Louisa Adams First Spouse $10 Gold Coin First Lady, 1825–1829

First Lady, 1825–1829

The only first lady to be born outside the U.S., Louisa Catherine Johnson was born in 1775 in London to an American father and British mother. The family moved to France when she was three, where she completed her education. She met John Quincy Adams while he was serving in a diplomatic post in London and they married in 1797. Her first time on American soil came in 1801 when John Quincy was called back from diplomatic service by President Jefferson. She finally met her in-laws, former president John Adams and the formidable Abigail Adams, at that time.

Louisa Adams was an accomplished musician whose talents included singing, playing the harp and piano, and composing. A prolific author, she penned both poetry and drama. She authored a play titled Suspicion, or Persecuted Innocence while she served as first lady, in which she stressed the strengths of women. She was the first first lady to write her memoirs, entitled Adventures of a Nobody.