William Adams

Brief Life History of William

When William Adams was born on 6 January 1787, in Sussex, New Jersey, United States, his father, James Adams, was 27 and his mother, Sarah Dunn, was 20. He married Mary Jane Stansell about 1811, in Lyons, Lyons, Wayne, New York, United States. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 2 daughters. He died on 21 November 1864, in Wheatland, Hillsdale, Michigan, United States, at the age of 77, and was buried in Dibble Cemetery, Wheatland, Hillsdale, Michigan, United States.

Photos and Memories (1)

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Family Time Line

William Adams
1787–1864
Mary Jane Stansell
1789–1848
Marriage: about 1811
John Seymor Adams
1815–1891
James Madison Adams
1816–1899
George Harmon Adams
1817–1907
Sally Ann Adams
1819–1903
Louis Burges Adams
1820–1821
Nicholas S. Adams
1823–1907
Eliza Jane Adams
1825–1881
William Jones Adams
1828–1877

Sources (19)

  • William Addams, "United States Census, 1830"
  • William Adams, "Find A Grave Index"
  • William Adams, "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001"

Parents and Siblings

World Events (8)

1790 · Trenton - State Capital

Trenton, New Jersey officially became the state capital in 1790. The first state governor would be William Livingston.

1805

The Territory of Michigan was organized as an incorporated territory of the United States on June 30, 1805, with Detroit as the territorial capital.

1808

Atlantic slave trade abolished.

Name Meaning

English, Dutch, and German (mainly northwestern Germany): patronymic from the personal name Adam . In North America, this surname has absorbed cognates from other languages, e.g. Greek Adamopoulos , Serbian and Croatian Adamović (see Adamovich ), Polish (and Jewish) Adamski .

Irish and Scottish: adopted for McAdam or a Scottish variant of Adam , with excrescent -s.

History: This surname was borne by two early presidents of the US, father and son. They were descended from Henry Adams, who settled in Braintree, MA, in 1635/6, from Barton St. David, Somerset, England. The younger of them, John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) derived his middle name from his maternal grandmother's surname (see Quincy ). — Another important New England family, established mainly in NH, is descended from William Adams, who emigrated from Shropshire, England, to Dedham, MA, in 1628. James Hopkins Adams (1812–61), governor of SC, was unconnected with either of these families, his ancestry being Welsh; his forebears entered North America through PA.

Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

Possible Related Names

Story Highlight

William Adams, 1787-1864

William Adams is believed to have been born 6 January 1787 in Sussex County, New Jersey. He is believed to be the son of James Adams and Sarah Dunn Adams. On 7 May 1812, James and Sarah Adams sold …

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