John Quincy Adams Marries Louisa Catherine Johnson

Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, born Louisa Catherine Johnson (February 12, 1775 – May 15, 1852), wife of John Quincy Adams, was First Lady of the United States from 1825 to 1829.

When she had blossomed into a pretty, slender young lady with delicate features, reddish blond hair and brown eyes, 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 foreigner 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 (1811–1812)

Adams's own diplomatic career began in 1794 when President Washington appointed him minister to the Netherlands. Immediately following Adams's arrival, French armies occupied the country. On 26 July 1797, in London, John Quincy Adams married Louisa Catherine Johnson, daughter of the U.S. consul. Appointed minister plenipotentiary to Berlin in 1797, he was recalled by his father after the elder Adams's defeat in the presidential election of 1800.