When Jesse Clay Adams was born on 17 March 1888, in Graham Township, Graham, Kansas, United States, his father, Charles Elmer Adams, was 36 and his mother, Ella Viola Haton, was 33. He married Gertrude Lillian Gilpin on 16 November 1907, in Paw Paw, Van Buren, Michigan, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 2 daughters. He lived in Van Buren, Michigan, United States in 1935 and Decatur, Decatur Township, Van Buren, Michigan Territory, United States in 1940. He died on 28 March 1966, in Decatur, Van Buren, Michigan, United States, at the age of 78, and was buried in Decatur, Van Buren, Michigan, United States.