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John Adams to Abigail Adams 2d, 19 September 1774
John Adams to Abigail Adams 2d
Philadelphia Sept. 19. 1774
My dear Child
I have received your pretty Letter,1 and it has given me a great deal of Pleasure, both as it is a Token of your Duty and Affection to me and as it is a Proof of your Improvement in your hand Writing and in the faculties of the Mind.—I am very sorry to hear of your Grand Mamma's Indisposition: but I hope soon to hear of her Recovery. Present my Love to your Mamma, and to your Brothers, Johnny, Charly and Tommy. Tell them they must be good Children and mind their Books, and listen to the Advice of their excellent Mamma, whose Instructions will do them good as long as they live, and after they shall be no more in this World.
Tell them, they must all strive to qualify themselves to be good and usefull Men—that so they may be Blessings to their Parents, and to Mankind, as well as qualified to be Blessings to those who shall come after them.
Remember me to Mr. Brackett, and Copeland, and to Patty Field, Molly Marsh, Jonathan Bass and Patty Curtis.—I am my dear little Nabby, with continual Prayers for your Happiness and Prosperity, your affectionate Father,
RC (Abigail Adams Smith House, Colonial Dames of America, New York City); addressed: "To Miss Nabby Adams Braintree To be left at Mr. Cranch's in Hanover street"; endorsed: "pappa Sep. 19, 1774."
1. Not found; it had been enclosed in AA's letter to JA, 2 Sept., above.
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Adams, John
Adams, Abigail (daughter of JA and AA)
"John Adams to Abigail Adams 2d, 19 September 1774," Founders Online, National Archives, accessed April 11, 2019, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/04-01-02-0105. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Adams Family Correspondence, vol. 1, December 1761 – May 1776, ed. Lyman H. Butterfield. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1963, pp. 160–161.]
More between these correspondents
From John Adams to Abigail (daughter of JA and AA) Adams [20 October 1775]
All correspondence between John Adams and Abigail (daughter of JA and AA) Adams
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