Hannah Adams was born on Oct. 2, 1755, in Medfield, Massachusetts, a small New England town shaped by Congregational tradition, village schooling, and domestic learning. Her family’s circumstances were modest but intellectually engaged.
Her father, Thomas “Book” Adams, kept a small collection of books and boarded students preparing for the ministry. These boarders, and the texts they brought with them, gave Adams early access to religious, classical, and historical works at a time when formal education was limited. Her nuanced upbringing would one day push her to become a historian of merit.
