From the state park literature prepared by Massachusetts state historians:

 QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS

 Dating from around 1640, the Hancock Cemetery is among the earliest and most historic burial grounds in New England.

This was the burial ground for the Town of Braintree, incorporated in 1640, and was the only burial place for all of Old Braintree until 1716.  Thereafter, it was the burial ground for the North Precinct and then the Town of Quincy until the mid-1800s.

Here rest those who made our history.  It was the burial place of the original settlers and early residents of Old Braintree, many in graves that never had gravestones, some where the stones have been lost through time, and many whose monuments you see today.

Here are fine examples of the stonecutter’s art, showing themes and styles that reflect changes in religious thinking through the years.

The Hancock Cemetery is named for the Rev. John Hancock, fifth minister of the church now know as United First Parish Church (“Church of the Presidents”) and father of John Hancock, the Patriot.

(The Hancock Cemetery is located on Hancock Street next to Quincy City Hall and across from the United First Parish Church.)

 Partial Cemetery list:

SOME MONUMENTS OF PARTICULAR INTEREST AT HANCOCK CEMETERY

  1. John Quincy  (1744 - 1775) – The Patriot.  Monument on mound.
  2. Edmund Quincy Tomb - In one of the rough stones is a recess that once held a lead plaque with the family coat of arms.  After the Battle of Lexington, it was pried out and melted into bullets.
  3. The peacock stone – Well known for its unusual design.  Lt. John Cleverly (1635 – 1703)
  4. Deacon John Adams (1691 - 1761) – Father of President John Adams.
  5. Joseph Adams (1654 – 1737) – Grandfather of President John Adams.
  6. The Ministers’ Tomb – Rev. John Hancock (1703 – 1744) and other ministers. The poem on the top stone was written by Benjamin Tompson,  schoolmaster and the first American-born poet.
  7. Stone with particularly handsome carving – Joseph Penniman (1640 – 1705).  He was the builder of the John Adams Birthplace.
  8. Henry Adams (1583 – 1646) – Great-great-grandfather of President John Adams who erected the monument.  This is the oldest identified grave.
  9. Joseph Adams  (1626 – 1694) – Great-grandfather of President John Adams.
  10. J.Q. Adams tomb, the Adams Family Tomb – Here were interred the Adams Presidents and their wives before they were moved to the crypts beneath the church now known as United First Parish Church (“Church of the Presidents”), and other members of the family.
  11. The oldest gravestone – 1666 – Rev. William Tompson (1598 – 1666), First minister of the church now known as United First Parish Church (“Church of the Presidents”).
  12. Leonard Hoar (1630 – 1675) Third president of Harvard College

An index of all grave locations is available for reference at the Quincy Historical Society, 8 Adams Street, Quincy, MA, 02169  (617) 773-1144.

henry_plaque.jpg (198278 bytes) Entrance of the Hancock Family Cemetery Braintree, Massachusetts. Named after the Rev. John Hancock ancestor of John Hancock. Thompson Family ancestor Henry Adams I is buried here in the Adams family plot. John Quincy Adams purchased tombs for Henry and other Adams ancestors during his Presidency. The Presidents John and son John Quincy Adams descend through Henry I's son Rev. Joseph and our next ancestor would be Lt. Henry Adams II. Henry I is mentioned in the middle of the plaque.
hancock2.jpg (62436 bytes) Gravestone of Henry Adams I. Tomb is in the background.
henry_plaque2.jpg (312659 bytes) Memorial to Henry Adams I
henry_jo_graves.jpg (118243 bytes) Henry Adams I and Rev. Joseph Adams. Henry's tomb is on the right.
hancock1.jpg (117280 bytes) Part of the Adams family plot.
rev_jo_stone.jpg (71411 bytes)
hancock3.jpg (131161 bytes)

Picture of  the tomb of Henry Adams I .
rev_jo_stone2.jpg (90107 bytes) Gravestone of Rev. Joseph Adams, the son of Henry Adams I. Also the great grandfather of President John Adams. Rev. Joseph would be the brother of Thompson ancestor Lt. Henry Adams II.
jo_abigail_adams.jpg (125256 bytes) Tomb of Rev. Joseph Adams, the son of Henry Adams I. Also the great grandfather of President John Adams. Rev. Joseph would be the brother of Thompson ancestor Lt. Henry Adams II
john_quin_tomb.jpg (116196 bytes) Tomb of President John Quincy Adams great great grandson of Henry Adams I.
john_stone.jpg (104222 bytes) Tomb of John Adams, father of President John Adams.
Click here for information and photos of the Hancock Clark house. John Hancock and Samuel Adams were hiding in the home of  the Rev. Jonas Clark when Paul Revere came to warn that they were going to be arrested by the British. This home is within a mile of the Lexington Battle Green.
From the state park literature prepared by Massachusetts state historians:

John Adams and John Quincy Adams Birthplaces

Adams National Historical Park - Quincy, Massachusetts

 

 

The birthplaces of John Adams and John Quincy Adams provide visitors with a unique opportunity to experience the environment that shaped two of the United States’ greatest leaders and the only father and son U.S. Presidents.  The opportunity is further enhanced by the fact that they are also the two oldest presidential birthplaces in the country and are located less than 50 meters apart.  The two homes serve as a stage for National Park Service Ranges to interpret the story of a family’s dedication to public service and its contributions to the founding and strengthening of the United States.

The John Adams Birthplace

The house known as the John Adams Birthplace was built by Joseph Penniman in 1681 and inhabited by the Penniman family until John Adams’ father bought the house and six acres of property surrounding it in 1720. On October 30, 1735, John Adams was born in this humble cottage.  In this quiet rural setting where his father tilled his acreage during the summer and practiced the trade of cordwaining in winter, began the development of the nation’s second President.  John’s father, Deacon John Adams (1692-1761), instilled in his oldest son a strong interest in municipal affairs and farming and a respect for God.  John’s mother, Susanna Boylston  (1709-1797), came from one of Massachusetts’ most prominent families and introduced her son to the customs and lifestyles of the elite of colonial Boston.  Upon his father’s death in 1761, John’s brother Peter Boylston Adams inherited the original homestead.  The adjacent house, which his father Deacon John purchased in 1744, was bequeathed to John.  The future second President eventually bought his birthplace from Peter in 1774.  John and Abigail Adams rented out this house during the Revolutionary War.

 

John Quincy Adams Birthplace

The house now known as the John Quincy Adams Birthplace was built by Samuel Belcher in 1663 and inhabited by his descendants until Deacon John Adams bought it in 1744.  John Adams inherited this home when his father died in 1761.  Here he brought his bride Abigail Smith on October 25, 1764.  It was in this house that Abigail gave birth on July 11, 1767, to their second child, John Quincy Adams, the future 6th President of the United States.  During the American Revolutionary War,  while John was distinguishing himself in Philadelphia as the delegate at the second Continental Congress with “the clearest head and the firmest heart,” Abigail supervised the education of her children took care of the farm and served as an inspiration to her husband during this critical period of United States History.  Abigail penned many of her famous letters to her husband from this Penn’s Hill farm.  In 1779, John Adams drafted the Constitution of Massachusetts in his law office in the northeast corner room of this home.  After drafting the Massachusetts Constitution, John Adams traveled to Europe and ultimately negotiated and signed the Treaty of Paris, which concluded the American Revolutionary War.  With peace secured, John requested his wife and daughter Nabby join him in Europe.  After serving as the first U.S. Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain, John Adams with his wife Abigail came home in 1788 to their new residence, “Peacefield,” also a part of the Adams National Historical Park.  While John and Abigail would never again live in their Penn’s Hill cottage, John Quincy Adams resided in his own birthplace during the summers of 1806 through 1808 with his wife, Louisa Catherine.

 

Historic Landscape and Architecture

The houses are in their original locations on Franklin Street which formerly was part of the “Old Coast Road” that went from Boston to Plymouth.  The house on the right as you look at it from Franklin Street is the Birthplace of John Adams and the one on the left that of John Quincy Adams.  The land for the farm, estimated at about 188 acres at the time of John Adam’s’ father’s death, was situated behind the houses extending in a westerly direction.  The principal crop on the farm was corn, but rye, wheat, oats and barley were also cultivated.  Livestock such as oxen, horses, sheep, hogs and poultry were kept.  Many outbuildings for the care of the farm were built behind the two cottages.  A large granite slab on the John Quincy Adams Birthplace side of the stone wall covers a well that served as the source of water for both of the properties.  The John Adams Birthplace built in 1681, is a classic New England home of framed construction with two lower and two upper rooms built around a massive central chimney.  Extensive alterations were made over the years including the building of a lean-to in the 18th century that added two downstairs rooms and two small upper ones.  The John Quincy Adams Birthplace is also of typical New England framed design.  The two birthplaces are homes of framed construction,  but are commonly referred to as saltboxes because of their resemblance to boxes in colonial kitchens where salt was stored.

 

Between 1893 and 1940

The Adams family continued to own the two homes and rent them to tenants until 1893.  Between 1893 and 1940 the homes were shown as house museums by the Quincy Historical Society although the Adams continued to own them.  In 1940, the Adams family donated the houses as a gift to the city of Quincy.  On May 1, 1979, the City of Quincy in cooperation with the Adams Memorial Society presented the birthplaces of John and John Quincy Adams to the people of the United States.  Today, the National Park Service preserves and interprets these homes so that visitors can emulate the example of the Adams family’s dedication to the improvement of the United States through public service.
adams_home2.jpg (98336 bytes) Birthplace of John Adams,  close to Hancock Cemetery.
pres_adams_home2.jpg (83573 bytes) John Quincy home within walking distance to Hancock Cemetery
john_adams_birth.jpg (101077 bytes) Birthplace of John Quincy Adams. Next door to the birth home of President John Adams
j_adams_portrait.jpg (65428 bytes) President John Adams the great grandson of Thompson ancestor Henry Adams of Braintree, Massachusetts
adams-.jpg (47516 bytes) John Quincy Adams greatgreatgrandson of Thompson ancestor Henry Adams of Braintree, Massachusetts.
abigail_adams.jpg (39311 bytes) First Lady Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams.
quincy_portrait.jpg (59736 bytes) John Quincy Adams greatgreatgrandson of Thompson ancestor Henry Adams of Braintree, Massachusetts.
President John Quincy Adams.
First Lady Louisa Johnson wife of John Quincy Adams

quincy_home_color.jpg (90459 bytes)

John Quincy home within walking distance to Hancock Cemetery