Family history of John Adams (1735-1826), second president of the United States, and of his wife, Abigail Smith, and of their descendants to the fourth generation--using family letters and diaries not available earlier. Charles Francis Adams, a grandson, said: "The history of my family is not a pleasant one to remember. It is one of great triumphs in the world but of deep groans within, one of extraordinary brilliancy and deep corroding mortification."