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Primary sourceDocument1 January 1801

White House Dinner Invitation, 1801

Abigail Adams · 1 January 1801

A White House dinner invitation partly filled in by Abigail Adams, showing her role as the first hostess of the new presidential residence.

Abigail Adams filled in part of this early White House invitation, reflecting her duties as official hostess.

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Handwritten invitation card on yellowed paper. Printed-style text reads 'The President of the United States requests the Pleasure of Mr & Mrs Bailys Company to Dine, on Thursday next, at 4 o'Clock', dated Jan 1 1801, 'An answer is requested.' 'Mrs Adams' is written at top right.
White House dinner invitation, partly in the hand of Abigail Adams, 1 January 1801.

About this source

What it is

This is an early White House dinner invitation from January 1801, with preprinted text and a portion completed by hand by First Lady Abigail Adams. It invites a guest to dine with the President.

Why it matters

Abigail Adams and her husband John Adams were the first presidential family to live in the White House. As First Lady, she took on the social duties of hosting official dinners, helping to establish the customs of the new office and the new capital. This small card shows the practical, everyday work behind that role.

Look closer

  • What does the mix of printed and handwritten text tell us about how such invitations were produced?
  • Why might historians value an everyday object like an invitation as much as a formal document?
  • What does this invitation suggest about the social expectations placed on a First Lady?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Abigail Adams on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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