ExclusiveLouisa Adams_ First Foreign-Born First Lady's Fascinating Story

She was the first First Lady who was not an American. She was born in England. Her father was an American merchant, Joshua Johnson, who married an Englishwoman during his numerous travels. His daughters were born in England, and for a good deal of her early childhood, that's where Louisa was raised. She was the second daughter. But her father was supportive of the American Revolution, even though he currently lived in England at the time, so that made his position in the United Kingdom rather uncomfortable. Thus, the family moved to France. In France, Louisa studied in a convent school. She studied music, and she became so engrossed in French culture, learning to speak French, that she later had to relearn English. When they returned to England, she didn't really get along with the other British girls. She was often teased for her French background and for being Catholic, which was very unpopular in the Anglican culture at the time. But she was then, as always, a woman of very strong character and principles, and she didn't care what other people said about her. That didn't stop her from doing what she thought was the right thing to do. She was very musical. She loved playing the harp, and it was actually her musical talents which drew her to her future husband, John Quincy Adams.