Charles Francis Adams was born 18 August 1807 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States to John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) and Louisa Catherine Johnson (1775-1852) and died 21 November 1886 Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States of unspecified causes. He married Abigail Brown Brooks (1808-1889) 3 September 1829 in Mystic Grove, Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
Biography
Charles Francis Adams, Sr., (August 18, 1807 – November 21, 1886) was an American historical editor, politician and diplomat. He was the son of President John Quincy Adams and grandson of President John Adams, of whom he wrote a major biography.
Adams served in the Massachusetts State Senate, before running unsuccessfully for Vice-President (Free Soil Party) in the election of 1848. During the Civil War, Adams was Abraham Lincoln's foreign minister in London, where he played a key role in keeping Britain neutral, while southern agents were trying to achieve official recognition of the Confederacy. This meant conducting dialogue with both sides, and monitoring the British connection in the supply of commerce raiders.
He became an overseer of Harvard University, and built Adams National Historical Park, a library in honor of his father in Quincy, Massachusetts.
Marriage and Family
- Louisa Catherine Adams (1831-1870) - traveled extensively to Italy, died there of tetenus infection from minor foot injury
- John Quincy Adams (1833-1894) - lawyer and politician
- Charles Francis Adams (1835-1915) - brigadier-general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and president of the Union Pacific Railroad from 1884 to 1890.
- Henry Brooks Adams (1838-1918) - a prominent author and political commentator, married Marian Hooper (1843–1885)
- Arthur Adams (1841-1846) - died young
- Mary Gardiner Adams (1845-1928) - married Dr. Henry Parker Quincy - a Family Quincy Relative
- Peter Chardon Brooks Adams (1848-1927) - a historian and political scientist.
Children
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| George Washington Adams (1801-1829) | 13 April 1801 Berlin, Germany (Berlin, Prussia) | 30 April 1829 Long Island Sound, United States | Eliza Dolph (1810-1908) |
| John Adams (1803-1834) | 4 July 1803 Washington, D.C., United States | 23 October 1834 Washington, D.C., United States | Mary Catherine Hellen (1806-1870) |
| Charles Francis Adams (1807-1886) | 18 August 1807 Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States | 21 November 1886 Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States | Abigail Brown Brooks (1808-1889) |
| Louisa Catherine Adams (1811-1812) | 12 August 1811 Saint Petersburg, Russia | 15 September 1812 Saint Petersburg, Russia | |
Residence
John Adams Home in Braintree MA.
Adams National Historical Park, formerly Adams National Historic Site, in Quincy, Massachusetts, preserves the home of Presidents of the United States John Adams (1735-1826) and John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), of U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, Charles Francis Adams, and of the writers and historians Henry Adams and Brooks Adams and many other members of the famous Adams political family.
The national historical park's eleven buildings tell the story of five generations of the Adams family (from 1720 to 1927) including Presidents, First Ladies, U.S. Ministers, historians, writers, and family members who supported and contributed to their success. In addition to Peacefield, home to four generations of the Adams family, the park's main historic features include the John Adams Birthplace (October 30, 1735), the nearby John Quincy Adams Birthplace (July 11, 1767), and the Stone Library (built in 1870 to house the books of John Quincy Adams and believed to be the first presidential library), containing more than 14,000 historic volumes in 12 languages.
There is an off-site Visitors Center less than a mile (1.6 km) away. Regularly scheduled tours of the houses are offered in season (April 19 to November 10), by guided tour only, using a tourist trolley provided by the Park Service between sites. Access to United First Parish Church, where the Adamses worshipped and are buried, is provided by the congregation for which they ask a small donation. The church is across the street from the Visitors Center.
- John Adams Historic Site - National Park Service official website
Footnotes (including sources)
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