“My Wife Abigail Adams, the First Modern American Woman” is the title of a presentation by actor George Baker, who will play John Adams on September 5 at the Mason House in Bethel.
BETHEL – Actor George Baker, who plays the second President of the United States John Adams, will speak Thursday, Sept. 5, at the Mason House of the Bethel Historical Society Museums.
Baker’s performance at Bethel is titled “My Wife Abigail Adams, the First Modern American Woman.”
In March, Director Will Chapman announced that Bethel’s two historic houses would be renamed to include the names of the women (they were sisters) who lived there. The Moses Mason House will be called the Dr. Moses and Agnes Straw Mason House and the O’Neill Robinson House will be called the O’Neil and Betsey Straw Robinson House.
Baker’s visit is part of the Mason House’s 50th anniversary celebration as a historic house museum.
Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams (1744-1818) was the first woman to serve as Second Lady of the United States and the second woman to serve as First Lady. The National Women’s History Museum writes, “Praised for her now-famous admonition that the Founding Fathers should ‘consider the ladies’ in their new laws, Abigail Adams was not only an early champion of women’s rights but also a key confidante and adviser to her husband, John Adams, the nation’s second president. She opposed slavery and supported women’s education.”
In a phone interview, Baker described Abigail Adams’ shrewd business sense, something he hopes to convey during his presentation. One example of this occurred during John Adams’ long stay in France during the Revolutionary War. At Abigail’s urging, he bought 350 Barcelona handkerchiefs at wholesale price. He shipped them home to Massachusetts, where Abigail sold them all to fellow Bostonians in just two weeks and then bought herself a new horse-drawn carriage.
Next, Baker recounted that Abigail was the first woman in New England to have a will. “Married women were not allowed to have a will because all property belonged to their husband. She knew that she and her husband had a particular outlook on life and he would abide by it.” When Abigail died several years before John, he made sure her will was followed.
Actor George Baker plays President John Adams at the Bethel Historical Society in September.
Like Adams
Baker said he always enjoyed acting, but he hit a dead end. His wife read David McCullough’s book “John Adams” in 2008. She said, “He reminds me of you.” That’s how his new job began.
Baker, a Connecticut lawyer, said he gives four to five performances a month in cities from the northern tip of Maine to Virginia.
Of the Adams, Baker said, “They had a good life… but the one who was just incredible was John Quincy Adams (JQC).” His education was encouraged in part by his mother, who urged him to travel to Europe with his father. “She wanted to open up the world to him,” Baker said.
JQC and Agnes
It is unclear if the Adams ever visited Bethel, but John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, met Agnes Straw Mason and wrote her a poem. The poem, dated January 10, 1835, is addressed “to Mrs. Mason.” Adams signed the poem.
This is the last verse:
“Whenever this page catches your eye,
Let us no longer be strangers;
May this blessing be upon you from above;
And remember me in your heart.”
The president and poet typically wrote in rhyming couplets, and his poems ranged from humorous and silly to serious. His subjects included beautiful women who caught his eye, including his own wife, Louisa Catherine. He wrote about important political issues and also about his own mortality.
Baker said: “He (John Quincy Adams) wrote about women in a very cheeky way… One of the women he wrote about was Agnes Straw Mason.” She was in her 30s at the time – he was 35 years older.
Baker said, “He was able to get away with it because he had been president.”
See George Baker portray John Adams on Thursday, September 5, at the Mason House, corner of Mason and Broad Streets. 5:30-7:30 p.m. Potluck dinner followed by a brief business meeting and presentation of the Adamses.
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