John was born on July 4, 1803 to then Senator John Quincy and his wife, Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, and was named after his grandfather, President John Adams. He was the second of four offspring with two brothers, George Washington, 1801-1829, and Charles Francis, 1807-1886, and one sister Louisa Catherine, 1811-1812. Three years after his father was elected to the presidency, on Feb 28, 1828, John married Mary Catherine Hellen, his first cousin, in a small ceremony in the White House. Both of his brothers refused to attend, having had prior “flirtations” with Mary Catherine, and her two brothers acted as groomsmen for John. John and Mary had two daughters, Mary Louisa in 1828, and Georgianna Francis in 1830. In 1829 his brother George died in an apparent alcohol related suicide which historians attribute to a worsening of John’s own alcoholism. He died in Washington, DC on Oct 23, 1834 at age only thirty-one. His young widow, Mary Catherine, afterwards moved in with her in-laws, and was credited for caring for John Quincy and Louisa Johnson Adams in their later years. Both of her and John’s daughters preceded her, Georgianna in childhood in 1839, and Mary Louisa in 1859. In her last years, Mary Catherine’s surviving brother-in-law, Charles Francis Adams, then long happily married and successful, sent her a distribution from her inheritance every three months, and provided what consolation he could. John, Mary Catherine, and Georgianna are buried together in Hancock Cemetery. Submitted by Allan Garner and
John was born on July 4, 1803 to then Senator John Quincy and his wife, Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, and was named after his grandfather, President John Adams. He was the second of four offspring with two brothers, George Washington, 1801-1829, and Charles Francis, 1807-1886, and one sister Louisa Catherine, 1811-1812. Three years after his father was elected to the presidency, on Feb 28, 1828, John married Mary Catherine Hellen, his first cousin, in a small ceremony in the White House. Both of his brothers refused to attend, having had prior “flirtations” with Mary Catherine, and her two brothers acted as groomsmen for John. John and Mary had two daughters, Mary Louisa in 1828, and Georgianna Francis in 1830. In 1829 his brother George died in an apparent alcohol related suicide which historians attribute to a worsening of John’s own alcoholism. He died in Washington, DC on Oct 23, 1834 at age only thirty-one. His young widow, Mary Catherine, afterwards moved in with her in-laws, and was credited for caring for John Quincy and Louisa Johnson Adams in their later years. Both of her and John’s daughters preceded her, Georgianna in childhood in 1839, and Mary Louisa in 1859. In her last years, Mary Catherine’s surviving brother-in-law, Charles Francis Adams, then long happily married and successful, sent her a distribution from her inheritance every three months, and provided what consolation he could. John, Mary Catherine, and Georgianna are buried together in Hancock Cemetery. Submitted by Allan Garner and
Bio by: B. Loor
