Letter by J.Q. Adams discovered in Mass.

QUINCY, Mass., April 21 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts city lawyer said he discovered in a dusty box in the city hall's basement a letter written by President John Quincy Adams.

Paul Hines, an assistant city solicitor, earlier this month was searching through dozens of old boxes for documents to defend the city, Quincy, in a lawsuit, when he came upon the letter that was signed by Adams, The Boston Globe reported Wednesday.

The letter, dated Sept. 8, 1826, concerned the burial of the sixth president's father, President John Adams, and that of his wife, Abigail, in the First Parish Church in Quincy, the Globe reported.

John Adams had died on July 4 of that year and his son sought permission in the letter to bury his father and mother, who died in 1818, there.

"I have considered it a duty devolving upon me to erect a plain and modest monument to his memory: and my wish is that divested of all ostentation it may yet be as durable as the walls of the Temple to the erection of which he has contributed, and as the Rocks of his native Town which are to supply the materials for it,'' the letter read.

The letter continued: "I have many reasons for desiring that this may be undertaken without delay and ... that both my parents may not remain for an indefinite time without a stone to tell where they lie.''

The executive director of the Quincy Historical Society, Ed Fitzgerald, said the letter provides rare insight into the emotions between the father and son.

"We do think this is an important piece of work. I think it's reflective of New England culture, in that he wanted the monument devoid of ostentation," said Fitzgerald.