John Quincy Adams and Louisa Catherine Adams had three sons and a daughter. Their daughter, Louisa, was born in 1811 but died in 1812 while the family was in Russia. They named their first son George Washington Adams (1801–1829) after the first president. Both George and their second son, John (1803–1834), led troubled lives and died in early adulthood. (George committed suicide and John was expelled from Harvard before his 1823 graduation.)
Adams' youngest son, Charles Francis Adams (who named his own son John Quincy), also pursued a career in diplomacy and politics. In 1870 Charles Francis built the first memorial presidential library in the United States, to honor his father. The Stone Library includes over 14,000 books written in twelve languages. The library is located in the "Old House" at Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, Massachusetts.
John Adams and John Quincy Adams were the first father and son to each serve as president (the others being George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush). Each Adams served only one term as president.
She again met Adams, this time in London, where her father had been appointed American consul. Adams at first showed interest in her older sister but soon settled on Louisa. John Quincy Adams, aged 30, married Louisa, aged 22, on July 26, 1797, at All Hallows Barking parish in London, England. Adams' father, John Adams, then President of the United States, overcame his initial objections to his son marrying a person born in another country and welcomed his daughter-in-law into the family.
Her parents left Europe in 1797 and went to the U.S. When her father was forced into bankruptcy, President John Adams appointed him U.S. Director of Stamps. Her father died in Frederick, Maryland in 1802 of severe fever and some mental problems. Her mother died in 1811 and is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery.
Together, John Quincy Adams and Louisa Adams had the following children:
George Washington Adams (1801–1829), lawyer
John Adams II (1803–1834), presidential aide
Charles Francis Adams (1807–1886), diplomat, public official, and author
Louisa Catherine Adams (12 August 1811 – 15 September 1812), born and died in St Petersburg, Russia.