Yesterday was the October 4, 1762 “Miss Adorable” letter.

The next letter in the Massachusetts Historical Society’s Adams Family Correspondence is another short note from John to Abigail, but this one has a problem: we don’t know exactly when it was written.

The editors date it only to 1762–1763 and give the location as “Braintree?” Abigail’s note that John is replying to apparently did not survive, so there isn’t enough evidence to narrow the date down further.

The Massachusetts Historical Society has this as the next chronological letter, so we will go with their dating.

The Full Letter

"Dr. Miss Jemima

I have taken the best Advice, on the subject of your Billet, and I find you cannot compell me to pay unless I refuse Marriage; which I never did, and never will, but on the Contrary am ready to have you at any Time.

Yours,

Jonathan

I hope Jemima's Conscience has as good a Memory as mine."

Some Context

We are missing Abigail’s side of this exchange, so we really don’t know what John supposedly owes her.

But John’s answer is basically that he has taken legal advice and discovered that Abigail can’t make him pay unless he refuses to marry her. He then makes very clear that he has never refused and never intends to.

So, two letters in, John is doing it again. In the first letter he turned kissing Abigail into an accounting problem. Now he has turned whatever joke Abigail made into a legal dispute.

He also calls her “Miss Jemima” and signs himself “Jonathan.”

The interesting aspect of this letter is the Post Script:

“I hope Jemima's Conscience has as good a Memory as mine.”

Whatever Abigail had said or promised, John remembers it. Unfortunately for us, they both understood the joke well enough that neither of them needed to explain it.

There is not much political John Adams here yet. But we are already getting a pretty good look at young John Adams. He likes teasing Abigail, he likes arguing his case, and apparently even his flirting can involve legal advice.

Source: Massachusetts Historical Society, Adams Papers Digital Edition

https://www.masshist.org/publications/adams-papers/index.php/view/ADMS-04-01-02-0003

The Adams Correspondence, Day 1: John Adams to Abigail Smith, October 4, 1762

I’m starting a daily exercise for r/Presidents: one surviving letter per day between John Adams and Abigail Adams, in chronological order. (Based on what has been saved for posterity)

I think this could be a really interesting way to read Adams. Instead of jumping straight to the famous letters or the presidency, I want to go through the correspondence as it happened and see what we learn about both of them over time.

I’ll post the full letter, the date, some historical context, and usually a discussion question. If the dating of a letter is uncertain, I’ll note that. The main source will be the Massachusetts Historical Society’s Adams Papers and Adams Family Papers.

I’m not really trying to make a case for or against Adams with this. I’m more interested in seeing what happens when we spend a few minutes a day with the primary sources and let the picture build gradually.

Day 1

John Adams to Abigail Smith
October 4, 1762

This is the first clearly dated surviving letter between John Adams and Abigail Smith.

John was 26. Abigail was 17. They would not marry until October 25, 1764.

At this point, John is still a young Massachusetts lawyer. He is years away from becoming one of the central political figures of the Revolution.

Their courtship developed partly through John’s friend Richard Cranch, who was courting Abigail’s older sister Mary.

And John was apparently already keeping very close track of who owed whom kisses.

The full letter

"Miss Adorable

By the same Token that the Bearer hereof satt up with you last night 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 and charge them to my Account: This Order, or Requisition call it which you will is in Consideration of a similar order Upon Aurelia for the like favour, and I presume I have good Right to draw upon you for the Kisses as I have given two or three Millions at least, when one has been received, and of Consequence the Account between us is immensely in favour of yours,

John Adams

Octr. 4th. 1762"

Some Context:

The Adams Papers editors identify the “Bearer” as almost certainly John himself. “Aurelia” was Abigail’s older sister Mary.

So this is basically John writing Abigail a mock order authorizing himself to collect kisses.

This is such a funny early glimpse of Adams. Even when he is flirting with Abigail, he is arguing the case for why she owes him kisses.

It is also a very different version of him from the one most people know. The Adams we usually talk about is older, deeply political, argumentative, insecure, brilliant, and often difficult.

Here he is just 26 years old and very clearly smitten with Abigail.

That is really what I am hoping this exercise captures. We already know where the story ends. I think it will be more interesting to watch them become those people one letter at a time.

Primary source: Massachusetts Historical Society, Adams Family Correspondence
https://www.masshist.org/publications/adams-papers/view/AFC01p2