The Adams Family of Plymouth,
Plymouth, MA, Scituate, Plymouth, MA, Marshfield,
Plymouth, MA, Sudbury, Middlesex, MA,
Norwich, New London, CT, Preston,
New London, CT, Plainfield, Windham, CT
and Canterbury, Windham, CT |
Send comments and corrections to anneb0704@yahoo.co.uk
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JOHN ADAMS
(d. 1633) of Plymouth m. Ellen Newton (c. 1598-1681)
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RICHARD ADAMS
(d. 1728) of Sudbury, Plainfield and Canterbury m. Rebecca Davis
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MARY BACON ADAMS
(1806 - c. 1876) of Canterbury m. James
Benajah Cary
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INDEX for this Adams family
files
Generation 1
JOHN ADAMS (d. 1633) of Plymouth
Parents: Unknown
John Adams died between 1 Jul 1633 and 23 Oct 1633. [Ref] He probably died in the [possibly smallpox] epidemic of that year in Plymouth. [Ref] He married Ellen Newton. It is argued that his wife Ellen was Ellen Newton because there was only one Ellen in the 1623 land division and there were no other known additions to the Plymouth population for a few years after. [Ref] Ellen died in Marshfield and was buried there on 5 Dec 1681, age 83. [Ref] Ellen presented an inventory for her husband's estate on 11 Nov 1633. [Ref] She married Kenelm Winslow of Marshfield in Jun 1634. [Ref]
John arrived in New England on the Fortune on 9 Nov 1621. [Ref][Ref] Ellen arrived on the Anne in 1623. [Ref] They and their first child James received shares in the 1627 livestock division. [Ref] John was on the 1633 list of freemen at Plymouth. [Ref]
John and four others were assigned to mow where Mr. Gilson had mowed the year before on 1 Jul 1633. [Ref] John was assessed a tax of 9s. on 25 March 1633, and "Widow Adams" was assessed the same amount on 27 March 1634. [Ref]
Inventory was taken on the estate of John Adams, late of Plymouth, on 23 Oct 1633; it amounted to £71.44. [Ref]
Children of John Adams and Ellen Newton:
JAMES ADAMS (by 1627 - 1651) of Scituate and Marshfield
Parents: John Adams and Ellen Newton [Ref]
James Adams was born before 22 May 1627. [Ref] He gave his age as about 23 at a deposition on 27, 9th month, 1648. [Ref] He died on 19 Jan 1651. [Ref] He married Frances Vassall on 16 Jun 1646 in Scituate. [Ref says 16 Jul 1640][Ref][Ref]
James is in the Marshfield section of the 1643 list of those between 16 and 60 able to bear arms in Plymouth Colony. [Ref, his name was crossed out in the Plymouth section.] James "resided on a farm on the Marshfield side of North River, nearly opposite Mr. Vassall's, the father of Mrs. Adams. They worshipped with the Second Church in Scituate, and their children were carried thither for baptism." (Memorials of Marshfield by Marcia A. Thomas, pp. 36 - 37, cited in Ref)
James had an interest in the Barbadoes. [Ref]
James Adams: "Who died att sea in the good shipp called the James of London on the 19th of January, 1651, to which Captaine John Allin was master, and chiefe commander of said vessell." His inventory amounted to £34.15. His step-father Kenelm Winslow was administrator of his estate. [Ref]
Children of James Adams and Frances Vassall:
RICHARD ADAMS (d. 1728) of Sudbury, Plainfield and Canterbury
Parents: James Adams and Frances Vassall [Ref]
Naturally, descendants of Richard Adams of Sudbury would like to be descendants of the early settler John Adams and the glamourous William Vassall. The problem is that James and Frances (Vassall) Adams's recorded son Richard died soon after birth. It is argued by some that this Richard is an unrecorded son. Hayward [Ref] argues that the vital records of Sudbury and the will of Richard Adams make it clear that Richard of Sudbury is the son of James. The land records of Canterbury, Norwich and Plainfield show that there were two Richard Adams: an uncle and a nephew, who was of age in 1701. The vital records of Sudbury show a son Richard born to William Adams on 22 Aug 1678. It is reasonable to assume that Richard and William were brothers, and both were the son of James.
Richard Adams died on 24 Aug 1728 in Norwich. [Ref] He married Rebecca Davis on 24 Jun 1679 in Sudbury. [Ref]
Who was Rebecca Davis? It is sometimes claimed, without evidence, that she is the daughter of Robert and Bridget (Loker) Davis of Sudbury. (See Marrotte [Ref].) This is consistent with her being married in Sudbury and Savage [Ref] says that Robert and Bridget had surviving daughters Sarah and Rebecca. However, Sarah's birth is recorded in Sudbury, while Rebecca's is not. [Ref] In his 17 (5) 1655 will, Robert Davis left his house, land and moveables to his wife Bridget. He mentions his daughter Sarah, but not Rebecca. It is possible, however, that Rebecca was born after he signed his will. [Ref] After her husband's death, Bridget Loker married Thomas King. In his will, Thomas mentions Sarah's husband John Brigham, but not Rebecca. [Ref]
Richard was a member of Capt. Mosely's company from Sudbury in King Philip's War. [Ref] After the fighting on 19 Dec 1675, he was listed as one of nine wounded men at Rhode Island on 6 Jan 1676. [Ref]
In the early settlement of Plainfield, Benjamin Palmer, tenant of Major Fitch, was arraigned for refusing to pay rent to Major Fitch and for striking the rent collector, Richard Adams, and swearing that he would kill Major Fitch. He was ordered to pay a fine of £70 or be whipped fifteen stripes on his naked body. [Ref]
In 1699 Jacob Warren was chosen rate collector for the east side of the town; Richard Adams for the west. [Ref]
Richard was an early freeholder of Plainfield, living on the west side of the Quinebaug on 24 Dec 1702. [Ref]
In 1702, Richard Adams and Thomas Brooks were chosen surveyors for the west side. [Ref]
As crossing the Quinebaugh River to attend religious services was difficult, in 1703 Plainfield was partitioned and the town of Canterbury was formed on the west side of the Quinebaug River. In 1705 the settlers of Canterbury were joined by some of their neighbours in Plainfield - Richard Adams, John Woodward, Edward Spalding and Jabez Utter- in an attempt to establish religious worship. As a result, in 1711, Richard Adams became an inhabitant of Canterbury. [Ref]
On 17 Nov 1701 Richard Adams bought land in what is now Canterbury from Maj. Fitch. [Ref] On 8 Apr 1702 Major Fitch of Plainfield in the county of New London deeded Richard Adams (the nephew) 60 acres of land next to his uncle's land for five pounds. [Ref] On 1 May 1703 Richard Adams of Plainfield sold Major Fitch 500 acres of land next to the land owned by Richard Adams Jr. for 240 pounds. [Ref] Major Fitch deeded the land that he bought from Richard Adams, described as bounding the land of Richard Adams Secundus to his son Jedidiah Fitch. Jedidiah sold it on 21 Mar 1706 to Charles Davenport, describing it as bounding the land of Richard Secundus. [Ref] On 27 Dec 1706 Richard Adams of Preston (the nephew) sold his land in what is now Canterbury that bounded the land of Charles Davenport. [Ref] |
James
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William
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Richard
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Richard of Preston
(b. 1678) the nephew |
Richard (b. 1680)
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In 1703, Richard Adams of Preston bought 3000 acres of wilderness for 200 pounds from Major Fitch. [Ref] Lanard claims that Richard Adams, Jr. settled on part of this land. [Ref]
Children of Richard Adams and Rebecca Davis:
WILLIAM ADAMS (1690-1727) of Norwich
Parents: Richard Adams and Rebecca Davis [Ref]
William Adams was born on 29 Jan 1689/90 in Sudbury. [Ref][Ref] He died on 2 Aug 1727 in Norwich. [Ref, says 2 Aug][Ref][Ref] He married Susannah Woodward on 2 May 1723 in Norwich. [Ref][Ref][Ref]
Children of William Adams:
PHINEHAS ADAMS (1726-1779) of Norwich and Canterbury
Parents: William Adams and Susannah Woodward [Ref]
Phinehas Adams was born on 7 Sep 1726 in Norwich. [Ref][Ref][Ref, p. 148] He died on 7 Jan 1779 in Norwich [Ref][Ref, p. 148], age 52, and is buried next to his mother in the Baldwin Cemetery in Canterbury. [Ref] Click here to see a photo of his grave. He married Lydia Fitch [Ref] on 31 Dec 1751 [Ref, p. 148] in the Congregational Church in Canterbury. [Ref][Ref]
Children of Phinehas Adams and Lydia Fitch:
FITCH ADAMS (1772-1837) of Preston and Canterbury
Parents: Phinehas Adams and Lydia Fitch [Ref, p. 148][Ref]
Fitch Adams was born on 20 Jan 1772 in Norwich. [Ref][Ref][Ref, p. 148] He was baptised on 26 Apr 1772 in the Congregational Church in Canterbury by his future wife's uncle, Rev. John Bacon of the Old South Church, Boston. [Ref][Ref] He died on 11 Feb 1837. [Ref][Ref, says 12 Feb] He is buried in the Hyde Cemetery in Canterbury. [Ref] Click here to see a photo of his grave. He married first Amy Bacon on 16 Jan 1800. [Ref][Ref] He married second Sarah Morgan on 6 Jun 1818. [Ref] Sarah was the daughter of Capt. Elisha and Olive (Coit) Morgan. [Ref]
According to the 1800 census, in 1800 Fitch and Amy lived in Preston with a boy 10 - 15. According to the 1810 census, in 1810 Fitch and Amy lived in Canterbury, next to Amy's father, apparently with Jabez, David, Mary, George and three other people. On 13 Oct 1815, 127 acres and two houses in Preston were sold to pay Fitch Adams' unpaid taxes. [Ref] On 5 Mar 1826 Fitch was received as a member of the Canterbury Congregational church. [Ref] According to the 1830 census, in 1830 Fitch and Sarah lived in Canterbury with a servant or labourer and four other people.
Fitch Adams died "of typhus fever a short sickness of three weeks." [Ref]
Note: There was another Fitch Adams in Canterbury. Fitch Davenport Adams, this Fitch's half first cousin once removed, born in 1823, was a descendant of Henry Adams and the great-grandson of Susannah Woodward.
Children of Fitch Adams and Amy Bacon:
Children of Fitch Adams and Sarah Morgan:
MARY BACON ADAMS (1806 - c. 1876) of Canterbury
Parents: Fitch Adams and Amy Bacon [Ref][Ref]
Mary Bacon Adams was born on 9 Sep 1806 [Ref] in Griswold, New London, Connecticut. I am unable to locate a town record for her birth; her parents moved from Preston to Canterbury around the time she was born. She was baptised on 26 Aug 1810 in the Congregational Church in Canterbury. [Ref] She died at about age 70. [Ref] She married James Benajah Cary [Ref, p. 269] on 17 Sep 1834 [Ref] in the Congregational Church in Canterbury. [Ref][Ref][Ref] They later divorced; her petition in Windham County is dated 14 July 1864. [Ref]
According to the 1850 census, Mary was born in Griswold. According to the 1870 census, in 1870 Mary had a personal estate of $1,200 and was keeping house in Canterbury for her son George L. Her daughter Elizabeth and a farm labourer also lived with George.
References
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Barbour Vital Records for Windham County Connecticut, Windham County, CT USGenWeb Project
Bailey, Frederick W., Early Connecticut Marriages, Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997.
Bodge, George, "Soldiers in King Philip's War," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 37, 1883, 182-5.
Brown, Coralynn, trans., "Lisbon, CT Vital Records 1786 - 1848," from the Barbour Collection, Ray's Place Website.
Bureau of the Census, Second Census of the United States, 1800, Washington, D.C., National Archives and Records Administration, 1800.
Bureau of the Census, Third Census of the United States, 1810, Washington, DC, National Archives and Records Administration, 1810.
Bureau of the Census, Fourth Census of the United States, 1820, Washington, DC, National Archives and Records Administration, 1820.
Bureau of the Census, Fifth Census of the United States, 1830, Washington, DC, National Archives and Records Administration, 1830.
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Bureau of the Census, Ninth Census of the United States, 1870, Washington, D.C., National Archives and Records Administration. 1870.
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Bureau of the Census, Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900, Washington, DC, National Archives and Records Administration, 1900.
Carr, Bill, trans., Births, Baptisms, Marriages and Deaths from the Records of the Town and Churches in Mansfield, Connecticut, 1703-1850, copied from the records by Susan W. Dimock, Baker and Taylor Co., Mansfield, 1898, http://dunhamwilcox.net.
Cary, Mary Bacon (Adams), Letter
Cary, Seth Cooley, John Cary, the Plymouth Pilgrim, Boston, S.C. Cary, 1911.
C.B.E., "Family of John Adams of Plymouth," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 33, 1879, 410-413.
Dumas, David W., "Bacon - Adams - Whitney - Kingsbury Family Record," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 138, 1984, 32-38.
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Hayward, Elijah, "Plymouth Colony Records," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 9, 1855, 313-318.
Hayward, Kendall, "Richard Adams of Sudbury, Mass.; Plainfield and Norwich, Conn.," The American Genealogist 23, 1946, 141-149, Addenda 24, 1948, 193.
Holden, Edward, "Depositions from the Files of Suffolk," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 20, 1866, 142-143.
Huntington, E. B., A Genealogical Memoir of the Lo-Lathrop Family in this Country: Embracing the descendants, as far as known, of The Rev. John Lothropp, of Scituate and Barnstable, Mass., and Mark Lothrop, of Salem and Bridgewater, Mass., and the first generation of descendants of other names, Ridgefield, CT, M. Huntington, 1884.
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Marrotte, Jane, "The Widow Hannah Bacon Who Wasn't!" The Connecticut Nutmegger 30, 1997, 208-210.
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