John Adams was born on October 30, 1735, in Braintree, Massachusetts on the family farm. John was named after his father, a deacon of the church. His father was also, at times, the town's tax collector, selectman, constable and lieutenant of the militia. His father's occupation was farming. The senior Adams was John's role model in life. John's father passed away in the flu epidemic of 1761.
Of all the famous people in the Adams' life, comparatively little is known about John's mother, Susanna Boylston Adams. She was known to have a fiery temper. She remarried in 1766 to Lt. John Hall. Apparently, John did not get along with his stepfather. Susanna Adams died in 1797, while John was serving his first year as President.
John had two younger brothers, Peter and Elihu. John Adams was the second cousin of Samuel Adams, fellow revolutionary and John was the third cousin to his future wife, Abigail Smith.
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English: One of the last letters between former Pr...
Tombs of President John Adams (left) and John Quin...John was taught to read by his father while he a was still a young child. John attended a series of schools. His favorite subject was math. John had little patience for schooling. His father had dreams of John graduating from Harvard and becoming a minister. John agreed to become more attentive of studies if his father would place him under the tutelage of Joseph Marsh, who ran a more challenging school. John's school work improved and he entered Harvard in 1751, a year older than the usual student at that time.
Adams graduated in 1755 with Bachelor of Arts degree. Adams graduated 15 in a class of 24. At the time of his graduation, Adams planned to commit himself to practicing law. However, Adams' first job was as schoolmaster in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Throughout Adams' teaching career, John yearned to make his mark...