John Quincy Adams II (September 22, 1833 – August 14, 1894) was an American politician who represented Quincy in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1866 to 1867, 1868 to 1869, 1871 to 1872, and from 1874 to 1875. Adams served as a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War under Governor

John Albion Andrew John Albion Andrew (May 31, 1818 – October 30, 1867) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He was elected in 1860 as the 25th Governor of Massachusetts, serving between 1861 and 1866, and led the state's contributions to ...

of Massachusetts. Later in life, he left the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

in 1867 for the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Early life

John Quincy Adams II was born on September 22, 1833, in Boston, Massachusetts. The 2nd of 7th children born to Charles Francis Adams and Abigail Brown Brooks. He was the paternal grandson of the 6th United States president, John Quincy Adams (his namesake), and the great-grandson of the 2nd president, John Adams. His maternal grandfather was shipping magnate

Peter Chardon Brooks Peter Chardon Brooks (January 6, 1767 – January 1, 1849) was a wealthy Massachusetts merchant. Early life Brooks born in North Yarmouth, Maine, on January 6, 1767. His parents were the Rev. Edward Brooks and Abigail Brown. In 1769, the fami ...

(1767–1849). He graduated from Harvard University in 1853, studied law, and two years later was admitted to the Suffolk County bar, and practiced in Boston. He followed his profession for a short time, then, becoming interested in agriculture, he established an experimental model farm of five hundred acres near Quincy, Massachusetts.

Career

During the Civil War he served as an aide-de-camp on the staff of Governor

, first as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, and later as a colonel. During the war his duties included visiting Massachusetts units in the field and providing the governor status reports on their condition. In 1862, he made inspection visits to several Massachusetts units operating in North Carolina. Adams served in several local offices in Quincy, including town meeting moderator, school board chairman and judge of the local court. He was elected to the Massachusetts

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

as a Republican, but soon switched to the

because of his dissatisfaction with Republican Reconstruction policies. In addition to serving in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1865, 1867, 1870 and 1873, he was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Governor of Massachusetts in every year from 1867 to 1871. (Governors served one year terms until 1918.) Adams received one vote for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States at the

1868 Democratic National Convention The 1868 Democratic National Convention was held at Tammany Hall in New York City between July 4, and July 9, 1868. The first Democratic convention after the conclusion of the American Civil War, the convention was notable for the return of Democr ...

. In 1872, the faction of Democrats that refused to support

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressm ...

, the fusion candidate of Democrats and the Liberal Republican Party, nominated

Charles O'Conor Charles O'Conor may refer to: * Charles O'Conor (historian) (1710–1791), Irish writer, historian, and antiquarian * Charles O'Conor (priest) (1764–1828), Irish priest and historian, grandson of the above * Charles O'Conor (American politician) ( ...

for president and Adams for vice president on the " Straight-Out Democratic" ticket. They declined, but their names remained on the ballot in some states. In 1873, he was the unsuccessful nominee for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. After losing an election for lieutenant governor in 1876, Adams refused most further involvement in politics, though he was considered by Grover Cleveland for a cabinet position in 1893. In 1877, he was made a member of the Harvard Corporation.

Personal life

Fanny Crowninshield by Samuel Worcester Rowse

In 1861, Adams married Frances "Fanny" Cadwalader Crowninshield (1839–1911), daughter of George Crowninshield (1812–1857) and Harriet Sears Crowninshield (1809–1873) of the politically powerful

Crowninshield family Crowninshield may refer to the following: * Crowninshield family, long-standing American family * USS Crowninshield, a World War I era American destroyer * Crowninshield Island Crowninshield Island, also known as Brown's Island, is a small islan ...

. Fanny was the granddaughter of former United States Secretary of the Navy under presidents Madison and Monroe, Benjamin Williams Crowninshield. Their children were: * John Quincy Adams III. (1862–1876), who died young. * George Caspar Adams (1863–1900), who was the head coach of the Harvard University football program. * Charles Francis Adams III (1866–1954), who served as Secretary of the Navy, and who married Frances Lovering. * Frances "Fanny" C. Adams (1873–1876), who died in childhood. * Arthur Charles Adams (1877–1943), who served as vice president of the Adams Trust Company, the Colony Trust and the New England Trust Company. * Abigail "Hitty" Adams (1879–1974), who married Robert Homans in 1907. Adams died at age 60 in

Wollaston, Massachusetts Wollaston, Massachusetts, is a neighborhood in the city of Quincy, Massachusetts. Divided by Hancock Street or Route 3A, the Wollaston Beach side is known as Wollaston Park, while the Wollaston Hill side is known as Wollaston Heights. It is b ...

on August 14, 1894. He was buried at Mount Wollaston Cemetery in Quincy.Mout Wollaston Cemetery Tour
/ref> His widow died in 1911, and left an estate worth $1,200,000 to their three surviving children.

Descendants

Through his daughter, Abigail, he was the grandfather of George Casper Homans (1910–1989), a sociologist and the founder of

behavioral sociology The expression collective behavior was first used by Franklin Henry Giddings and employed later by Robert Park and Ernest Burgess, Herbert Blumer, Ralph H. Turner and Lewis Killian, and Neil Smelser to refer to social processes and events w ...

and the Social Exchange Theory.

Family tree

References

Attribution *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, John Quincy II 1833 births 1894 deaths Harvard University alumni Adams political family Crowninshield family People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War Massachusetts Republicans Massachusetts Democrats Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts lawyers Massachusetts state court judges Politicians from Quincy, Massachusetts Union Army colonels 1872 United States vice-presidential candidates