ADAMS, Hannah

Born 2 October 1755, Medfield, Massachusetts; died 15 December 1831, Brookline, Massachusetts

Daughter of Thomas and Eleanor Clark Adams

The second of five children, Hannah Adams was considered too frail to attend public school and was educated at home. Discovering she was unable to support herself at needlework, Adams undertook a literary career. Although excessively modest and timid, she was the first and for many years the only woman permitted to use the Boston Atheneum. Her learning was prodigious, and while her books were successful, poor business arrangements limited the income she derived from them.

The research into religious sects that Adams had begun for her own edification became, in 1784, her first published volume, the Alphabetical Compendium of the Various Sects Which Have Appeared from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Present Day. In its objectivity, it represented a major improvement over existing works on the subject, and although it contains some misinformation due to inaccurate sources, the scope of its coverage is impressive. Edited and retitled for later editions, it includes a dictionary listing of the separate Christian sects, a survey of the beliefs of non-Christian groups, and a geographical breakdown of world religions.

For her Summary History of New England (1799), Adams undertook serious primary research, delving into state archives and old newspapers, causing serious injury to her eyesight. The material, which covers events from the sailing of the Mayflower through the adoption of the Federal Constitution, is presented in a clear, straightforward manner with occasional attempts to recreate particularly affecting scenes such as the farewell of the Pilgrims from Holland.

The Abridgement of the History of New England for the Use of Young People (1807) involved a protracted controversy with Dr. Jedidiah Morse over unfair competition, eventually resolved in Adams' favor. In revising her History, Adams edited it for greater smoothness and clarity, but simplified neither the language nor the thought. She added a paragraph at the end of each chapter to point up the moral lesson to be learned from the event.

While working on the Abridgement, Adams published The Truth and Excellence of the Christian Religion Exhibited (1804), surveying the support which laymen had given to their religion since the 17th century. Divided into two parts, it first presents brief biographies of 60 men, showing how their lives exemplified the Christian spirit. The second part provides excerpts listed under various kinds of "Evidence in Favor of Revealed Religion." Most of the material was drawn from the writings of those covered in the first section, but it also includes selections by the Marchioness de Dillery, Hannah More, and a Mrs. West.

Adams' The History of the Jews from the Destruction of Jerusalem to the Present Time (1812) represented one of the first attempts to relate their story sympathetically, a story which Adams described as a "tedious succession of oppression and persecution." Written to encourage efforts to convert the Jews, her discussion of the early period stresses its substantiation of "our Savior's prediction" of their fate. Not completely free from bias, Adams nevertheless carefully recorded the confiscatory taxes, the mass murders, and the expulsions suffered by the Jews.

Adams was probably the first professional woman writer in America, pursuing her career despite the knowledge that the "penalties and discouragements attending authors in general fall upon women with double weight." Although most discussions of Adams adopt her own designation of herself as a "compiler," she was, in fact, a fine historian whose meticulous research included examination of primary materials when available, extraordinarily wide reading of secondary sources, and a remarkable objectivity. Her histories are no longer relevant, but her contributions to historiography deserve attention.