Description:

John Adams
Braintree, MA, November 11, 1788
John Adams ALS to John Jay's Wife to Introduce Abigail Adams, Mentions Time During Peace Treaty, Adams Glows about Jay, Superb!
ALS

JOHN ADAMS, Autograph Letter Signed, to Sarah Livingston Jay, November 11, 1788, Braintree, MA. 2 pp., 7.5" x 9.75". Addressed on outer fold; expected folds; repaired holes at intersections of folds affecting six words.

This letter by former Minister to Great Britain and future Vice President and President John Adams to the wife of John Jay introduces his wife, Abigail Adams. Mrs. Adams was traveling to Long Island to care for her daughter Abigail Adams Smith (1765-1813), who had just given birth to her second child, John Adams Smith, on November 9, 1788. During her time in New York, Abigail Adams enjoyed a visit with John Jay in which they discussed the prospects for John Adams to be elected Vice President for the new government under the recently ratified Constitution of the United States. She later stayed with the Jays during a brief visit to New York City before returning to Massachusetts. No other letter like this exists and this is its 1st appearance at auction.

John Adams and John Jay, together with Benjamin Franklin and Henry Laurens, were the representatives of the United States in negotiating the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolutionary War. Their negotiations began in April 1782, and they drafted the treaty in November 1782. Adams, Jay, and Franklin signed the treaty for the Americans in September 1783. Sarah Jay had lived with her husband in Spain and then in France, before returning to the United States in July 1784. Abigail Adams joined her husband in Paris in August 1784 but moved to London with him in 1785, when he became the first U.S. Minister to the Court of St. James's.

Complete Transcript
Braintree Nov. 11, 1788
Dear Madam
Permit me to introduce to your Acquaintance and Friendship a Lady whom I often wished to have an opportunity of presenting to you in France. The Circumstances of her Daughter have given her anxiety enough to conquer her aversion to a Winter Journey to Long Island: and I should be deficient in parental affection if I did not consent to it; though her absence from me will be very painfull and inconvenient.
My most respectful and affectionate Regards to Mr Jay. When and Where I shall ever have the Pleasure to see him again I know not. But I shall never cease to desire it, if we live upon this Earth these hundred years.
With every Sentiment of Respect and Esteem, I have the Honour to be, Madam, your most obedient and most humble Servant
John Adams
Madam Jay

[Address:]
Mrs. Jay / New-York

Historical Background
Abigail Adams Smith married her father's private secretary, William Stephen Smith (1755-1816), in London in June 1786, and they had four children over the next nine years. Their oldest child, William Steuben Smith, was born in April 1787, and their second child, John Adams Smith, was born on November 9, 1788.

The following day, November 10, William S. Smith wrote to his mother-in-law Abigail Adams from Jamaica on Long Island: "It is with particular pleasure I communicate to you the joyfull news of Mrs: Smiths safe delivery of a Son, which took place between seven & eight the last Evening, she was not the least indisposed untill six o'Clock & by ½ past seven all was well & tranquil, both continue composed and easy, but Nabby desires me to tell you that she is much disappointed, she had made the things, to adorn a female & a male has taken possession of them; but she seems to take some comfort in contemplating the beauty of the infant.... the Boy has a fine promising Nose & an honest forehead, which I think will be some recommendation to a Lady of his Grandmama's taste & penetration, why will you not come and visit this happy family? but the fault is not in you but in your Stars, we have almost entirely given up the Idea of seeing any of the family...."

On the same day he wrote this letter, John Adams penned a letter to his daughter, Abigail Adams Smith: "Our anxiety for you, in your present circumstances and situation among strangers, (though we doubt not you have many friends,) has prevailed upon me to make a great sacrifice, in consenting to your mother's journey to Long Island."

On Sunday, November 16, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband from Hartford, Connecticut, "I followd your injunctions stricktly kept open the windows, walkt some times &c but still no remedy against evening air. the day's being short & the evenings fine we wisht to improve the good weather & get on our journey as fast as possible, so rode late in the Evenings by which means I got a sad cold, or rather added to that which I had when I left Home. it is however going of[f] to day.... we have a very easy carriage good carefull driver and able Horses, yet find thirty miles as much as we can accomplish in one day.... we propose persueing our journey early in the morning and hope to reach Newyork by thursday Night."

On December 2, John Adams wrote to his wife from Braintree, "Before this time I hope you have the Happiness to See your Daughter out of all Danger and your Son in Law and your two grand children in perfect health. I have no Letter from you, Since that you wrote at Hartford, and I cannot find fault because this is the first I have written to you.... Dont be uneasy, on Account of your Family here, nor in haste to come home before a good opportunity presents." The following day, Abigail wrote a letter from her daughter's home in Jamaica, New York, explaining that she had sent a letter from Hartford, and another after she arrived but had heard nothing from him. She told him that "Mrs Smith remains very well for the Time and young master grows, but he and William should change Names, as William bears not the least likness to His Father or Family & the Young one is very like."

On December 15, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband of a visit from Secretary of Foreign Affairs John Jay: "mr Jay came out on Saturday to visit me. he had been waiting some Time for mrs Jay, but the children were sick with the measles and prevented her.... He expresst a great desire to see you, and thought you might have come on without subjecting yourself to any observations, tho he knew your Reasons were those of Delicacy. I replied to him that your wish to see him was mutual that a visit from him to you would have made you very happy, but that you was become quite a Farmer and had such a fondness for old Professions that you talk'd of returning to the Bar again. he replied with some warmth, that if your Countrymen permitted it, they would deserve to be brought to the Bar—that you must not think of retireing from publick Life. you had received your portion of the bitter things in politicks it was time you should have some of the sweets. I askt him where he thought the sweets in the new Government were to grow. he smild and said that he hoped for good things under it." Jay also offered to host Abigail Adams if she decided to come to New York City from Jamaica. When Jay saw the Smiths' oldest son William, he said, "well here is Grandpappa over again."

In a letter on January 12, 1789, Abigail Adams explained to her husband that "as mrs Jay is like to have an addition to her Family she is obliged to be circumspect." Sarah Jay gave birth to their fifth child, William Jay (1789-1858), on June 16, 1789. Abigail Adams added, "mr & mrs Jay desire their affectionate Regards to you. he is a plain as a Quaker, and as mild as New milk, but under all this, an abundance of Rogury in his Eye's. I need to say to you who so well know him, that he possesses an excellent Heart. mrs Jay has all the vivacity of a French woman blended with the modesty & Softness of an American Lady."

After she returned to Braintree in early February 1789, Abigail Adams wrote to Sarah Jay, "When I left your Hospitable mansion, I did not design so many days should have elapsed, before I had express'd to you the pleasing sense I entertaind of your kindness and Friendship. they have left a durable impression upon my mind, and an ardent desire to cultivate them in future. I reachd Home Ten days after I left Newyork. we had an agreeable journey, good Roads fine weather and tolerable accommodations.... I hope my dear madam that your Health is better than when I left you, and this not for your own sake only, but for that of your worthy partner, who I am sure sympathized so much with you, that he never really Breakfasted the whole time I was with you; my best Regards attend him. I hope both he and you will one day do me the Honour of visiting Braintree, where I would do all within my power to Render the fireside as social and as pleasing as I found Broad Way."

Sarah Van Brugh Livingston Jay (1756-1802) was born in Albany, New York, to William Livingston, a signer of the U.S. Constitution and governor of New Jersey (1776-1790), and his wife Susanna French Livingston. In 1774, she married John Jay (1745-1829), and they had six children, five of whom lived to adulthood. Early in her marriage, she lived at her father's house in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, while John Jay served as a state official in New York. In 1779, he became a commissioner to Spain, and she went abroad with him to Spain and then France. When they returned to the United States in 1784 for him to become United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs, she hosted officials from the diplomatic corps and was one of the leaders of society in the capital of New York City. She continued her role as hostess when her husband became Chief Justice of the United States (1789-1795) and Governor of New York (1795-1801). In 1801, they moved to a farm near Bedford, New York, where she died in May 1802.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE.

  • Dimensions: 7.75" x 10"
  • Artist Name: John Adams
  • Medium: ALS

Accepted Forms of Payment:

ACH, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Unless otherwise indicated, we do our own in-house world-wide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses that proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with a signature required option, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice. If any changes to the shipping address need to be made, you must inform us immediately.***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third-Party Shipping Option: If a third-party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third-party. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third-party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third-party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third-party shippers.

After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 10 business days following receipt of full payment for item.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

July 16, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of up to 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000