adams “was an Enlightenment political theorist and abolitionist who vehemently opposed slavery. Born as the son of a farmer and cobbler, Adams rose from his humble beginnings to become a qualified lawyer after receiving education from a prestigious college [Harvard]” (FP-Adams).

Happy 201^st Birthday to Rutherford B. Hayes ~ 19^th U.S. President

• October 4, 1822 ~ born in Delaware, Ohio
• Major General in the Civil War
• 1877-1881 ~ presidential terms
• January 17, 1893 ~ died at the age of 70

Hayes “soon gained prominence as a criminal defense attorney, and as a strict abolitionist, he also defended slaves who had escaped and were accused under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850” (FP-Hayes).

Happy 194^th Birthday to Chester A. Arthur ~ 21^st U.S. President 

• October 5, 1829 ~ born in Fairfield, Vermont
• 1881-1885 ~ became president after James Garfield was assassinated 
• November 18, 1886 ~ died at the age of 57

In 1854, Arthur won a discrimination case on behalf of Elizabeth Jennings Graham, an African-American teacher, which led to the desegregation of New York City’s streetcar lines.

Happy 165^th Birthday to Theodore Roosevelt ~ 26^th U.S. President 

• October 27, 1858 ~ born in New York City, New York
• 1901-1909 ~ became president after William McKinley was assassinated; elected to second term
• 1906 ~ received the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to end the Russian-Japanese War
• October 14, 1912 ~ survived an assassination attempt
• January 6, 1919 ~ died at the age of 60
• 2001 ~ posthumously received the Congressional Medal of Honor 

The assassin’s bullet penetrated Roosevelt’s steel eyeglass case and passed through his fifty-page speech before lodging in his chest. 

“As an experienced hunter and anatomist, Roosevelt correctly concluded that since he was not coughing blood, the bullet had not reached his lung” (W-TR). 

He gave his speech, talking for ninety minutes, then sought medical attention.

Happy 133^rd Birthday to Dwight D. Eisenhower ~ 34^th U.S. President

• October 14, 1890 ~ born in Denison, Texas
• Five-star general of the US Army and Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces during WWII
• 1953-1961 ~ presidential terms
• 1956 ~ signed the bill authorizing the Interstate Highway System
• March 28, 1969 ~ died at the age of 78

“In 1945, Eisenhower anticipated that someday an attempt would be made to recharacterize Nazi crimes as propaganda (Holocaust denial) and took steps against it by demanding extensive still and movie photographic documentation of Nazi death camps” (Hobbs). 

Happy 139^th Birthday to Eleanor Roosevelt ~ our Longest-Serving First Lady

• October 11, 1884 ~ born in New York City, New York
• March 17, 1905 ~ married Franklin Roosevelt, her father’s fifth cousin; Theodore Roosevelt signed the marriage certificate as a witness
• 1933-1945 ~ FDR's presidential terms
• November 7, 1962 ~ died at the age of 78

“Her role as the chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women from 1961 to 1962 made her rank in the top ten of the ‘Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century’” (FP-Eleanor).

Your Turn ~ Which of these individuals would you most like to meet. What tidbit of information did you find most interesting? 

Johnnie writes award-winning stories in multiple genres. A fan of classic movies, stacks of books, and road trips, she shares a life of quiet adventure with Griff, her happy-go-lucky collie, and Rugby, her raccoon-treeing papillon. Visit her at johnnie-alexander.com.

Photos ~ all photos are in the public domain.

John & Abigail Adams ~ portraits by American painter Benjamin Blyth.

Chester Arthur ~ portrait by Ole Peter Hansen Balling (1881).

Dwight D. Eisenhower ~ official White House portrait (c. 1960).

Mamie Eisenhower ~ portrait painted by Thomas E. Stephens (1953). 

Rutherford B. Hayes ~ official White House portrait by Daniel Huntington (1884).

Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt with their first two children, Anna & baby James (1908).

Theodore Roosevelt ~ “Theodore Roosevelt as the Badlands Hunter”; photographed by George Grantham Baine (1885 in New York City).

Sources ~ all websites accessed on October 6, 2023.

John Adams, TheFamousPeople.com-Adams.  

Chester A. Arthur, TheFamousPeople.com-Arthur.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, TheFamousPeople.com-DDE.

Rutherford B. Hayes, TheFamousPeople.com-Hayes.

Hobbs, Joseph Patrick (1999). Dear General: Eisenhower’s Wartime Letters to Marshall. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0801862191. Pg 223.

Eleanor Roosevelt, TheFamousPeople.com-ER. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/eleanor-roosevelt-270.php

Teddy Roosevelt, TheFamousPeople.com-TR; Wikipedia.

The Contentious Election of 1800

Elaine Marie Cooper As our country reels from yet another contentious election, it’s easy to forget that voting for our nation’s Commander in Chief has been a difficult and divisive process, almost from the beginning. I say almost because Washington ran uncontested. According to history.com, “presidential campaigns and elections have evolved into a series of fiercely fought, and sometimes controversial, contests, now played out in the 24-hour news cycle. The stories behind each election—some ending in landslide victories, others decided by the narrowest of margins—provide a roadmap to the events of U.S. history.”

But the election of 1800 was especially contentious, causing a serious rift between President John Adams and his former ally, Thomas Jefferson. Prior to the passage of the 12th Amendment, voters were given two ballots to cast for their two top choices for president. The candidate with the greatest number of ballots became president while the runner up became vice-president. The 1796 election pitched the Federalist party (John Adams) against the Republican (Thomas Jefferson). The winner with 71 electoral votes was John Adams; Jefferson became vice-president with 68. The campaign of 1800 became highly contentious, not unlike today’s elections. “Federalists attacked Jefferson as an un-Christian deist” with sympathies for the French who were in the midst of their very blood revolution. https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/presidential-elections-1

The election in 1800 became the first where the candidates actually campaigned. There was a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, which forced the vote to go to the House of Representatives. The confusion with this election led to the passage of the 12th Amendment which allowed for separate votes for president and vice-president, thus simplifying the Electoral College. As Solomon said in the Book of Ecclesiastes, “there is nothing new under the sun.” Sometimes ruminating on history can bring perspective to today. I first became aware of this contentious election when researching for my novel, Legacy of Deer Run. 

Here is the scene at thanksgiving dinner for my fictional family:

“So what do you think of the election next month, Father?” Mr. Dobbins scowled. “I think our country is in for another precarious attack upon our freedoms. With that extremist Jefferson in the running, no telling where our country is headed.” Stephen nodded. “The newspapers are filled with attacks on President Adams — accusing him of being a monarchist, senile, vain, and having an ‘ungovernable temper.’ ’Tis getting fractious and ugly. And that beastly Burr running with Jefferson.” Stephen shook his head and took another sip of wine. “Well, when the Electoral College meets December 3, let us pray they remember Jefferson’s zealous support of the French, despite their attacking our naval vessels. I think Jefferson was in France far too long. His arrogance smacks of sedition.” The room became very quiet. Susannah grew very pale and she rested both hands on the table, gripping the tablecloth. Eyes narrowing, her voice trembled when she spoke. “Do you think we will have another war, Father?” Excerpt from Legacy of Deer Run by Elaine Marie Cooper

Elaine Marie Cooper’s novel, Love’s Kindling is the second-place winner in Historical Romance for the 2020 Selah Award contest. Two of her books (Fields of the Fatherless and Bethany’s Calendar) each placed first in their categories. Like many of Cooper’s books, including her newest release (Scarred Vessels), it focuses on the era of the American Revolution. She has authored several historical novels, a non-fiction memoir (Bethany’s Calendar), and has been published in numerous anthologies and magazines. Although not a current resident of New England, Cooper’s heart for history was birthed there and continues to thrive.

Presidential Favorite Foods

Nancy J. Farrier

I learned recently that there is a list of Presidential favorite foods that includes all the Presidents. I thought it would be fun to look at some of them and maybe some of the recipes they enjoyed. I realize we don’t have time or space to include all 45 Presidents, but I will pick out some that are interesting to share with you.

Photo Public Domain
Wikimedia Commons

Photo by Diako1971
Wikimedia Commons

President George Washington: Who hasn’t heard the story of George Washington chopping down the cherry tree? It turns out cherries are one of his favorite foods. He loved fresh fruit, especially cherries. He had an orchard, which included several cherry trees. This leads me to wonder if he would truly cut down one of those treasured trees. President Washington also had a special fondness for fish.

Photo Public Domain
Wikimedia Commons

President John Adams: John Adams tended to be frugal and tended to have plain fare. He made a note in his diary after eating a meal at a Chief Justice’s house that the food was “a most sinful feast.” One of Adams favorite desserts was Apple Pan Dowdy. Here is the recipe:

Apple Pan Dowdy -Photo by Garin Fons

"Apple Pan Dowdy
Apples, like molasses, were a standby in New England Desserts. John Adams showed his preference for Apple Pan Dowdy by having it on Independence Day...
Flour
Salt
Shortening
Ice water
Melted butter
Sugar
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Apples
Molasses
To make the pastry: Sift 1 1/2 cups flour with a dash of salt. Blend in 1/2 cup shortening until the mixture is mealy. Sprinkle a little ice water over the mixture, just enough to hold the dough together. Roll the pastry out, brush with 1/4 cup melted butter, and cut pastry in half. Place the halves on top of each other and cut again. Repeat until you have 16 separate but equal pieces of pastry piled on top of each other, then chill them a full hour. Roll the pastry once again, cut in half, and line the bottom of the baking dish with one half. Save the other half for the top. Keep both on ice while making the filling.

To make the filling: Mix 1/2 cup sugar with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Peel and core 10 large apples. Cut then into thin slices. Mix the apples with sugar-spice mixture and place in pastry-lined dish. Combine 1/2 cup molasses (or maple syrup) with 3 tablespoons melted butter and 1/4 cup water. Pour this over the apples. Cover with the top pastry layer and seal. Place in a preheated hot (400 degree F.) oven for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to low (325 degrees F.). After reducing the heat, "dowdy" the dish by cutting the crust into the apples with a sharp knife. Return dish to oven and bake a full hour. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream or with heavy cream or whipped cream. Serves 6."
---Presidents' Cookbook (p. 51-52)

Photo Public Domain
Wikimedia Commons

Public Domain Image
Wikimedia Commons

President Thomas Jefferson: Although he enjoyed French cuisine, Jefferson loved native foods, especially home-grown garden vegetables. He had a garden at the White House and at his home in Paris. He kept a chart in the White House kitchen showing the various vegetables. The one he loved the most was his sweet corn. He even took seed from Virginia to Paris to grow the sweet corn he loved while he visited France.

Photo Public Domain
Wikimedia Commons

President James Madison: Little is known about James Madison and his food preferences. The one listed as his favorite is Virginia ham. He also enjoyed biscuits and apple pie and cider. His wife, Dolly, was well known for her elaborate dinners where she served a mix of French cuisine and local fare. 

Photo Public Domain
Wikimedia Commons

President James Monroe: Although Monroe enjoyed the foods he ate on his travels and at State dinners, he always enjoyed coming back to the home fare he loved. He had a special fondness for his wife’s chicken fried with rice. She served this dish often. He also enjoyed hot bread and biscuits.

Photo Public Domain
Wikimedia Commons

President John Quincy Adams: Adams didn’t care much about food. He was as content with crackers as he was with a fancy dinner. The one food he liked the most was fresh fruit. He thoroughly enjoyed the fruit trees in the White House garden. They had a variety of apricot, apple, plum, and pear trees, which he loved. 

Apple Tree, Photo by W.carter
Wikimedia Commons

Photo Public Domain
Wikimedia Commons

President Andrew Jackson: Jackson, often referred to as ‘Old Hickory’ because he was considered tough by the soldiers who served under him. He enjoyed braised duck and fried apple pies, but his absolute favorite was ‘leather britches.’ This isn’t a reference to how tough he was, but a dish that consisted of green beans cooked with water and bacon. (This dish also happened to be my mother’s favorite, but I never heard it called leather britches.)

Lest this post get too long, I’ll stop there. Maybe in the future we’ll look at some more favorite foods and some recipes. There is a Presidential cookbook that has recipes from the different Presidents or at least their time period. 

Have you ever seen the cookbook? Have you ever eaten leather britches? Or apple pan dowdy? What is your favorite food?

Nancy J Farrier is an award-winning author who lives in Southern Arizona in the Sonoran Desert. She loves the Southwest with its interesting historical past. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats, and spend time with her family. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.

Spy vs Spy: France and England Match Wits During the American Revolution

J. M. Hochstetler

William Eden, Baron Auckland

I’m currently writing Refiner’s Fire, book 6 of my American Patriot Series, set during the American Revolution. In this installment, Elizabeth Howard has been taken to France for safety after an attempt on her life by the British. Since both Elizabeth and the man she loves, General Jonathan Carleton, are spies, I’ve been digging into the intelligence operations of the French and British, and I’m finding it quite amusing.

Long before France signed formal treaties of alliance with the United States in early 1778, the French were already shipping supplies desperately needed by the Continental Army to aid America in her war with England. A main threat to their efforts was Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service. Headed by William Eden, the Service was already in full operation in France by the time England officially declared war on her old enemy.

Benjamin Franklin

After receiving the news of British General John Burgoyne’s disastrous defeat at Saratoga in December 1777, the British began to seriously consider the possibility of reconciliation with their rebellious colonies. Lord North, the British Prime Minister, made a conciliatory speech before Parliament. George III even went so far as to privately recommend opening a channel of communication with Benjamin Franklin. “That insidious man” as he termed him, was at the time ensconced in Paris as the first of the American’s commissioners sent by Congress.

British agents immediately began to filter into Paris to put out feelers as to what peace terms the Americans might consider. Some of the agents chosen were surprising, and perhaps because of it they were undetected, at least by the Americans. In fact, their main agent, and perhaps the one who maintained the deepest cover was an American who was Franklin’s closest and most trusted friend: Dr. Edward Bancroft. He certainly had the most spectacular success.

Edward Bancroft

Franklin and Bancroft met in London while both men were living there for some years. In his mid thirties, Bancroft, who was a physician, was also from New England. Genial and accomplished, a man of many interests, he was the perfect companion for Franklin, who installed him the commission’s secretary. He worked hard—at more than the commissioners suspected, actually—and was fluent in French, which Franklin could hardly speak. He not only became indispensable to the commissioners’ work, but also lived with them in the Hôtel de Valentinois, giving him access 24/7. John Adams disliked the man for a number of reasons. But although Arthur Lee, the third member of the commission, was convinced he was a British spy, Adams, along with Franklin, discounted the opinion since Lee was suspicious of everyone. Unfortunately, in this case he was right.

Known in the British spy network as Dr. Edwards, Bancroft was secretly a double agent who spied for the Americans as well as for the British. In serving as secretary to the Americans, Bancroft had access to every detail the British could possibly want to know. His orders were to provide, among other things, the American commissioners’ “correspondence with Congress, & their Agents, & the secret, as well as ostensible, Letters from the Congress to them,” and also “Copys of any transactions, committed to Paper, & an exact account of all intercourse & the subject matter treated of, between the Courts of Versailles & Madrid, and the Agents from the Congress.” In addition he was to provide detailed information on all shipping between France and America.

The method of transferring the intelligence was less than genius: Reports were written in invisible ink and placed in a bottle buried in a hole beneath a designated tree on the south terrace of the Tuilleries Palace in Paris. They were retrieved from there by a Mr. Deans every Tuesday evening at half past nine. Rather primitive in light of today’s technological advances in spycraft, wouldn’t you say? Obviously it wasn’t very secret either, considering how much of the intelligence flowing from Paris to London was promptly intercepted by the French.

Charles Gravier, le comte de Vergennes

In fact, espionage was at times carried on in an almost laughably farcical manner on all sides. One example: Bancroft would send the British a list of cargoes that France was shipping to America to aid the war effort. In short order Lord Stormont, the British ambassador to France, sent a vehement objection to the French Foreign Minister, Vergennes, who then helpfully forwarded Stormont’s protests and cargo lists to the American commissioners—who apparently never noticed how often the items were listed in the exact same order as in their own minutes!

Franklin himself is to a large extent responsible for intelligence leaking out of the commission like water out of a sieve. He had a very casual attitude toward security. In fact, an old friend, William Alexander, who had established a residence in Auteuil, less than a mile from Passy where he would be close to Franklin, warned him against leaving his correspondence openly lying about. A cordial, well-to-do Scot, Alexander was in and out of the Hôtel de Valentinois as frequently as a family member and often roused Franklin at an early hour to converse about scientific subjects. He was outspoken in his contempt for British policy toward America, believed the war to be an appalling blunder on England’s part, and favored full independence for America. And he was a British spy.

Regardless of the regular warnings he received, Franklin maintained that it was impossible to detect all spies, adding that “I have long observed one rule which prevents any inconvenience form such practices. It is simply this: to be concerned in no affairs that I should blush to have made public and to do nothing but what spies may see and welcome.” I’m sure that was cold comfort to the ships carrying war supplies that were sunk by the enemy because of intelligence Bancroft and others passed along.

Bancroft was clearly the most successful of the spies surrounding Franklin and remained undetected by the Americans until years after the Revolution. He was, however, only one of a very large number of British spies who gathered reams of intelligence on French and American efforts during the Revolution. Of course, one can be certain that the French were spying on us as well, even as we were making our own attempts to spy on them and the British!

For all our technological advances in spycraft today, it’s certain that the other side is employing corresponding countermeasures. One has to wonder whether in reality we’ve advanced all that far. Please share your opinions as you observe the charges flying back and forth over the Russians attempts to compromise our elections, Chinese hackers, and more!

~~~

J. M. Hochstetler is the daughter of Mennonite farmers and a lifelong student of history. She is also an author, editor, and publisher. Her American Patriot Series is the only comprehensive historical fiction series on the American Revolution. Northkill, Book 1 of the Northkill Amish Series coauthored with Bob Hostetler, won Foreword Magazine’s 2014 Indie Book of the Year Bronze Award for historical fiction. Book 2, The Return, received the 2017 Interviews and Reviews Silver Award for Historical Fiction and was named one of Shelf Unbound’s 2018 Notable Indie Books. One Holy Night, a contemporary retelling of the Christmas story, was the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the Year and a finalist in the Carol Award.

Love Letters Sustained Abigail and John Adams

An original letter from John Adams to his future wife Abigail
Elise Amendola/AP

“Dear Miss Adorable,” John Adams wrote in one of his first letters to Abigail, and so began one of the great romances of our American history. John Adams was twenty-four years old when he met the oh-so-young Abigail Smith. She was just fifteen and he was not particularly impressed with her in the beginning. “Not fond, not frank, not candid,” was his assessment of the young girl.

But over the next three years she matured, and he began to view her in a different light. And when love finally bloomed, it burst into full blush. “I hereby order you to give him, as many Kisses, and as many Hours of your Company after 9 O Clock as he shall please to Demand ...”

Portrait of John Adams - 1766

Portrait of Abigail Adams - 1766

This was a love that could stand the test of time and distance. John served in Europe in the Netherlands, France, and Britain from 1774 to 1784 as an envoy for the fledgling United States. Kindred spirits, the Adams love was sustained by their affection and intimacy.

Even though Abigail’s formal education was sadly lacking, she was a voracious reader and thus understood John’s important work representing the young government. While John roamed the world for a great cause, Abigail astutely ran their household and raised their five children, one of whom would later become president following in the footsteps of his father.

In a time when we can communicate with almost anyone on the planet instantly, it is almost impossible to understand how two people could write 1,160 letters when each took about six weeks to cross the ocean. Sometimes those letters were lost and never delivered at all. When decisions had to be made regarding the children, or when something written in a letter caused consternation, it was a slow response indeed. Abigail was John’s confidante, supporter, best friend, and most loyal critic.

John Adams Jr., American statesman and Founding Father, served
 as the first Vice President and second President of the United States.

Later, when he returned home and they could have taken up life on their Massachusetts farm, John accepted the presidency and became America’s second president. Abigail then stepped into her role as first lady—even before the term “first lady” was used—and began to define the job. It was she who set up much of the protocol still observed today. She entertained dignitaries at dinner. She conducted a great Fourth of July party to which everyone in the area was invited. But most importantly, she was a listening ear to her husband, offering wise advice and counsel.

Why did this love relationship work so well? Probably most of all because of the respect each had for the other. John realized that what they had written to each other over many years could stand as a primer on successful marriage. He had all the letters in his possession bound in a leather binder, and he advised Abigail to do the same. The marriage also survived because it was without an exit clause. They were in it together for the duration.

Those letters and the information and strength of character they portray are the fruit of many lonely years spent away from each other. It was not fun, and it was not easy, but both buckled down to whatever task presented itself and endured. Was there never a blip in their relationship? Oh, yes. John wrote to Abigail and extolled the French ladies. He said they were “handsome, and … exceedingly brilliant.”

That didn’t fly well with Abigail. In a slow-motion quarrel, she fired back at him. “How much female Education is neglected … tho I acknowled it my happiness to be connected with a person of a more generous mind and liberal sentiments.” Ouch! But quarrels and disputes didn’t last long, and they were soon back addressing each other as “My Dearest Friend.”

Equal Franchise Society reproduces extract from famous Abigail Adams
 letter of March 31, 1776, in which she warns John to “Remember the Ladies.”
Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress

Abigail was a very forward-thinking woman, and 150 years before the House of Representatives voted to pass the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote, she wrote, “I long to hear that you have declared on independency. And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.” We can only imagine what John must have thought when that letter arrived.

After one term in office, John was defeated in his second run for the presidency in 1800. He decided the time had come to retire. In one of his last letters, he wrote to Abigail that “It is fit and proper that you and I should retire together and not one before the other.” The letters ceased soon afterward because these two devoted and loving people were at last together and there was no longer a need for written communication.

Abigail summed up the marriage relationship well: “And there is a tye more binding than Humanity, and stronger than Friendship.” True, Abigail. True indeed.