As a Child

My name is Abigail Adams, witness to a revolution. I don't like to be tiresome so I'll go straight to the facts. I was born on November 11, 1744 and on November 22, 1744. You must be thinking ",Is she out of her mind? How can she born on both days?" Well I'll tell you why, when the Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian in 1752, a correction of an eleven days was made, and My birthday became November 22 instead of November 11. Talking about my birth and all I'm quite eager to show you my home. I've shown it to the right.

My father, Parson Smith, was a minister and my mother, Elizabeth Smith was the perfect minister's wife. She provided work for the neighbors and cared for the sick. She refused to meddle in any petty quarrels in the parish, and treated everyone with equal kindness. She taught me and my sisters, Mary and Betsy, to do the same. She taught us the importance of family affection and compassion. " We should never wait to be requested to do a kind office, an act of love," she used to say. She usually said that to me when I accompanied her when she visited the sick or brought food or firewood to a needy family.

I especially loved the times when I sat with my father. I often asked him to let me go to school but mother forbade it. however I was stubborn and taught myself. I remember one particular time when I turned ten and my father gave me a lamb as a pet. My mother however wasn't pleased. She believed a lady belonged in a parlor not a barn. I, however, believed I could be in the barn and in the parlor and still be a lady. I was often wild and giddy as a child, my sister Mary on the other hand was the quiet child and young Betsy was the romantic one.