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Cover: William J. Adams, great grandson of Absolam Adams, in Dover, Kentucky, about 1910

"It is wise for us to recur to the history of our ancestors. Those who do not look upon themselves
as a link connecting the past with the future do not perform their duty to the world." Daniel Webster.

"The breath of God was his breath yet though it pass from man to man through all of time".
Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Published in Greeley, Colorado. 2008

17 0

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112

John C. Adams
4919 W. 12th Street Rd.
Greeley, CO 80634

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE

Earliest Ancestors

Page 5

CHAPTER TWO

Adams from England to Virginia

Page 13

CHAPTER THREE

Landon Carter, Planter

Page 49

CHAPTER FOUR

Colonial Virginian Medicine

Page 54

CHAPTER FIVE

Absolam Adams

Page 57

CHAPTER SIX

1790 and 1800 Kentucky Census

Page 64

CHAPTER SEVEN

Children of Absalom Adams

Page 68

CHAPTER EIGHT

Feathergale Adams

Page 70

CHAPTER NINE

Adams from Virginia to Kentucky

Page 77

CHAPTER TEN

Early Kentucky Home

Page 83

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Children of Feathergill Adams

Page 89

CHAPTER TWELVE

Children of John "Jack" Adams

Page 97

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Children of Frederick Feathergill

Page 100

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Children of William J. Adams

Page 102

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Fred H. Adams

Page 112

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The 1950's and 1960's

Page 120

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INTRODUTION
Absalom Adams has been long studied by historians. Katherine Hutcherson's unpublished
manuscript Absalom Adams cites family Bibles, oral history, and personal communication with other
researchers. There are errors in her work that using DNA we are able to correct today. She assumed a
connection with earlier New England Adams that proves false. Thanks to recent DNA evidence and
researcher Margaret Wells, we now connect Absalom Adams to Dr. William Adams or his brother John
who were in the Northern Neck of Virginia by 1654. This book chronicles the historic social
transformation from Dr. William Adams, born about 1624, to Fred Adams, born in 1880, my
grandfather.
This book is a genealogic study ofthe Adams family in a "life and times" or historical context.
When possible, social patterns and specific locations are connected to an individual. This was limited
by the lack of diaries and letters in the Adams family.
The evolution from indentured servants to slavery in Virginia was in part driven by the
economics of tobacco. Some ofthe Adams of Colonial Virginia and later Kentucky owned slaves, as
documented in their wills.
The conversion of religion from the traditional English Anglican to the American style Baptist
involved Feathergill Adams, Baptist preacher, who pioneered in early Kentucky. The religious revival of
the early eighteenth century Kentucky involved the contentious subject of slavery.
The struggles of our early ancestors over the preceding millennium are unrecorded, but using
DNA we are able to track prehistoric migration.

The starvation during the ice age and migration to

warmer Spain and the awe ofthe Neolithic cave paintings 14,000 years ago in the Altamira cave of
northern Spain were witnessed by our ancestors. We share a common maternal ancestry with European
Cheddar Man, who lived in England nine thousand years ago.

Chapter 1 Earliest Ancestor

DNA tells the story of where we came from. It is a measure of who we are, and allows us
to identify ourselves to similar people. The human genome contains a mixture of genetic markers which
record our ancestral history. Haplotypes, one particular kind of genetic marker, can be found on the
maternal as well as the paternal side of a person's DNA. By studying regional concentrations of
Haplotypes, we can learn about the migrations of ancient peoples who lived long before the beginning of
recorded history. The diagram below shows us the migratory paths of prehistoric humans. Every
grouping of prehistoric humans is identified by a shared genetic trait, or haplogroup, which had been
shared by the majority of its members, and each haplogroup, in turn, is identified on the diagram by an
alphanumerical combination.

This diagram shows the migration of Haplogroup R i b during the ice age of 18,000 years ago
when Europe became increasingly uninhabitable and the few remaining humans were forced to
migrate to warmer climates.

The above diagram shows us how different human populations of Neolithic Europe migrated
across the continent over the course of thousands of years and that people in Western Europe originated
from multiple locations. This disproves Hitler's myth, which was based on linguistic studies, of a
common source of European people in the Caucus Mountains. Hitler wrongly believed that these
Caucasian Aryan invaders were able to displace the earlier inhabitants of continental Europe and
assimilate their cultures by virtue of their racial superiority.
Every male in the Adams family shares a similar genetic trait, that is to say, they all have a
variation ofthe Rlblb2 haplogroup in their DNA. We are negative for further subdivisions of Rlblb2
which include the Basque, Irish, southern England, Germanic, and the Netherlands. The Rlblb2
haplogroup is a mutated form ofthe Rib haplogroup, which is turn is a mutation ofthe Rl and R
haplogroup. As we can see in the diagram above, the early Adams ancestors lived in the Siberian Steppe,
long before the most recent ice age. We know this because there are contemporary peoples living in
Siberia today who have the same Rib haplogroup in their DNA. This genetic test proved that a
migration had occurred during the last ice age, from Siberia to Western Europe.
As the climate cooled during the Minor Drias period, our ancestors left Siberia and migrated to
warmer climates. A few thousand of our ancestors settled near the coastal regions of Spain and western
France during this period of global cooling. Over many millennia a mutated form of Rl evolved.
Known as Rib, it is the most common haplogroup of Western Europe. It is especially prevalent in the
Basque, who tested positive for this genetic marker nearly 90% ofthe time.
Archeologists commonly associate these early Rib settlers with the Aurignacian culture of
Neolithic Europe. The Aurignacian were history's first artists, and the relatively sophisticated cave
paintings that they left behind attest to this fact. Famous Aurignacian cave dwellings include Lascaux in
France, Cueva de las Monedas in Spain, and the Valley of Foz Coa in Portugal (the largest open-air site
in Europe). Many of these ancient paintings depict dynamic landscapes filled with bison, horses, red
deer, and boar. Using three shades of color: ochre, red, and black, they show a variety of texture in the
furs and manes of these animals.

A darker color in the above current map indicates a higher density of theRlb haplogroup,
which originated in Iberia and migrated both to Britain and northern Europe. The Basque DNA
matches closely with people from southern England and Belgium.

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At the end ofthe last ice age, approximately 15,000 to 7,500 years ago, a few of these Neolithic
nomads departed from the coastal region of Spain and western France and crossed over across a land
bridge that connected England with France. Once across the land bridge, these early settlers discovered
a virgin land, entirely devoid of previous inhabitants. What we know about these prehistoric settlers can
be gleaned from what that they left behind, including exquisite Spanish cave paintings and the English
Stonehenge.
This Stone Age culture may have been the first to colonize England, but it would not be the last.
About 6,500 years ago, a second wave of invaders hit England's shores. This second wave is associated
with the Indo-European expansion, which originated in the Caucus Mountains and then cascaded over
India, Iran, and much of southern Europe. Historians attribute this event to the dawn of civilization in
Europe because they brought metallurgy and agriculture with them.

In many ways, the impact ofthe Indo-European expansion was paradoxical. By all accounts, the
Indo-Europeans annihilated the cultures that they encountered, and yet these foreign invaders would
always be a minority. In England the Indo-Europeans invaders represented a very small fraction of the
overall gene pool, whereas the original inhabitants remained in the majority.
Other civilizations would conquer and rule England, but few would have any lasting impact from a
genetic standpoint. The Celts, Belgians, Angles, Jutes, and Saxons, were all immigrant minorities,
contributing a total of 20 % of England's DNA pool, a percentage similar to the Vikings. This is much
larger than the Norman contribution, which was 2%, which in turn is even larger than the genetic
footprint left by the Roman Empire, which is almost non-existent. The English thus remain a
genetically similar people today compared to 10,000 years ago, when the first modern humans colonized
England.

CHEDDAR MAN
An English Neolithic hunter gatherer male skeleton was found in 1903 in Cheddar Gorge,
Somerset, England. Named Cheddar Man, he dates to about 7150 BC. The cause of his skull fracture is
unknown. Bryan Sykes, a professor of genetics at the University of Oxford, used a molar tooth and
extracted mitochondrial DNA, which follows the maternal line. It has not been possible to extract
chromosomal DNA. He identified haplogroup U5a, which like Rib, is common in Britain, Ireland, south
western France, and the Basque of northern Spain. Of twenty people tested, two children in Cheddar
village had exact U5a matches with Cheddar Man, and one man had a single mutation. This implies a
relatively stable population over thousands of years.
There is a romantic notion ofthe English being Celtic, and of having a connection to the artistic
warlike people of central Europe. The history books ofthe last two hundred years have supported this,
citing the historian Herodotus, who 2500 years ago misplaced the Celts to the area around the Danube.
It is southwestern Europe with a high density of Celtic place-names however, that is the source ofthe
Celts. Bede, who wrote An Ecclesiastical History ofthe English People in 721, also wrote of these
invasions. Modern archeological evidence indicates few Celtics in England outside of Cornwall. Celtic
inscriptions are abundant in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and Brittany, but rare in England. The Celtic type
gold jewelry and art found in Ireland was similar to that of Europe, but it was only the artistic style that
spread, and did not signify a Celtic invasion. Thus is unlikely Cheddar Man or our Adams forefathers
were Celtic.

10
Cheddar Man may have come from the Anglican and Saxon kingdoms which however, had only
a ten to fifteen percent impact on the British Isles genes. These invaders did not replace the original
people, but stayed and inter-bred with the indigenous people. Archaeologists are now against the idea
of genocide, large migrations, or displacement of people.

Reconstruction of 9000 year old Cheddar Man

LANGUAGES
There was a succession of languages spoken in England, some of which survive. The Basque
speak a language called Euskara, which may be the last surviving remnant ofthe Rib Neolithic
languages spoken in Stone Age Europe. It is certainly separate from all languages including the IndoEuropean language. The numbers one to five in Basque are: bat, bi, hirur, laur, bortz. Nursery rhymes
are sometimes the longest surviving link with an ancient language.

"Eenie, meenie, miniem mo" is

based on a counting system that may date to the time of Stonehenge, prior to Germanic language. It
gives a fragmentary image of how children were amused and ordered their speech. In southern England
at the time before the Romans there were Belgic-Gaul names, language, and even coins. This implies a
Germanic people in England before the Romans; English may have been a branch ofthe Germanic
language. The Germanic tribes, including the Angles, invaded England 1500 years ago, and further
contributed to the English language. The Angles disappeared as a group, and the land gradually came to
be known as England. The Angles came from area of Germany called Angles, in the spur of land

11
connected Schleswig-Holstein to Denmark. Here today you can hear a lost dialect of English, close to
the English of 1000 years ago. Some of it makes sense today, as "veather ist cold", or "what ist de
clock". Only one percent ofthe old English words survive today, having died out under the influence of
the Danes and Normans. These 4,500 surviving words are among the most common, and nearly every
modern English sentence contains one. There are very few Celtic words in English, and most are
Germanic, Norman, or Medieval Latin. Most of England was not Celtic speaking. The language and
culture became more Germanic following the end of Roman rule.
In France in the late eighteenth century there were many ancient provincial languages such as
Basque, Breton, Corsican, and Alsatian. Breton was spoken on the north coast of France, and was a
Celtic language similar to Welsh and Gaelic. Since a new language takes more that 1500 years to
evolve, this supports the idea that throughout much of European history, there was limited migration of
people.
There were early American accents, according to David Fisher. In 1720 visitors to New
England spoke of an English Norfolk whine. Visitors to the South remarked on the resemblance of
speech there to the Sussex accent. Southerners said "holp" for help. Other words found in early Virginia
were: afeared, howdy, catercorner, innards, traipse, woebegone, bide, tarry, tote, disremember, and
pekid for unwell. Virtually all peculiarities of grammar, syntax, vocabulary and pronunciation which
have been noted as typical of Virginia were recorded in the southern England counties of Sussex,
Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Wilshire, Somerset, Oxford, Gloucester, Warwick, or Worcester. However,
during the colonial period immigrants came from all over and settled all over.

SURNAMES
The human migration ofthe Rlblb2 haplogroup was thousands of years ago before the adoption
of surnames. Surnames originated around 1200 AD. The English surname Adams in one case comes
from the first name ofthe parent, thus son of Adam. In Hebrew "adamah" means red earth, referring to
Adam's creation by God from clay. In 1281 one Alianor Adams is living in Cheshire, and in 1327 there
is a mention of a William Adames. The haplogroup is not applicable to the last hundreds of years on
which genealogy is based. For this a smaller brush is needed, called a haplotype. This again is part of
the Y chromosome, but is designed so there are more mutations available to make subtle differences
among individuals. This is the basis ofthe ancestry DNA project, which allows us to connect to our
English roots, and further join Colonial Virginian William Adams of 1654 (chapter 2) to Absolam
Adams (chapter 5). It also allows us to say that the Adams surname must have several originators.

12

MOTTO
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This family crest was taken from Katherine Hutcherson's book. If authentic, it dates to one
ofthe medieval Adams families, and was not used in Colonial America. The shield is a symbol of a
warrior. The lion's head with the crown at the top symbolizes power and royalty. The Latin
wording on the banner means "Loyal unto Death" The cross represents Christianity and the five
stars as they are arranged stand for unity in love.

13

Chapter 2 ADAMS FROM ENGLAND TO VIRGINIA

ENGLISH ROOTS
William Adams and his brothers John and Thomas, whom we meet later, emigrated from England
to the Northern Neck of Virginia during the peak emigration years, from 1630 to 1660; this coincided with
better survival and economic certainty. The majority of emigrants from England to Virginia at this time
were indentured, having paid for their passage with years of servitude. Most of Virginia's servantimmigrants were half-grown illiterate boys and young men, with three out of four between the ages of
fifteen and twenty four. Many came from the rural south and west of England, where the economy was
agricultural, principally grain and wool. Half came from greater London area (few from the inner city),
and the other half came from counties west of London, including Middlesex, Buckingham, Surrey,
Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, and Northamptonshire. After 1650, Bristol and the surrounding
area was the most important origin. The elite and skilled workers, able to pay their own passage, came
from the same areas. The names of Virginia's counties and parishes were often taken from those areas of
England from which the emigrants came. Significantly, those areas that produced the Virginian
immigrants had West Saxon language and laws. Both Virginia and south-west England shared social
inequalities, rural agricultural based settlements, and an Anglican faith.
Economic hardship was a motivating factor to immigrate. The English economy was in a downturn
in 1606, especially the cloth industry. The old feudal system of landholding was changing, with fewer
farmers and more sheep. Thus the English farmers needed other employment. Rapid inflation from the
great influx of gold and silver into Europe from the new world caused prices to escalate, another burden on
the English. The population of England had grown rapidly, to more than five million by 1650, but
employment did not keep pace. The dispossessed peasants and cloth workers gravitated to towns and
seaports. London's population in 1650 was 350,000, many desperately poor and eager to improve their
situation. English parishes routinely rid themselves ofthe expense of orphans and unwanted children by
indenturing them for service in the colonies. Children without parental support were encouraged to seek
opportunities elsewhere. Because ofthe need for laborers to work the tobacco in Colonial Virginia,
extravagant claims were made to entice potential emigrants. At the same time, because ofthe fortunes being
made in tobacco, there was a drive to be part of this boom in wealth. In a class conscious society, there was
a possibility of becoming a gentleman planter, a near impossibility in England.

14
By immigrating to Virginia our Adams ancestors were substituting the familiar surroundings of
home for the uncertainties of a new land. Going to sea was an endurance test of six to eight weeks. Storms,
bad winds, or navigational errors lengthened the passage. The vessels were cramped and slow. Every inch
of cargo space was precious, and the colonists were jammed in the cargo hold with livestock and
belongings. Disease was common, sanitary facilities minimal and fresh water scarce. One colonist
described his arrival in Virginia as "no small joy."

VIRGINIA WILDERNESS
The Bay and river banks where the early Adams settled was Virginia's most fertile land, but a
breeding ground for typhoid fever and amoebic dysentery. By 1648, only one in nine immigrants died
during their first year, better than the one in four during the prior generation who died of overwork in
soaring temperatures and voracious mosquitoes. Malaria parasites were introduced first as a mild form
from southern England and later a dangerous form was brought in by the slaves from Africa. Malaria,
complicated by diarrhea, occasionally reached pandemic proportions.
The rapid increase in population after 1650 was due to a decrease in mortality. There was an
improvement in the transportation to the colony with adequate clothing and four months' provisions for
every passenger carried from England. The best time of arrival was in the fall, when diseases were less
common. There were still epidemics in 1686 and 1687. Measles hit in 1693 and smallpox in 1696. There
was a positive impact of a more dispersed population, as population density encourages epidemics.
Observers at the time affirmed the colonists had improved their food and drink and therefore enjoy
better health. The orchards and fresh fruit furnished the settlers with a supply of badly needed vitamins,
thus reducing scurvy. The cider was much less lethal than the contaminated water.
Because of high mortality, Virginia of 1640 was a community filled with widows, widowers,
stepmothers, stepfathers, and stepchildren. The high mortality rate in Virginia and the number of
fragmented marriages shifted power and influence to young men (often orphans) at an early
age. In the absence of living kin, friendship counted for much as did dependence on neighbors. Three out
of four children lost at least one parent before reaching the age of eighteen. When the nuclear family was
broken, the extended family picked up the pieces. In most household were orphans, half-brothers, and
stepbrothers. The father figure might be an uncle or brother, and the head ofthe house might be simply the
father's "now-wife," to use a word found in wills. Orphan's courts looked after the fatherless, and widows
continued to be sought after.

15
It was still a frontier region, exposed to Indian attack on its edges. Daniel Boorstin in his book the
Americans: The Colonial Experience has a Colonial American view of what Indian summer could mean to
our ancestors, a frightening time when Indians were free to attack. The settlers took shelter in garrisons or
stockades for defense against Indian attacks. To them the Indians outside the defensive stockade were "so
many unkennell'd wolves". They kept their most valuable belongings inside, and employed lookouts. The
settlers had peace during the winter, when the Indians were unable to attack. There were exceptions, when
Indians attacked with deep snow on the ground, especially in the middle and northern colonies. In general,
winter was a period of relative peace, and the gloomy months of winter were more pleasant than the
flowers of May. It sometimes happened that after the apparent onset of winter, the weather became warm.
This was the Indian summer, and allowed the Indians to attack the settlements. The bloody toll ofthe
Virginia Indian massacres in 1622 and again in 1644 was never forgotten in the colony. Such nightmares
shaped the military policy of settlers until nearly the end ofthe 18th century. The Indian menace, which
haunted the fringes of settlement through whole colonial era, remained a terror well into the 19th century.
The year 1667 had a biblical series of misfortunes for Virginia including the Dutch invading
Virginia. The two Dutch wars of 1664 to 1667 and 1672 to 1674 were about Dutch trade with the colonies,
something the English opposed. In April, a severe hailstorm destroyed most ofthe tobacco and corn, and
killed young hogs and cattle. Following was a forty-day rain that again ruined most ofthe tobacco. In
August came the fiercest hurricane Virginians had ever seen. It destroyed homes and the following high
tides overflowed the lowlands. Disease killed 50,000 cattle.
Colonial America before the revolution was a land of opportunity. There were potentially millions
of acres of rich land in the frontier, seldom more than a day or two away by horseback. Moving on became
the American way, and the colonists were willing by accept discomfort and risk for the hope of future
riches, especially productive land. Their readiness to leave their old homes was a proof that they possessed
an unusual degree of self-reliance, energy, and enterprise.

16

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17
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The parish of St. Mary's white chapel, #43 above, in 1698, lists both John Adams and William
Feathergale. By 1667, the banks ofthe Rappahannock River known as the Northern Neck with
Northumberland, Old Rappahannock, and Lancaster Counties had been settled, growing more
rapidly than any part of Virginia. Tobacco prices had fallen, resulting in fewer immigrants.

19

POPULATION GROWTH BY COUNTY figures in parentheses are estimates

1674

1699

(300)

372

2,222

511

532

649

3,899

494

886

(750)

819

2,760

Isle of Wight

53

522

673

601

2,766

Elizabeth City

360

859

395

311

1,118

510

367

957

1,909

384

414

2,093

Middlesex

435

1,541

Rappahannock

1,020

county

1624

1634

Henrico

139

419

Charles City

129

James City

York
Lancaster

1653

Richmond

2,540

Essex

2,602
624

2,019

Westmoreland

695

2,541

Stafford

407

1,860

555

2,050

Northumberland

Northampton

450

76

396

500

The counties in Virginia were based on the shires of England, each with a county court that
worked closely with the parishes. By 1668 the counties had increased from eight to twenty.
THE POPULATION OF VIRGINIA INCREASES AMID HARDSHIPS
Northumberland County in 1654 was the home of William, Thomas, and John Adams, whom we
discuss later. The Northern Neck which contained Northumberland County was an enormous land grant of
two million acres granted by Charles II to his Royalist supporters after the Restoration. Title was acquired
by Lord Culpeper and later passed by inheritance to Lord Fairfax, whose family held it until after the War
of Independence. The Fairfax family had vast proprietary land holdings and the majority of all householders
were its tenants. The extensive landed estates were sparsely populated and in 1684 one observer noted that
much ofthe owned land was undeveloped. After securing a patent, the owner was required to seat the land,
defined as to build a house and plant corn. He was required to pay the King two shillings for every hundred
acres, called the quitrent, which were only sporadically collected.

20
The Virginia population dropped temporarily after the Indian massacre in 1644. Speculators were
buying huge tracts of land on the Rappahannock River in the 1650's and 1660's. In 1650 the newest
headrights were on the Potomac, in Northumberland County, which occupied all ofthe Northern Neck. By
1651, claims had moved 80 miles upriver on the Potomac, where Lancaster County was split from
Northumberland. By 1654 Westmoreland County had been formed along the Occoquan tributary along with
the future counties of Stafford and Prince William. Old Rappahannock County was formed from Lancaster
in 1656. The colony grew to 14,000 in 1653, 25,000 by 1660, and 40,000 by 1668. This great migration
era came to an end with the English Civil War and the Restoration in 1660. Starting in 1680 there was a
tobacco depression which lasted thirty years, resulting in fewer emigrants; settlements reached their
seventeenth century limits. When opportunities declined, the poor moved on to other colonies such as
Pennsylvania and the Carolinas.

ADAMS OF NORTHERN NECK

Tracing the Adams prior to 1654 is difficult, as the early Adams left only faint traces of their
existence. In Virginia, birth, marriage, and death records were not required by law. Most ordinary people
could neither read nor write, and their lives have to be reconstructed from records kept by their
contemporaries. During the Civil War virtually all central records ofthe Virginia colony were lost in the
burning of Richmond.
There are earlier mentions of Adams immigrants in the same area, possibly ofthe same family.
As an example in the Northumberland County records for 1645 there is listed a John Adams, headright
to Roger Johns on Occahanock Creek in Northampton. It is unclear if this is John Adams of Lancaster
County, who is discussed later. A separate Thomas Adams died at Kent Island in 1641, and may be part
ofthe northern neck Adams; the evidence rests on a mutual association with the Brent family. Many of
the Adams' neighbors in Northumberland County were families who originally migrated from
Maryland. They had land on both sides ofthe border. The Charles County Maryland Adams family's
descendants lived quite close to our Adams in Fauquier County in the mid to late 1700s, and seemed to
have a similar naming pattern.
The Adams ofthe Northern Neck appears to have originated about 1654 with three Adams
brothers in Northumberland County. They were Dr. William, (Chiurgeon), John (later of Lancaster
County), and Thomas, a bachelor. None ofthe Adams males signed the Parliamentary loyalty oath in
1652 (not a necessity if already loyal). They are not listed in the Virginia immigration records or as

21
being indentured servants, however some immigrants were merchants who had saved sufficient capital
to pay for their transportation and set up their own plantation.
A series of entries in the Northumberland county court orders identify William Adams as
a chiurgeon (doctor). In 1657 Dr. William Adams was referred to as Wm Adams, chiurgeon,
and owed a debt to John Lord of Hartford. William Adams, chiurgeon, married Susannah
Brewer. Dr William Adams, chiurgeon, died in 1658; therefore his son John the carpenter,
discussed later, was born before 1658.

Map of the Northern Neck of Virginia, home of the early Adams

22

The land owned by the Adams families was on the Coan River (lower right in map), at the head
ofthe "main woods". It began on the Tuckahow swamp. This is an area where Northumberland County
runs into Lancaster County (formerly Old Rappahannock). This is also five miles from the
Westmoreland border. Most families in this small area of land are named in the records of all three
counties. The coastal plain or tidewater region of east Virginia is flat and partly swampy. The dominant
feature of Virginia was the Chesapeake Bay, an estuary of exceptional fertility where fresh and salt
water meets. The water was filled with striped bass and shellfish, and the river land was fertile virgin
soil. The tidewater region has vast forests of pine and hardwood, highlighted in early spring by
flowering redbud and dogwood. There are many inlets, creeks, streams, and a large are of marsh land
which today are part of state refuge areas that have replace the acreage where the Adams originally
hoped to make their fortunes.

JOHN ADAMS OF LANCASTER COUNTY

Lancaster County was formed in the early 1650's following northward expansion, opening up the
Northern Neck to English settlers. Half of these settlers of 1655 came directly from England and a third
came from other parts of Virginia. Between 1653 and 1656 the number of indentured servants in Lancaster
County rose to 550, or about half the total population. Contemporary English observes described the
tidewater wilderness settlements as scattered, solitary, and unsociable. There were no market towns or
fairs, cities, or historic landmarks. English people from very different backgrounds were mixed together
in a landscape without symbols of tradition or history.
John Adams was named John of Lancaster County in the 1685 estate settlement of Dominick
Rice as a means to separate the different John Adams. It is possible John of Lancaster County is the
same John of Northumberland County, brother to Thomas and Dr. William Adams. As one possibility,
John of Lancaster may be the grandfather or great uncle of Absalom Adams (chapter 3). John is found in
1653 in Westmoreland County at age 27, and is listed as a headright with Thomas Adams (his brother)
in 1658. John Adams of Lancaster County sold land in 1701 that was part ofthe tract his brothers
Thomas and William already owned.
In 1687 John Adams of Old Rappahannock (later Lancaster County) was accused of harboring
and employing a runaway servant, and had to pay John Rice 60 pounds of tobacco for 60 days labor.
John of Lancaster County asked for relief from payment of taxes in 1696, thus was born before 1636.

23

William Fothergill and John Adams were both living in the White Chapel Parish in 1698, when John
died.
Subsequently we find James Adams (born no later than 1684) witnessing a deed for John
Adams the carpenter in 1701. James was in Westmorland County in the 1720's at a time when John
Adams Jr. (son of John the carpenter) is there. It is possible that James may be a son or grandson of John
of Lancaster County, and one possibility for the father of Absalom. Note also that the eldest child of
Absalom Adams Jr. is named James.
In 1687 John Adams of Lancaster County went to court for harboring and employing a runaway
servant (Old Rappahannock order book 1685 -1687). John Adams acquired an apprentice, John Davis in
1690. He was required to teach him the Bible thoroughly. He was bound with his mother's consent until
age 21. Biblical culture encouraged literacy, and laws were passed in the 1640's to promote schooling,
commonly done in homes. Virginia used Bibles as reading primers.
In 1696 John Adams petitioned the court not to pay public levies, he being more that 60 years
old. In 1698 the estate of John Adams is administered by Hugh Brent, among others. On January 28,
1698, an inventory ofthe estate was appraised. It consisted of numerous cows, steers, hogs, tin pans,
earthen ware and lantern, candlesticks, platters, butter pots, tooles, saws, axes, silver spoons and
buckles, feather bed, bedstead, old gun, penny nails, nine barrels of Indian corn, and one Negro man,
Peter. Little but the most basic furniture was found in the small and crowded rooms of most planters'
houses.

WILLIAM FEATHERGALE OF LANCASTER COUNTY

John Adams of Lancaster County was a neighbor of William Feathergale.

Note that

Feathergale was the name of the first born male of the Absalom Adams family. An assumption is made
that Feathergale was the last name of Elizabeth who married Absalom Adams about 1750. William
Feathergale and John Adams lived in Lancaster County and each had children. In the 1686 William
Feathergale is appointed constable for Lancaster County. In the Lancaster County court December 8,
1686 are listed William Feathergale with three tithes and John Adams with two tithes. On November 9,
1687, William Feathergale had one tithe and John Adams had five tithes, reduced to four through 1695.
A tithe is a tax on male including indentured servants more than fifteen years old, or a woman engaged
in tobacco production. Tobacco was used as money; as example, in Lancaster County for 1692, 300
pounds of tobacco was paid for each wolf killed. In the Lancaster County Court December 10, 1701 is

24

listed a Henry Feathergale with four tithes. It is possible that Henry is a son of William Feathergale and
the father of Elizabeth, who married Absalom Adams.
William Feathergale married Susanna, the widow of Richard Davis In 1698. He was ordered to
care for the estate ofthe orphans of Thomas Davis. On Dec 9, 1703 charges were dismissed against
William Feathergale and Susanna his wife.
William Feathergale's inventory is listed in the Lancaster County records on May 8, 1717. His
total worth was 26 14 shillings and included a woolen wheel, one bed, one plow, one pewter cup, one
old gun, and numerous hogs, sheep, and cattle. In comparison to other wills of Lancaster County of this
period, 26 was modest. Absent were pictures, jewels, clocks, or glassware.

JOHN ADAMS, THE CARPENTER, SON OF WILLIAM

Dr. William Adams had a son, John "the carpenter", so labeled to distinguish him from many
other John Adams. John Adams is named as a carpenter in the following deed: March 1701, Thomas
Norman, carpenter, of Stafford County sold to John Adams, carpenter in Northumberland County for
3775 pounds of tobacco for land lying on the main run ofthe Accokeek River. John the carpenter was
born in 1658 or earlier to Dr William Adams and Susannah Brewer. John Adams, the carpenter, had a
brother William, who died in 1677. Thomas Adams, his uncle, administered William's estate and
cleared his debts. Thomas never married. Both William and John the Carpenter received portions of
William's land on the Coan River, beginning on the Tuckahow swamp. John later sold this same land
before moving upriver to the Accokeek River. William's widow Frances remarried Richard Rout. In the
early Kentucky tax lists are found the Rout surname along with Adams surnames of our line.
A carpenter in those days was what we would call a general contractor today. A joiner is what
we would call a carpenter today. The houses might be as small as ten by twelve feet, a one story frame
structure with one or two rooms. The whole structure was unpainted split oak. Chimneys were outside.
The attics gave additional space. The house was open, crowding people into a single room. There was
little furniture, perhaps a table and sometimes a bench. Beds were not available in most homes, and
most slept together on mattresses and blankets on the floor. There were no candles or lamps, and the
only light was from the fire. Most people ate on the floor from food bowls using a spoon. There were no
knives or forks until 1700. By 1750 the houses were larger with several rooms and passageways.
Bedsteads, tables, and chairs were found in one third of households in 1750.

25

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John Adams, carpenter, is a close DNA match with Absalom Adams, born before 1732. He is
also the subject of a paper by Margaret Wells which is quite extensive, and her work is used here.
John Adams, carpenter, with wife Katherine was a head right to George Brent in 1677. This
does not necessarily mean that Brent paid the Adams' passage from England. Brent listed his own
relatives as head rights. The Adams may already have been in Virginia. The Brent family was Catholic
and royalists. George Brent, originally from England, received 30,000 acres from Thomas Lord
Culpeper. The Brents built a Catholic chapel on their own lands in early Virginia, which no longer
survives. John Adams and wife Katherine lived within the confines ofthe official parish of St Stephens
(Church of England) and were required to tithe to that parish. This land was wooded and marsh near the
three corners of Northumberland, Richmond, and Lancaster Counties. The births of two of their children
are registered at St. Stephen's (as are two for Richard Adams).

26

Descendants of John Adams carpenter

John Adams
carpenter
1645-

Priscilk
Pearson

Richard Jr.
Adams

Feathergale
Adams
1755 - 1 8 0 7

Nancy E.
Smith
1760-1803

Absolam
Adams
1725-

Abraham
Adams

George
Jr.

Elizabelh
Fothcrgili
-1790

Daniel
Adams

Luke
Adams
1758-

Geocge

Susannah
1700-

Sopfrtna
Thom

Thomas
Adams
1760-

Gavin
Adams

John
Hobbs

John
Jr.

George

John
Adams

Daniel, born before 1684, was still living with John, the carpenter in 1724 at Overwharton
Parish. Daniel does not again appear in the records.
George (of Goose Creek),
John Jr, born before 1689. He bought 100 acres on the Accokeek in Stafford County for 2000
pounds of tobacco on February 13, 1705. He later moved to Westmoreland County. He was acquitted in
1720 of teaching his indentured servant Walter Bull the "mystery" of being a carpenter. It seems that
Henry Asbury had purchased Walter Bull for the term of two years six months. (Westmorland County
order book 1707-09)
Richard had two daughters (one Elizabeth) who were born in the 1690's at St Stephen's parish.
Richard was on the 1724 tobacco tenders list of Overwharton parish, which is between the Aquia and
Quantico. Richard's son Richard Jr., born 1701 was listed in the same household as John Adams Sr.
and Daniel Adams.
William (of Kettle Creek), the fourth son, also born in the 1690's, later appeared on the 1724
tobacco tenders list with George Adams, his nephew. He bought land at Broad Run that year. He later
disappears from records.
Catherine, born in the 1690's, had her birth registered at St. Stephens Parish.
Benjamin, born about 1700, a possible son
Gabriel, died in Fairfax County, Virginia in 1750.
Susannah, Married John Summers

27
By 1701 John Adams, Carpenter, purchased property upriver between the Aquia and Potomac
Creek on the Accokeek near Thomas Norman. It is possible that John Adams, the carpenter's wife
Katherine was a Norman or Nipper.

yv_***:n>v. '&:

J701 JO! IN ADAMS IMIYS L^sT>

ON THE ACCOKKEK
NOKTHUMBFRIANO COUNTY
MARYLAND ACROSS THjyW&pMIC

The Adams later migrated northwest to Stafford and Prince William County, an area considerably less swampy.

The small market villages were scattered along major streams across the countryside, similar to
the south and west of England. In 1715 John Adams, Carpenter, bought 700 acres on the Broad Run of
the Occoquan, and this was the Adams home for 75 years. The Stafford County deed book shows that
John Adams Sr. the carpenter paid 3000 pounds of tobacco for this land which was on the south side of
Broad Run ofthe Occoquan River, about a mile above the mouth of Kettle run. This was part ofthe
original Brent Town tract, originally intended as a community for religious dissenters. Little ofthe land
had been taken up when, in 1721, Robert. Carter purchased all remaining property. Carter struggled for
years to have the property surveyed, and tried to prove that those who purchased their land from the
original Brent Town land owners were actually squatters. After 1759 part ofthe Brent town tract was
within Fauquier.

By 1724 most ofthe Adams clan was living in Stafford County, which later became

Prince William County. It was not until 1725 that William Adams, son of John Adams Jr. purchased his
own property nearby, in a deed witnessed by John Adams Sr. and George Adams.

28

MAP Of EARLY ROADS

FAUQUIER COUNTY
FROM A MAP PUBLISHED WITH
\
LANDMARKS OF OLD PRINCE WILLIAM**/

UftCN'O
*Met

Fauquier County was home to Absolam Adams and John Adams, Jr. son of John
Adams, the carpenter. Broad Run, part of Brent town tract for religious dissenters, is
highlighted on the right central edge. Prince William, Stafford, Loudoun, and Fauquier Counties
surround Broad Run. Bull Run, site of two famous Civil War battles, is near.

29

MEDIEVAL TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES

There is no documentation ofthe emigration of William Adams, chiurgeon, and his brothers from
England. They evidently made safe passage to a precise location in Virginia, made possible by a series of
European medieval inventions. It was now possible to cross the Atlantic in large round ships with multiple
masts and complex sails. The earliest round ships were called cogs, and first appeared in the thirteenth
century. They had no oars but were true sailing ships, capable of long voyages with large cargoes. They
could also support three guns, another medieval invention. By 1450 larger ships with three or four masts
pushed out the boundaries ofthe world known to Europeans. Ships no longer had to hug the shore or
remain in protected waters. The compass was invented both in China and Europe independently. This
allowed a precise heading. Charts showing compass headings allowed sailing when the sky was cloudy,
obscuring the stars. The stempost rudder, which was invented in the eleventh century, made ships far more
maneuverable.
Other inventions of medieval Europe improved the efficiency and success of colonial Americans. It
was the anonymous medieval innovators who designed wagons with brakes, front axles that could swivel,
and created harnesses that allowed teams of horses to pull wagons. Eyeglasses improved medieval craft
workers older than forty. The clock was the key machine ofthe industrial age because it allowed
scheduling and coordination of activities. The chimney and fireplace heated and did not smoke up the room.
Europeans invented treadle-powered looms, spinning wheels, and carding machines. The European heavy
wheeled plow with a deep blade cut a deep furrow, doubling crop yields. Iron shoes for horses kept them
from going lame, and provided traction. By harnessing horses with a padded collar, weight was placed in
the shoulders, rather than the neck, thus not strangling the horse. Windmills were developed before the
twelfth century. It incorporated a post mill, allowing the windmill to rotate. The doomsday book of 1086
listed 5,624 water-powered mills in England. Overshot wheels required no dams because the water struck
the top ofthe wheel. Water power was used for sawing lumber, turning lathes, grinding knives, and drawing
wire.

THE LONDON COMPANY

William Adams, chiurgeon, was able to borrow capital, own land, and sell his goods and
services because ofthe English business model, well developed by the London Company. Capitalism, the
use of wealth to earn wealth, allowed investors to support new enterprises such as the London Company.
Free markets with property rights and motivated workers defined the London Company. Double entry
bookkeeping was developed in Italy in the fifteenth century was used by the London Company, allowing

30
investment tracking for distant enterprises. The London Company was a joint-stock company, spreading
risk among many investors. It was started by a group of London merchants and was chartered by King
James I in 1606. Its goals were to build up England's merchant fleet, broadening trade, find precious metals,
found a Protestant colony, and convert the heathen.
The London Company's first venture in 1606 was a disaster. Only 38 ofthe original 105 colonists
survived after nine months. As with many new ventures, there was a steep learning curve. The swamp land
had little to recommend it other than being fertile and providing safety from the Indians. The millions of
mosquitoes spread malaria and yellow fever. The water was brackish and caused salt poisoning. When the
river ran low, the sewage promoted diseases like typhoid and dysentery. Of those very early Virginians in
the 1620's half died in the first year. Starvation killed 160 out of 220 colonists at Jamestown. The colonists
were hoping for easy gold, but the gentlemen adventurers were not ready for the back-breaking labor of
farming. By 1616 the Virginia Company had transported 1700 people to Virginia at a cost of 50,000. For
this they had a rickety fort on the James River that was home to 350 sick and hungry people. The tobacco
boom saved Virginia, but not the Virginia Company. Its debts caused it to go bankrupt, and King James
resumed control. Virginia becoming a crown colony, and was the first in English history.

THE ECONOMICS OF TOBACCO

In 1715 John Adams, the carpenter, paid 3000 pounds of tobacco for 700 acres on Broad Run.
Tobacco was used as currency. The 1724 tobacco tenders at Overwharton Parish between Aquia and
Quantico list William Adams with George Adams (two tithes, 11,020 plants). Separately are listed John
Adams, Sr. carpenter, and sons Richard and Daniel Adams with three thithables and 15,812 plants. As a
comparison, Landon Carter, a large planter, (see chapter 3) grew 100,000 plants. Colonial regulations set
limits on the amount of tobacco that could be grown, based on the number of males over the age often
in each household.
In an age when agriculture was the foundation of Virginian economy, wealth was measured more in
acres than pound sterling. Tobacco represented a promise of wealth similar to the 1850 California gold rush.
The annual flow of servants increased with higher prices for tobacco. With lower tobacco prices, slaves
were economically advantageous compared to servants. Emigration peaked between 1630 and 1660, a time
that corresponds to the first Northumberland County Adams. In 1618, twenty thousand pounds of tobacco
had been shipped to England. In 1622 an Indian attack killed one third ofthe people, but the tobacco crop
tripled. In 1629 one and a half million pounds of tobacco were shipped. By 1638 it was up to three million
pounds. The price had changed drastically during this period. In 1625, it was three shillings a pound, but by

31
1630 it was a penny a pound. Although prices recovered after 1630, it was never again at the dizzy heights
ofthe 1620's. By 1663 seven million pounds of tobacco had been shipped to London, and in 1672 the total
was ten million. During the late 1660's tobacco again sunk to less than a penny a pound, less than the cost
of production. When the price of tobacco collapsed, Virginia was economically devastated, being too
dependent on tobacco. Governor Berkeley of Virginia tried unsuccessfully to diversify. In 1668 he
collected 300 pounds of silk to send the king. He boosted com production and promoted textiles. Tobacco
was a crown monopoly. The king opposed change, as he derived one forth of his revenue from Virginia
tobacco. Tobacco prices recovered and again were used universally as money for taxes and public debts.
Promissory notes continued to supply the credit system. The merchant would advance supplies against the
next year's crop. Virginia's economy was based on credit. Failure to pay debt resulted in a term of service
to the creditor. The debtor sometimes went to jail, ran away, or made provisions to remain free in an effort
to pay off the debt. In 1730 tobacco was inspected in public warehouses, and receipts issued for its value.
These receipts functioned as banknotes, but the value fluctuated more than gold. With no banks in the
colonies, the economic system didn't work well. Tobacco was difficult to transport, varied in quality, and
fluctuated in value. It was necessary to have access to a harbor to move the tobacco. Because it was better
for those without water access to sell their crop to someone who could move it, some planters became
merchants. Some made regular trips to London; they made more money than the planters who complained
about low prices.

INDENTURED SERVANTS AND HEADRIGHTS

John and Thomas Adams were listed as early headrights in 1658 to Thomas Dodson,
thus they likely were in Virginia before 1658. Although there is no evidence that William Adams,
chiurgeon, or his brother John of Lancaster County and Thomas came to Virginia as indentured servants or
apprentices, these indenturers comprised almost eighty percent ofthe British emigrants to Virginia prior to
the revolution. Those that survived later became freemen and small farmers. The male dominated society
was unstable because ofthe high mortality rate. The majority of colonists were ordinary English men in
search of a richer life that Virginia seemed to offer. They intended to stay and work with their hands to
survive in the Virginia wild country and hopefully become gentlemen. Virginia attracted large numbers
of men but few women. Most ofthe men were servants whose indentures prevented them from marrying
for a period of several years.

32
It is possible to be claimed as a headright and not be indentured. Often fathers claimed
their children as headrights, but did not indenture them. Every man who could pay his own passage
was given 50 acres, with another 50 for every relative and servant he brought. The headright system was
started in 1618, and allowed the "right" of and individual to claim fifty acres of land for each "head" for
whom he paid the cost of transportation to the colony. In Virginia, the headright system was the basis of
which public land could be claimed and traded. Virginia Company had an almost inexhaustible supply of
land to grant to new settlers under the head right system, a strong incentive considering the expense of land
in England. Tobacco is very labor intensive, and more immigrants were actively solicited.
Those with no money, called indentures, were indentured to pay off their passage, and were
required to work an average of four years, according to the custom ofthe county. There was an advantage
of holding an indentured contract, one being at the conclusion of service the servant received a land grant
known as a head right. The average length of indenture was four years, not an unreasonable time to work
for 50 acres; few young laborers in England could have hoped for as much. The reality was that a servant
could be sold, assigned to a hard master, or be physically abused. There might be a stipulation that the exservant needed to survey and patented his land, build a house, and plant a crop; since the servant had no
money, he was forced to lease the land or labor until he had capital. A different group of emigrants called
redemptioners were forced into emigration and had no contract. Gangs of kidnappers roamed the English
seaport towns, unwanted children were sold by parents or guardians, and English criminals were exported.
The law required that a master who imported a servant without an indenture bring him to court to determine
his age; his term of service was then recorded: four years if over age twenty at the time of arrival, five years
if between twelve and twenty, and seven years if under twelve. The importation of servants often used a
middleman, who paid their passage and thus gained title to their labor for a period of years. These dealers
purchased whole shiploads of servants and sold them at a profit to a final master, who could again sell them.
Servants were fundamentally property in that they could be sold, however they did have written
contracts unavailable to slaves.
Between 1625 and 1640, 15,000 indentured servants were imported, but the population only
increased by 7,000. Mortality was high in the first two years. Servants had a variety of common law
rights which were recognized by the courts. Although it was possible for a servant to sue their masters, the
court was an assembly of masters. However the "custom ofthe county" often mitigated terms and
punishments for servants. Servants with indenture contracts specifying artisan labor and forced to work as
field hands might win their court case. The court often sided with the sick and lame. This plus the

33

opportunity to run away kept a balanced between servant's and masters rights. Servants could not be
treated as cavalierly as slaves, but planters readily used the whip, convinced that only fear and pain
could motivate servants. Some considered their servants vicious and destitute; it was important to keep
them in servitude as long as possible. Wild hogs were a temptation for a hungry family, but the penalty for
killing a hog was 1000 pounds of tobacco or a year's service to the owner, with the same reward going to
the informer.
The penalty for a servant running away was lengthened to double the escape time plus costs for
apprehending him. An example was Christopher Adams of Lancaster County Virginia, absent for six
months in 1670. He was required to serve two extra years, based on the loss of his master's tobacco crop.
Christopher disappears from court records. Perhaps he died, or ran away. He has not been linked
genealogically to our Adams family.
Indentured servants after 1665 did not enjoy economic success; less than half became landowners.
The large planters had a competitive advantage, and by 1665 all the best land was taken. Additionally the
price of tobacco had fallen drastically to one penny a pound tobacco, resulting in an economic loss for those
without slaves. During the 1680's and 1690's servants emigrated to the Carolinas and Pennsylvania and not
Virginia.

SLAVERY IN VIRGINIA
There was a transition from indentured servants to slaves pushed by the economics of tobacco.
It was cheaper to have a slave, which cost 25 pounds but was bound for life and included his children.
An indentured servant by comparison cost about four pounds for each year of service. Compared to
whites, African slaves were fairly immune both to malaria and dysentery, and acclimated well to
tidewater Virginia. Captivity differentiated slavery from indentured servants.
Many Virginians would have preferred their labor force to be comprised of white servants rather
than black slaves. One contentious question is the assertion that tobacco would not have been profitable
without slave labor. The evolution of slavery in Virginia is complex, and historians have quarreled in
hundreds of books and articles. Slavery existed in England during the middle ages, and had disappeared
by the time of American colonization; it was replaced by other forms of social obligation. Both England
and Virginia were class conscious, however the practice of slavery was not transported to Virginia.
Slavery was documented early in the Adams line; the 1696 estate of John Adams of Lancaster
County contained one Negro Man, Peter. Feathergale Adams died in November of 1807 and his estate

34

contained four slaves. William Smith, Feathergale's father-in-law, died in 1821 leaving to Feathergale's
family three Negro slaves: Isabel, Anthony, and Barbary, whose worth totaled $975.
The history of slavery in Virginia begins in 1619, when 250 Negroes entered Virginia on a Dutch
ship, and continued to trickle in for the next 50 years. Some ofthe first group bore Spanish names, and
had been sold to the English. Their status as slave or servant was uncertain, but the earliest Virginia
census reports distinguish Negros from white men. Some were sold, but most eventually became free,
and some later became slave-owners. There was a significant free black population in Colonial Virginia by
the mid-seventeenth century including some in the Christ Church parish of Lancaster County. They
interacted with other free Blacks and slaves, assisting them in court, with credit, and in business. In earlier
years the free black population lived and worked side by side with Indians, white indentured servants,
and middling white freemen. In this social context they were what Edmund S, Morgan has described as
black Englishmen. They won as many legal suits as they lost. They wrote wills, raised livestock and
tobacco. They traded goods, purchased laborers, and married neighborhood women. At the same time,
they were conscious of being part of a separate group, and free blacks reached out to other free blacks,
forming a network of friendships and family ties. This shows that blacks had significant economic
liberty at mid-century.
In the aftermath of hostile settler relations with Indians, racism became significant. The Indians
were heathen, thus were separate and legitimate targets to conquer and enslave. In 1682 the Virginia
assembly lumped together imported Indians and blacks as slaves for life. The heathen condition of
Negroes was of considerable importance to early English settlers in Virginia, who considered
themselves Christian. Yet some ofthe first Negroes in Virginia had been baptized before arrival. Later
the terminology changed for Negroes from heathens to blacks and for Christian whites to just whites. A
shift in emphasis for slavery had changed from religion to race. Negroes were separated by a sense of
difference in color, language, and socialization. It was only after 1640 that it became clear that some
Negroes in Virginia were being sold, serving for life, including their children. Also in 1640 Negroes
were denied the right to bear arms and intermix sexually, giving a compelling sense of separateness.
Prior to 1650 there were only three hundred Blacks or about two percent in Virginia, with
uncertain status. It was not until after 1660 that there was an inexorable hardening of racial lines. Prior
to 1660 it was possible to be a free Black or an indentured Black. After 1660 slavery was written into
statute law, no black was indentured, blacks were treated as lesser beings, and the number of slaves
increased greatly. The opportunity for slaves to escape their bondage was diminished. This brought

35

custom into law, removed doubt about who was a slave, and eliminated the blacks' claim for freedom.
By 1670 it was nearly impossible for a slave to work his way out of slavery, having lost the possibility
to acquire property. Losing their property, necessary to support a family, blacks could not sustain
freedom. Blacks lost not only their horses and cattle, but their ties with small white planters and other
propertied blacks. From a foundation of liberty in mid-century, the free blacks had a dramatic fall.
Governor William Berkely played a major role in the development of slavery in Virginia. He
first tried to establish an Indian slave trade. When these efforts failed, Berkeley encouraged slavery in
Virginia. To Berkley, liberty was a special birthright of free born Englishmen which gave him the right
to rule over the less fortunate people. He felt he had more liberties than others of lesser rank. Servants
possessed few liberties, and slaves none at all. Equality was the enemy of liberty. In Berkeley's world
people were ranked according to man degrees of unfreedom, with the wealthy the most free. Liberty was
both a right and a rank, with many contradictions.
The number of slaves doubled in the 1680's when 2,000 Africans landed in Virginia. They
doubled again in the 1690's. Slave traders visited Virginia in growing numbers, supplying the growing
demand. The large estate owners were the biggest importer of slaves. In 1662 Richard Lee claimed
headrights to 80 Negroes. By 1700 slaves ships were frequent in Virginia, and the necessary police
powers had been written into law. Negroes were no longer inherent members ofthe community, but
human property. As an economic necessity they had to get more work out ofthe slaves. Planter William
Byrd wrote, "One unhappy effect of owning many Negroes is the necessity of being severe. Foul means
must do what fair will not." It was thought in seventeenth century Virginia that one's station in life was
determined by God, and slavery was regarded as a personal misfortune, not the abomination of a century
later. The harsh reality of slavery was justified by the planters that their peculiar system was little
different from that which had existed in rural England. Slavery was active in England until the thirteenth
century, when it was replaced by feudal services, which again evolved into contractual rents in the
seventeenth century. Slaves were referred to as "my people," "my workers," or "my hands". The
difference was that slavery was a power relationship; servitude was a service relationship. This cultural
chauvinism ofthe Virginian Colonists made it unlikely that the colonists would accept blacks equally
into their society.
Black slaves were fourteen percent ofthe population by 1710, and were more important to the
economic life ofthe colony than the indentured servants. The use of slave labor to produce tobacco
created a rapid change in the distribution of wealth after 1700, with large planters benefiting most,

36
giving them strong economic and political power. Slavery so cheapened the cost of production of
tobacco that Virginia was able to undersell all rivals in the European market. They were able to survive
the periods of low tobacco prices and develop the frontier land.
At the same time there was an increasing proportion of native born Virginians; there were more
slaves and fewer white immigrants. The improving economy in England made fewer servants available
for Virginia, and at the same time the African slave trade made blacks available in greater numbers. The
large planters stocked their plantations with the cheaper African workers and not the more expensive
indentured servants, who were rarely imported. Virginia planters found a greater value in a permanent
slave than a four year indentured servant. A black was two to three times the investment compared to a
white servant, and paid off only if the slave lived a productive long life. Black children were considered
"so many useless hands", blacks in their forties appeared on inventories as "old", and those in their 50's
were labeled decrepit. Those prospering with slaves tended to enlarge their holdings, buying land from
less prosperous neighbors. In 1730 out of a total population of 114,000, 30,000 were slaves. By 1750
forty percent ofthe 150,000 people were slaves. Small farmers acquired slaves in order to compete. It
was too expensive for them to pay the variety of other costs of indentured servants including
transportation, and they were able to use credit to buy slaves. In the eighteen century the majority of
slaves were held by small slave owners, each having one to five. In Lancaster County for the year 1716,
only half of all farmers tilled their fields with their own labor. As the eighteenth century wore on, more
independent farmers had slaves. For all whites this enlargement ofthe slave population as a response to
economic conditions meant a greater commitment to slavery, which had no appreciable opposition until
the Quaker abolitionists after 1750.
Papal condemnation of slavery persisted throughout the eighteenth and nineteen centuries. Pope
Gregory XVI,s 1839 bull In Supremo forbade enslaving Indians and blacks and further forbid
ecclesiastic or lay persons to defend slavery. The voluntary servitude of indentured servants was
allowed, but not chattel slavery. Some bishops and theologians in the nineteenth century defended the
American slave system, wrongly arguing that only the slave trade had been condemned, not slavery
itself. This non-compliance ofthe Catholic Church in America "explained away" the Papal position.
The white slave owners acquired the attitude that manual labor was beneath them, and that work
in the tobacco fields was not in keeping with the dignity of freemen. Slaveholding transformed Virginia
from hardworking, independent farmers to an exclusive class of "better sorts" who had others to labor
for them. Slavery provided what white Virginians came to deem as an essential social and racial system.

37
It was hard to rationalize their lifestyle on the economic advantage. Virginia paid a high price for
slavery. Southern capital was ploughed back into land and more slaves, not into schools, libraries,
improved farming machinery, roads, railroads, or canals to the extent it was in the North.

PERCENTAGE OP NEGROES IN
TOTAL NON-ABORIGINAI POPULATION

\\

1790

By 1790 The Adams had moved from Virginia to Kentucky, where slaves accounted for ten
to twenty percent of the population.

38

THE ANGLICAN PARISH

Both John Adams and William Feathergale, who lived in Lancaster County, Virginia, were members
of St. Mary's White Chapel. John Adams, the carpenter, in the 1690's registered the birth of his daughter
Catherine at St Steven's Parish in Northumberland County, Virginia and in 1724 the sons of John, William
and George, belong to the Overwharton Parish which included what are now Stafford, Prince William,
Fairfax, and Loudoun Counties. Most ofthe white settlers in Virginia were Anglicans, and during the civil
war in England, many well-to-do Englishmen, mainly Anglicans and supporters of Charles I, came to
Virginia. Virginia remained faithful to the Anglican Church even after the English Civil War.
The Parish, the administration part ofthe English church, was a carry-over from England. The
English in Virginia believed that the Anglican Church was essential to maintain social order and necessary
for a civilized society. By 1640 Virginian parishes and vestries were firmly established for the provision of
religious observance and moral disciple. Compared to the historic English stone churches, the early Virginia
churches resembled tobacco barns. No gothic spires graced the skies of seventeenth century Virginia.
Missing were the Archbishops and Bishops, and there was no Bishop in Virginia before the Revolution.
Despite efforts from the church, there was considerable indifference to the liturgy and frequent breaches of
church discipline. This lack of enthusiasm for the established church was also found in England.
The church was a vital element of local life. Its job was to provide for the poor by boarding
them at public expense in the homes of willing citizens. Paupers were a persistent problem in Virginia,
as they had been throughout the south of England. Virginian parishes spent the bulk of public funds for
poor relief. It also was responsible for the moral health ofthe community. People gathered from a far
wider area than a single parish. They traveled by horse, cart, carriage, and foot. There was a strong
social aspect, and well before and after the hour of service the people had opportunity to mingle. The
entire parish was required to assemble every Sunday morning, and there was a considerable penalty for
being absent. It was at this time that friendships were formed, courtships advanced, and the latest news
discussed.
The Parish was part ofthe local government. Church duties and civic duties were one. The
parish and county government overlapped in function. The church wardens were controlled by the
planters in the General Assembly. They had some ofthe powers of a modern sheriff, district attorney,
and grand jury. The vestry of a parish consisted of twelve men, usually influential land holders, and was
the only representative body ofthe parish and county. The vestrymen had the duty of presenting to the
court persons guilty of such moral offenses as drunkenness, blasphemy, Sabbath-breaking, fornication,

39
and adultery. Children born out of wedlock were indentured until the age of thirty. The mother was
also indentured, and the father fined. They apprenticed bastards and disciplined vagrants. The vestry
levied parish taxes and defined property boundaries. The Anglican Parish doubled as a county court that
held trials, executed sentences, licensed taverns, maintained roads, collected local taxes, conducted
elections, and supervised the county militia. The minister had an enviable salary of 16,000 pounds of
tobacco per year. The church was divided regarding slavery; however in 1705 the assembly empowered
parish vestries to seize all livestock that belonged to slaves, the purpose being to help the poor white.
Separation of church and state occurred after the Bill of Rights in June, 1776. The leaders of
Virginia were nearly all Anglicans, and these same Virginians led the Revolution. Ofthe more than one
hundred members ofthe Virginia constitutional convention of 1776, only three were not vestrymen.
Two thirds of all the signers ofthe Declaration of Independence were members ofthe Anglican Church.
Thomas Jefferson in 1786 introduced a Statute of Religious Freedom depriving the parish of their taxing
power. Parish levies were fully abolished in 1799.
After 1740, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists began winning converts in Virginia
among the small farmers and slaves. This challenged the elite class with an oral presentation,
brotherhood, and less emphasis on symbols and rituals. The Baptist faith grew rapidly from only seven
congregations in 1769 to fifty-four by 1774. This was about a tenth of white Virginians. The Baptists
threatened the foundation of Virginia society. It was expected that everyone would worship together in
the Anglican Church which was controlled by large landowners. The Anglicans as part ofthe county
government persecuted the Baptists. The Virginian Anglicans regarded the Baptists as somber and
melancholy people, for they wore dark and plain clothing, cut their hair short, and worked their faith into
every conversation. The Baptists welcomed slaves into their worship as brothers and sisters. The
Anglican gentlemen and ladies were appalled at the intimate laying on of hands. Baptists spoke out
against dancing and racehorses. Landon Carter, an elite planter (see chapter 3), complained that the
Baptists were destroying the pleasure in the country.

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL STRUCTURE

As we have seen, land on the Coan River in Northumberland County was the home in 1658 to
John Adams (later of Lancaster County), and his brothers Thomas and William, the chiurgeon. This
substantial amount of land was sold in 1701, when John Adams, the carpenter (son of William), bought

40
land north on the Accokeek Creek. The Adams were of modest means, as evidenced by the 1696 estate
settlement of John Adams, but were substantial landowners with families.
The migrant population contained a majority of male servants, who lived as isolated individuals in
a male dominated world. Because men and women arrived in Virginia young and single, at first they
were not part of a neighborhood group. Because of low population density, the Chesapeake society failed
to form many towns. Instead there were rural homesteads characterized by rail fences with heavy logs to
keep out the pigs surrounded cultivated fields. Long wooden tobacco houses and the small, framed farmer's
houses of unpainted weathering wood lay in the midst ofthe fields. Brick and stone were scarce. Plaster
made from oyster shells made the inside walls as white as snow.
It is not surprising that strangers were looked at with suspicion. In the absence of large towns,
groups often or twenty household bonded as a neighborhood, again similar to south and west England.
They married into their neighbor's families; they worked and went to church together. Upholding honor
resulted in continued good reputation and "standing" in the eyes of neighbors. These neighborhoods
were intensely curious about strangers, who might live only a few miles away, but were contacted only
on church and court days.
Colonial Virginia was a layered society, as defined by law and custom. England itself was not
homogeneous, and sectional differences were important in settling Virginia. However the great bulk ofthe
population was English, sharing the social, religious customs, and traditions such as their exceptional
hospitality, the love of hunting and fishing, the celebration of both weddings and funerals, Anglican
ceremony, and their love of games such as cards, horse racing, betting, and dancing.
Virginia society had divisions of class, much like England in the same age. Both Virginia and
England's social system (social hierarchy) was based on visibility, that is wearing appropriate clothes, use
of carriages, and manners including bowing, how to open a door, where to sit in church, and how to relate
to others. These social graces were taught to children at an early age.
At the top end ofthe social hierarchy comprising five to ten percent was the landed elite with estates
large enough to have a continuing supply of slaves and servants. An example is Landon Carter, discussed in
chapter three. In 1700 the elite owned half the land, and over the next fifty years their land holdings
increased substantially. In order to maintain their elite status, the eldest son usually inherited all the land,
because if every child was given an equal share, the family tended to decline in social status. The welfare
ofthe estate trumped the welfare of individual family members. Virginia's aristocrats were labeled as such
because they owned large tracts of land, had access to credit, and had a substantial number of slaves. Style

41
of dress reflected social distinction. Women dressed to reveal their occupation, status, and
servility. The Virginia elite wore silk stockings, silver buckles, gold buttons, silver hatbands, and pearls in
their pierced ears. The gentry felt naked without wearing swords. Part ofthe costume was riding a fine
horse. Gentlemen also had family colors and coats of arms which were displayed with ceremony. The
costumes of Virginia closely resembled that of southwestern England; however aristocrats might still live in
modest cabins and dress in broadcloth and buckskin. Many were "new men", unaccustomed to aristocratic
practices, assumptions, and values. The confusing visible patterns caused difficulties in seventeenth century
Virginia both for the would-be aristocrats and those beneath them in the social scale. Because some manual
laborers dressed in fancy clothes similar to the aristocrats, Virginia passed laws prohibiting the lower
classes to wear gold or silk in their clothes. Slaves were punished if they broke with dress codes.
Substantial landholders, with one or more servants or slaves, comprised about thirty percent ofthe
white population. This category bests fits the Adams family. As more men become free, and the population
increased, land became increasingly expensive, especially for secure land titles. Land was no longer free,
and each year there were poll taxes, export taxes, and tribute for the king collected as customs duty.
Half of Virginia's male population owned no land at all, and little property. Many were tenant
farmers, and some were nearly destitute. Larger Plantations absorbed the land of smaller, less profitable
farms. Many preferred to rent land than to settle in the frontier where there was conflict with the Indians. In
Lancaster County the number of single tithable households rose from 10 percent in 1653 to 40 percent in
1687; a ten year lease for 100 acres of land leased was 60 shillings annually or 600 pounds of tobacco.
These discontented freedmen had fewer opportunities in the 1660's and 1670's in Lancaster and
Northumberland Counties, and were lucky if their labor provided his family with adequate food and
clothing, especially with low tobacco prices. Those men too poor to attract a wife lived Spartan lives with
only bare necessities of clothing and cooking. Single men might live together, sharing domestic duties.
Many emigrated to Maryland and North Carolina. The term "poor white trash" dates to this period.
At the bottom ofthe social structure were poor white laborers, servants, who formed half the
population, beggars, and slaves. Their presence had an important effect in maintaining the class differences
inherited from England.
Social mobility was limited in Virginia in the period from 1650 to 1775. Very few men succeeded
in rising above the social order in which they were bom. Many servants became freemen, but few rose to
the rank of free landholder, as it was difficult to raise enough capital. It was difficult to cross the barrier that
separated "common folk" and "gentle folk".

42
By 1700 Virginia had become a society dominated by free white men. White women and black
men were legally marginalized in Virginia's public culture. There was improved cohesion between the elite
whites and the poorer whites, giving a sense of racial superiority. There was a growing racial divide
between white and black. Whites shared common interests in gambling, horse-racing, cockfights, and the
tavern.
Every freeman was subject to military duty, with significant exceptions. The general muster
brought together every class, and servants and slaves attended with their masters, who put on a military
display. Because people came from great distances, the occasion was spread over two days, usually with
much drinking.
Politically, Colonial Virginia was a hierarchy with four tiers. At the top was the distant king and
parliament. Next was the Virginia governor with the Virginia House of Burgesses. The third level was
the county court working with the local parish, which was the most functional because ofthe difficulty
of long distance communication. The fourth level was the family household, with the husband at the
head, supervising his wife, children, and servants.
From the Colonial Virginians point of view, the king overtaxed. In reality the taxes imposed upon
England compared fairly with the American Colonies. The king used the colony's lands to reward his
favorites at court. In 1649 the king gave seven of his loyal supporters all ofthe Northern Neck. The Manor
of Leeds was an 119,927 acre tract of land originally owned by Lord Fairfax, the proprietor of Virginia. It
included Fauquier and Loudoun Counties, where the Broad Run Adams later settled. The Brent Town tract,
which included Broad Run, was patented or deeded in 1687. By 1660 when Charles regained the throne, the
best lands had been patented. The crown finally recognized all patents granted by the Virginia government
through 1661. In 1674 the king gave away all the rest of Virginia's public land for a period of 32 years to
two of his friends. One, Lord Thomas Culpeper, was also given the governorship of Virginia.
Virginia was practically independent until 1660, engaging in free trade with foreigners, especially
the Dutch, and enjoying the profits ofthe expanding tobacco and fur trade. By 1641, when Sir William
Berkley became governor, the colony was well established and extended on both sides ofthe James River
up to its falls. William Berkley favored the wealthiest planters by granting them lucrative public offices
and a disproportionate share ofthe frontier land. The small farmer often rented land from the wealthiest
planters. Berkley kept his cronies in power and in return received an annual salary of 1000, at a time
when a small farmer was lucky to clear 3 a year. The small farmer was taxed at a tenth of his annual
crop; the large landowners had no poll tax and minimal crop tax. All of this lead to an uprising called the

43

Bacon's rebellion in 1677, involving small farmers but lead by the gentry types determined to break into
the ring of power-brokers led by Governor Berkeley. The English commander of eleven hundred troops
sent to Virginia was Sir Herbert Jeffreys. He replaced Berkely, who was sent back to England where he
died within the year. Politics changed at this point, with less tyranny from the royal governor. Tobacco
prices improved, and the relations between small and great planters improved.
Every month the county court was held. It was confined to men, and was enlivened by a great deal
of drunken revelry. It had serious political and business aspects. The candidates for the House of
Burgesses, prices of tobacco and live stock, and the county news were discussed. Only white males were
enfranchised, and property-owning qualifications for voting continued during and after the colonial
period. Contests of riding, shootings, and wrestling were held on court days.
Guns were common in Colonial Virginia, with more than 80 percent of estates including guns,
muskets or pistols; it was expected that all households would own one. In 1640 the Virginia legislature
advised all families to furnish themselves arms, excepting Negros. By denying Negros the right to bear
arms there was less risk in capturing runaway slaves. White servants, who were not excluded from guns,
sometimes ran away with Black slaves. In England, by contract, only a tiny percentage owned guns.
Guns were symbolic expressions of manhood and citizenship; it was a treasured possession and handed
to the eldest son. Guns enabled men to protect and provision their households. Besides shooting wolves,
they were used to hunt game. The wild turkey was hunted using trained dogs and blinds. The wild
passenger pigeon was so numerous that the sky was darkened for hours. They broke the limbs of trees
with their vast numbers. They could be killed by the thousands at night with a lighted torch and pole.
Colonial Virginians enjoyed hospitality so much that they spent a great deal of time visiting one
another. It was the custom of rich and poor to offer food and lodging without pay. Families were
commonly related in some way by blood or marriage, and visits were the proper way to communicate.
Young people ofthe elite class might go off on a round of visits lasting several weeks. One visitor found
it was possible to travel the whole country without money. On most Virginia plantations there was no
such thing as an intruder. The doors were open to friend or stranger. White men were free to move
unchallenged. White women were treated differently and it was both dangerous and presumptuous to
travel among social inferiors. The lower-class families traveled less, having little money and much
work. Slaves and servants had limited freedom of movement, and traveled short distances in the
evenings to visit neighboring plantations usually under the watchful eye of plantation masters, who were
patriarchs and protectors. The word "family" was used by the patriarch to include his nuclear family,

44
visiting relatives, friends, servants, house slaves, and even total strangers who accepted his hospitality.
The guest was honored by giving him the best drink and food which the house could furnish. Cider,
beer, and home-made wines were common. The lower class families lived in one or two room cabins,
which allowed little privacy or comfort. In the winter in order to keep warm it was necessary to huddle
together in the same bed, including the visitors.
Special occasions allowed Virginians to socialize. Funerals were occasions where large
quantities of food and drink were consumed. Weddings were special events that required the majority of
the guests to travel up to a whole day by boat or horse. Weddings were drawn out affairs and were an
excuse for general relaxation. A Dutch men-of-war ship was able to enter the James River in 1666
unmolested because the captain ofthe Virginia guard-ship was attending a wedding. When the weather
permitted, Colonial Virginians enjoyed picnics by the river, each family bringing its own food. Farm
families got together for husking bees, quilting bees, house-raisings, and harvesting. One account of
harvesting in 1702 documented thirty neighbors invited to cut grain, followed by a dinner. A violent rain
forced people indoors, where they stayed a day and a half eating all the fresh meat, which could not be
stored. Men of all classes relaxed in the evening by visiting the nearest tavern, where they could drink,
gossip, and gamble with his neighbors.
Married couples were the basis of both English and Virginian society. Marriage was socially
expected; bachelors and spinsters were condemned as unnatural and even dangerous. Marriage to
cousins was acceptable, and many Anglican ladies "changed her condition" but not her name. Nearly all
women were able to marry, but because of the preponderance of men, one quarter of men died without
ever marrying. A man's chances of finding a wife reflected his social rank, and a typical Virginia
married in the seventeenth century joined a man of maturity with a miss in her teens.
It was the Virginia custom to get the girls' parents' permission before proposing
marriage.

Some marriages were arranged, and sometimes fathers negotiated with the girl's

parents, who were expected to contribute about half of what the boy's parents did. Marriage
was not entirely an arranged affair, and the majority gave their children a broad freedom.
Many could not afford a dowry, or expect an inheritance. Prenuptial agreements were common,
with complex negotiations between the bride's relatives, the groom's kinfolk, and the tenants of lands
that were given to the couple. To some, marriage was an investment, and both partners needed to
contribute. A man who had accumulated a fortune did not wish to see it squandered on a poor

45

girl without property. Parents who had a position of dignity did not wish to be disgraced by a
marriage to a person of poor fortune.
The wedding was performed by the local minister, usually in the home ofthe bride,
and was followed by a dinner and dancing. Weddings often united in two ceremonies. The first was
a Christian ceremony in a church or more often in the bride's home, but always by an Anglican minister
using the Book of Common Prayer. The other ceremony was an ancient pagan practice in which the
bride and groom were made to jump over a broomstick. This ritual had long been observed throughout
Britain. For black slaves, it was the only type of marriage ceremony permitted. We might imagine a
neighborhood marriage with a teen age girl standing by the door with her groom and brother. Even
before the wedding, the two men might be brothers-in-law, as the neighborhood was a network of social
relationships, many families linked by blood or marriage. A third of marriages involved persons living
within a half mile of each other, and 90 percent lived no more than five miles away. The church linked
neighborhoods together. The house being too small to hold the wedding guests, tables and benches were
set up outside in the yard. On the tables were borrowed platters, spoons, noggins, and tankards. The
wedding was often late morning, and the Anglican preacher was paid 250 pounds of tobacco. He would
sit at the first table with the punch, a mixture of beer, brandy, sugar, and cinnamon. Bride and groom
drank first, lifting the silver drinking cup. Dancing to the music of a fiddle was followed by a horse
race. At dust the celebratory musket shot signaled the departure ofthe bride and groom for the groom's
father's home. Some ofthe guests caroused all night long, and others found a place to sleep outside.
Weddings in seventeenth century Virginia were rarely followed by a divorce. Matrimony was
regarded as an indissoluble union, or a sacred knot that could never be untied by mortal hands. In
Virginia, indentured servants needed the rights of their masters for marriage. Informal marriages outside
the church were a result, where couples made a point of telling neighbors they considered themselves
married even when no formal ceremony had been performed. Some of the illegitimate cases in early
Virginia were nothing more than children born of unmarried couples. The Virginia Assembly tried to
protect master-servant relations by restricting marriages of female servants. Because of the popular
acceptance of clandestine marriages and to prevent illegitimacy, the colonial government occasionally
did recognize these marriages.
The male head ofthe family had the power to direct household operations. A wife was
obedient to her husband and superiors. There was sometimes dissatisfaction and strife within marriages.
Men were expected to exercise authority over their wives, but wife-beating was dishonorable, punished

46
by the villagers with "rough music", a noisy neighborhood assembly of horns and bells that continued
into the night for weeks. Honor, reputation, shame, and humiliation were important motivating factors in
seventeen century Virginia.
A husband was entitled to beat his wife, order the lives of her children, and direct
the children's management after his death. A wife who found her husband unbearable could
not hope to escape from him by a divorce, as there was no court in Virginia with authority to
grant one. The remedy was to run away, either to another man or back to her mother. The
Virginia Gazette carried advertisements regarding missing wives, some of which were
answered by the wife, saying that the fault was his.
After bearing ten to twelve children starting at a very young age, many women were broken in
health. If she died, he husband was left to marry again and raise a second family. If the wife was left a
widow, she was free to marry again, and because ofthe shortage of women, her marriage shortly
followed the funeral. There were reasons of necessity to quickly remarry on a large and secluded
plantation, including the raising of young children and supervising "unbroken" or newly arrived
Negroes. A sign of white w o m e n ' s ' declining influence is reflected in the higher number of
adult women requiring assistance from the parish.
Virginians preferred to name their sons after Teutonic warriors, Frankish knights, and English
kings. Favorites included William, Robert, Richard, Edward, George, and Charles. Girls were given the
favorite English names of Mary, Elizabeth, Anne, and Sarah. Firstborn children were named for their
grandparents and second born for their parents, similar to the Anglican families in the south and west of
England. When a child died, their names were given to the next-born.
Children were expected to be strong willed, and at the same time to conform to the culture. As
example, children of a good elite family were expected to learn dance and social manners; lessons could
last all day. Besides dancing, daughters of wealthy planters also mastered singing and French. Only the
wealthy could afford tutors. Elite white girls sometimes developed long relationships and Black slaves.
Parents were concerned when their white children picked up the speech patterns of their African
domestics. White girls of all backgrounds in the eighteenth century Virginia were apprenticed to learn
to read, sew, and spin, but not study math, a subject only for boys. It was accepted that girls needed less
education than boys. For the middling classes, education was limited to training in skills necessary to
make a living. Children were sometimes placed in other homes to learn a trade. For all classes virtue was

47
much admired and was defined as living stoically in harmony with nature and fortune, a calm
acceptance of life, fearing nothing and accepting fate with courage, honesty, dignity, and grace.
Literacy was an instrument of wealth and power in Virginia. Among Virginia's gentry, literacy
approached 100 percent, for male property holders it was 50 percent, for indentured servants and women
it was 25 percent, and for slaves, it was less than 1 percent. This culture came from seventeenth century
England and persisted in Virginia for three hundred years. Literacy increased in the eighteenth century,
but disparities between the rich and poor actually increased. Virginia's elite were deeply interested in
education, but positively feared learning among the general population. The elite owned substantial
libraries, ordinary people had no access to books, and slaves were forbidden to read at all, with penalty
of having a finger amputated. There was no printing press in Virginia until 1730, and imported Bibles were
used as reading primers, increasing the importance of religion, which was important to civility in a remote
and savage environment. In Virginia, schools were difficult to organize, and literacy among white males, as
measured by the ability to sign their name rather than simply make a mark was 46 percent in the 1640's.
This increased to 60 percent in the 1660's.

There were very few schools and no public supported ones in

Virginia. Sometimes parsons maintained schools in their parishes.

Women of Colonial Virginia were expected to be feminine, refined, delicate, gracious,
modest, and virtuous. At the same time, all but the most privileged women were also expected
to do farm and house work. Women of every social status were required to be resourceful but
self-effacing. During harvest time women assisted men in the fields, doing may ofthe same
tasks as men. At the same time, women revealed their femininity by covering their body and
head modestly, with a quiet demeanor, especially with strangers and when outside her home.
Her apron reflected her activities within the kitchen and dairy, and her position in the
household. As a good wife she had escaped servility and gained public respect, avoiding the
label of wench.

Earlier in the century a wench signified English women of low birth; later in

1656 Virginians defined wenches as those black or white women not fit for domestic labor,
thus suitable for hoeing tobacco. By the 1730's a wench was a Negro slave.
A single woman might own property, but a married woman by law existed only through
her husband. The husband had the absolute possession of all her property. After 1680 the
courts strongly supported patriarchal transmission of property, disallowing the legal activities
of married women and were less likely to grant widows and wives legal privileges. Prenuptial
agreements often softened the law's impact on married women. Laws defined married women

48
as femes covert, or having legal power through her husband. Women could not function
alone in courts (femes sole) as they did earlier in the seventeenth century. After 1650 fewer
women were executors of their husband's estates; these duties went to the eldest sons.
Husband's wills often allowed his wife to use property only while she was alive; after her
death, her children inherited the property. Property was bequeathed to wives to bring up their
children, not to enrich future husbands. A widow assumed her husband's familial roles and
had to pay taxes. She could not vote, serve on a jury, or hold office.
A John Adams, possibly John Adams Jr., son of John Adams the carpenter, is cited in the
Westmoreland County order book for 1707 to 1709 as having begot the child of Elizabeth Luck, servant
to Humphrey Quisenbery. Elizabeth was convicted of having a natural child born of her body in her
master's house, and her master paid her fine of 500 pounds of tobacco. She is ordered to repay this fine
with one year labor, plus one additional year in compensation for the trouble to his house, and loss of
service. This is in addition to any remaining indenture. She escaped another possible punishment, public
whipping. There was no penalty for John Adams, even though law statues specified that the father of an
illegitimate child was to pay all expenses relating to the child. Masters sometimes escaped paternity
charges by consenting to their female servants' marriage to other men. The main concern ofthe local
court was to ensure that the woman's master and the parish were compensated for the expenses of her
lost service and the care of her child. Bastardy was regarded as a very serious offense in Virginia
because it threatened to burden the parish poor rolls and deprive a master of work. The illegitimacy rate
in Virginia was perhaps two or three times as high as the rates in England. Puritan New England had
lower illegitimacy rates than England. The women of Virginia were held to the strict standards of sexual
virtue. Men, especially gentlemen, were encouraged to maintain a predatory attitude toward women,
especially indentured servant girls. Gentlemen took pride in the fertility of their women.
In summary, the Adams emigrated from England to the Northern Neck of Virginia and were
affected by a hundred years of social transformation. The social climate of Virginia initially mimicked
that of England, but evolved separately. The London Company was the first to employ credit, property
rights, and exploit the demand for tobacco. Indentured servants and slavery resulted in a social segregation
similar to England. The Anglican parish was controlled by large tobacco growers who were sympathetic
toward slavery. The Adams continued to expand with their large families westward into the frontier in
search of new lands.

49

CHAPTER 3 LANDON CARTER, PLANTER

Landon Carter, about 1760, aristocratic planter

On the north shore ofthe Rappahannock River not far from the early Adams, lived Landon
Carter. No blood relation, he is a contemporary of Absolam Adams, born in 1719, but ofthe aristocratic
class. They were descended from the "first families of Virginia". Most ofthe wealthy landowners had
come early, well before 1700. The great planters, few in number, owned an average of 4200 acres. They
had higher social position and greater political authority. These elite men also controlled a major part of
the land and property, were politically powerful, and had sexual access to women, usually of lower
station. By the beginning ofthe eighteen century Virginia's planter classes considered themselves

50
patriarchs. Independent in his judgments, his authority was seldom challenged by small planters. Carter
regarded that his privileged position was based on natural rights, with an ability to dominate dependents.
He considered part of his wealth and political power the ownership of slaves. In 1705 Virginia's statues
included slave laws that extended the master's powers over his slaves.
Landon Carter was an English gentleman, American style. He had a large manor house and
thousands of acres. A country gentleman also was part ofthe governing class, and likely would be a
power in the local parish. The House of Burgesses contained many aristocratic planters. Here were
made the major decisions on the price of tobacco, taxation, education, Indian relations, and religion. By
the mid 1700's not more than a hundred families controlled the wealth and government ofthe colony.
All farmers wanted to be a great planter like Landon Carter, with a mansion and servants, but for most,
like the Adams, life was hard with few or no slaves.
Landon Carter believed his self control was the key to exercising power over others. A
gentleman was expected to have nobility of character in his duties of life. He must be master of his acts
and thoughts and sovereign on his own plantation. He placed great value on keeping anger, sadness, lust,
and grief in check. A white man who could not master his passions ran the risk of becoming a "slave" to
them. Through control over self, gentlemen reminded themselves that they had control over others. A
gentleman controlled his drinking, protected his credit, and did not disclose his private business. Carter
was unsuccessful in restraining himself during family conflicts, with furious diatribes against his
children for their failure to love him. His attempt at mastery over others could not protect his children
from tragedies such as unhappy marriages, illness, and shameful vices.
Landon Carter was a master of control using medical treatment. He administered frequent does
of vomits, purges, barks, and sweats. He noted the frequency and quality of bowel movements, the
passage of worms, and the color of urine. He regulated the eating, drinking, and sleeping habits of his
children, and had the power to change bodily functions when necessary. He used medical treatments as a
means of disciplining and dishonoring slaves, using harsher medicines than given to his family.
In April of 1747 Landon Carter was offended by his pastor, Reverend William Kay. The issue
was Kay's sermon about excessive pride, and was not directed solely at Carter. The result was the firing
of Kay, as the majority ofthe vestry was controlled by Carter. In his letter, Reverend Kay explained that
Carter "wanted to extort more mean, low, and humble obedience than was consistent with the office of a
Clergyman. He cursed and attempted to beat me because of my Sermon which aimed against pride. He
vowed that he could clip the wings ofthe whole clergy in this Colony".

51
Landon Carter loaded his hogsheads of tobacco from his dock directly onto the ship bound for
London. Each year up to 150 ships arrived in the Chesapeake in the fall to barter for tobacco with the
planter-merchant. English furniture and other manufactured goods were offloaded, and the
transportation was so cheap that native craftsmen were discouraged. This was the major extent of
Virginia commerce, a series of private depots ofthe large planters scattered along the riversides. This
resulted in a lack of towns. Settlers were isolated from each other and had to rely on themselves.
Landon Carter's diary of 1766 illustrates the hazards and work connected with growing corn
and tobacco. Tobacco seeds were planted in February. The young tobacco seedbeds were covered and
uncovered with straw to protect them from frost and the tobacco fly. March and April was the time to
transplant the tobacco seedlings, till the soil, and plant the corn. This required several months for the
entire plantation labor force. Timing was critical; the tiny plants had to be large enough to survive
transplanting, with leaves the size of a dollar. Cattle manure was hauled to the fields. Corn seeds, often
needing replanting because of birds, were planted in hill mounds. As the summer progressed, weeds
took over. Carter had 100,000 plants and each was weeded three times. After ten leaves had appeared,
each plant was topped. In July heavy rains waterlogged the soil. Added to the difficulties were all kinds
of worms. August sometimes brought drought. Finally, in late August the tobacco was ready to harvest,
not too early as the extra moisture did not allow curing, and not too late as the dry leaves became brittle
and cracked. The leaves were carried to tobacco housed, and hung to dry. This work continued until
October when the tobacco was stripped, removing the leaves and large fibers from the stalk. Then the
tobacco was pressed into bundles known as hogsheads, weighing up to 1000 pounds. Horses were used
to haul the hogsheads over rough roads to the public warehouse where it was certified and stored, and
exchanged for tobacco notes. Not until spring, fifteen months after sewing the seeds, were the hogsheads
sent to the European market. Thus tobacco growing had multiple critical stages, lasted all year, and did
not allow enough free time for Carter's fox hunting. Carter took great pride in the quality of his tobacco,
and when a British merchant in 1774 accused Carter of exporting a low-grade leaf, Carter was shamed.
Virginians never enjoyed an adequate money supply, and informal credit was used to conduct
business. They functioned as merchants and bankers for their neighbors. A small debt symbolized an
enduring friendship; an inability to repay was a betrayal of friendship and loss of honor and
independence. Wealth was important for display and was consumed beyond income. Keeping up with
the "consumer revolution" required additional slaves and expand production. Money was borrowed from
British merchants. Carter among other planters found the colorful china, silver plate, and beautiful

52
English dresses irresistible, with a consequence of slipping into debt. The resulting debt was greater in
Virginia than in other parts of Colonial America. Chronic indebtedness was part ofthe life style of
county gentry in the south and west of England. The tobacco depression of 1750 lasted until 1760,
leaving the planters dangerously overextended. The desperate merchants demanded payments of old
debts, forcing Virginians to sell slaves and property. The planters felt vulnerable, with loss of honor and
independence. Without substantial property, personal autonomy was threatened. Planters demanded
repayment from other colonists, threatening legal action, insensitive to past friendships. Preserving
credit conflicted with traditional relationships. Virginian sued each other with increasing frequency,
trying to avoid the lie behind the appearance of prosperity. When grasshoppers destroyed Carter's
tobacco in 1770, he stoically survived. The answer was to convert part of his crop to wheat.
Since Virginians did not replace the nitrogen and potash which tobacco depleted from the soil, it
was necessary to use new virgin soil. After the fourth season land was planted in com and wheat before
being turned back to wild pine and sedge. Tobacco land was new land, requiring new land to be obtained
yearly. An English visitor would not have been impressed with the rotting stumps, weedy files, and
neglected livestock. The planter's investments on slaves, land, and equipment were supported by large
cash loans.
On his plantation Landon Carter was able to manufacture goods that earlier were imported
from England. His slaves worked as coopers, blacksmiths, tanners, carpenters, shoemakers, and
distillers. These were jobs that had previously been done by the white workers. By allowing year around
labor the efficiency of his slaves increased and gave the large planter a competitive advantage. The
number of large planters increased from about twenty in 1703 to several times that fifty years later.
The eighteenth century was the golden age of large Virginia plantations. They were able to
build handsome homes filled with expensive furniture and silverware imported from England. They
collected paintings and filled their libraries. They wore expensive clothes and traveled in elegant
coaches, and were fixated on the trappings of wealth. They practiced their refined manners. They were
apt to take their religious beliefs for granted and to concentrate their attention on living gracefully.
Marriage knit families together and increased self awareness as a class. It was a sure way to preserve
capital and maintain a position among the wealthy and powerful planters. During each courtship, family
reputations and finances were scrutinized.

53

Southern plantation parlor, 1760 -1780. The table on right was used for everyday work.
The left table has tallow candles, stored away at night, otherwise eaten by mice.

Plantation cook house, 1700's. The large fireplace had iron cranes to support kettles
and pots. The central work table was used throughout the day. Because ofthe fire
danger, it was desirable to have the cook house separate from the main house.

54

Chapter 4 COLONIAL VIRGINIAN MEDICINE

Daniel Boorstin in The Americans: the Colonial Experience describes a pragmatic form of
medicine, using native plants and home-made remedies. Imported drugs were too expensive. Even the
eminent 19th-century physician Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes had to admit that the remedies of their
clergymen-physicians were less harmful than those of their European contemporaries. Physician
Benjamin Rush ofthe 18th century believed bodily tension resulted in disease and could be remedied by
bleeding. The ultimate proof was that any patient who was bled long enough would eventually relax.
Colonial doctors thought tobacco opened the pores and passages ofthe body, removing gross humors. It
was used to treat respiratory disease, stomach ailments, gout, ague, and to reduce hunger. Some
doctors believed in wholesome and harmless treatments of rest, fresh air, and massage. A 1678
textbook describing the treatment of small pox urged letting nature do her work; the physician
duty was to regulate the disease when it is exorbitant, and fortify when the disease was too
weak. Allow plenty of open air and moderate amounts of water-gruel, chicken broth, and boiled
apples.
Virginia with all its sickness was a land of opportunity for physicians. Colonial
Virginians knew nothing about germs, and many died from diphtheria or diarrhea. It was a time when
few children survived infancy, and it was common for parents to see most of their children die before
they were able to walk. Mortality in the tidewater region was high, with as many as 40 per cent of all
indentured servants arriving prior to 1650 dying before they could complete their term of service. The
fees charged were outrageous, and if not paid, the patient could become the doctor's servant for
a year. The physician commonly collected his charges from the estate of his newly deceased
patient. Sums of 1000 pounds of tobacco were not uncommon. To prevent gouging, the House
of Burgesses allowed anyone thinking a charge excessive to bring the case to court. In
Northampton County with a population of 1000 in 1650, there were twenty physicians. A
chiurgeon or physician from this time into the nineteenth century believed in heroic medicine,
forcing bad humors out ofthe body via a fresh set of ordeals. The dogma of humors had little
changed since the days of Hippocrates. Landon Carter in the midst of a bout of sickness in his
family observed that the cloudy and windy weather had caused an excess of bile. There were
supposedly four humors: phlegm, blood (including semen, seen as purified blood), yellow bile,

55
and black bile. Blood corresponded to air, phlegm water, and bile to fire. Black bile, from which
melancholy comes, corresponded to earth. Diet and weather played roles. During a sudden change of
weather, people were apt to catch cold. Fever and ague (malaria) was caused by exposure to damp water, or
over-eating some fruits. Illness was only an imbalance of those humors' natural proportions, and heroic
medicine an attempt to restore the balance using one of two techniques, depletion or disruption.
Depletion was the process of systematically reducing each humor, in hopes that when the body restored
itself, it would do so in new, proper proportions. Shedding blood required only a lancet or a leech.
Expelling phlegm or the biles usually called for an aperients (mild laxatives), purgatives (strong
laxatives), clysters (enemas of liquid or smoke), nauseates, and vomitories (self-descriptive). When
those failed to work, the physicians moved on to disruption. This was based on the belief that the
"disorder" ofthe humors could only take one form at any given time and that the body could be
tricked into forcing out one malady by introducing another. That was the point of blistering. Seconddegree burns were inflicted on the skin, either with a hot poker, splashes of boiling water, or the
application of acids. The blisters would be left undressed for several days under the theory that the open
sores would bleed out some ofthe fluid.
Black slaves introduced into the Chesapeake a virulent form of malaria more deadly than
the strain that came with the early English immigrants. The Virginians called the disease ague, or "the
fever". It debilitated the victim, and left them susceptible to other diseases. Three groups were the
hardest hit: the new arrivals from England, children, and pregnant women. The result was a limited
growth in population. Symptoms lasted weeks, and cycled through a series of stages. The cold stage
resembles a person dying of exposure in the arctic: the teeth chatter, the limbs shake uncontrollably. The
fever stage is mercifully brief, usually lasting no more than a single day, but with temperatures that can
themselves be life-threatening. Brain-baking heights of 107 degrees Fahrenheit are not unusual. Then the much
awaited wet stage followed where the body begins to sweat profusely, rapidly plunging the temperature back
to normal range and leaving the sufferer almost motionless with exhaustion, but otherwise seemingly normal,
until the cycle begins anew.
The timing ofthe cycle is the key to identifying the malarial strain. If the Fever stage strikes
every third day, it is "Benign tertian" malaria; if every fourth day, "Benign quartan." In both cases, if the
patient can survive the systemic shocks and strains, he or she can hope to make a full recovery,
although they may be plagued by a lifetime of recurrences. But if the cycle is blurred, if the cold stage
is not quite so chilling, if the fever chooses not to make a grand exit, but remains a continuous,

56
intermittent presence there is cause for grave concern. If the wet stage never arrives at all, the malaria is
"malignant tertian," the most persistently lethal strain of all. Tobacco smoke and alcohol were uncertain
remedies.
A Virginia record in June 1766 gives a sense ofthe understanding of sickness. "My daughter
Judy went to a dance on the 17th of June, an improper time being her lunar period. It was very hot, and
the next day she came home very sick, but did not vomit and had no fever. Yesterday she came
downstairs hungry. I said she must take a vomit, and Tom, the house slave gave her three spoonfuls of
Ipeccacuana wine. She brought off much dark green bile. I gave her some thin broth to ease the passage
of the bile downward. She drank deer. She vomited both yellow and green bile. She was given a
clyster (medication by rectum) for no motion happened downwards. The clyster brought off nothing.
She has been obstinate and ungovernable the whole summer, eating late at night cucumbers and all sorts
of bilious trash."

57

CHAPTER 5 ABSALOM ADAMS

The Genweb Adams DNA surname study has a total of about 170 haplotype Adams names, the
majority being Rlblb2 Those people that share both a common surname and match all but two or three
ofthe markers are grouped into a group. We are Genweb Adams surname Y DNA project group 23, and
currently have fourteen members with a unique Y chromosome data value of 14 at marker 389B.
Several people in group 23 have well documented pedigrees linking them to the Northumberland
Adams brothers of 1657, and to John Adams, the carpenter, an early seventeenth century Virginian
who is discussed in chapter two. Using DNA evidence, it is now possible to connect Absalom
Adams to these Northumberland Adams. This branch ofthe Adams is unconnected to the New
England Adams or the president John Adams. In comparing the presidential John Adams with our
line, more than five markers mismatch, suggesting a very distant common ancestor in excess of two
thousand years.
Family Tree DNA was able to match the 25 marker Y-DNA haplotype globally. Five one
step matches were made, signifying a close relationship. All were in the British Isles, one in
Ireland, two in the United Kingdom, and three in England. This supports an English ancestry for
the Adams line. It is likely the group 23 Adams emigrated directly to Colonial Virginia from England. An
1891 study ofthe distribution of Adams surname found a high concentration in southern England as well as
a smaller section of northern England. Additionally, there is one individual bom in England who is a close
DNA match with the Adams group 23. Albert Adams was born July 25, 1843 in Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire, England. This individual is definitely connected by DNA, however there is no
pedigree connecting him to William or John Adams who were in the Northern Neck of Virginia
by 1654. As more English matches become available, the relationship with Gloucestershire,
England (map below) and group 23 will be more certain.

58

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1843, a n d is a close m a t c h w i t h D N A family 2 3 . T h i s 1746 m a p is f r o m T h e C o m p l e t e
English Traveler by Samuel Simpson.

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This is p a r t of a l a r g e r c h a r t of family 23 of the G e n w e b A d a m s S u r n a m e Y DNA P r o g r a m .

All six of t h e following m e n listed b e l o w a r e d e s c e n d e d f r o m D r W i l l i a m A d a m s o r his
b r o t h e r J o h n w h o a r r i v e d in t h e N o r t h e r n N e c k of V i r g i n i a in t h e e a r l y 1 6 5 0 ' s o r b e f o r e .

59

John Adams, the carpenter, born about 1645. More about him on page 25.

John " H o b b s " Adams, grandson of John Adams, the carpenter, son of George Adams,
was born about 1727 in Stafford County, Virginia, from which Prince William County was formed,
which then became Fairfax County in 1742. As one possibility, he is a cousin of Absolam Adams.
John Hobbs Adams and family left Loudoun County during and perhaps because ofthe Revolutionary
war, and settled in Wilkes County, where each son received land grants. The sons were John Jr. was
bom in 1747, Benjamin in 1749, Jacob in 1753, Spencer in 1759, and Frances, was bom in 1765. John
Hobbs Adams received lifetime leasehold of 100 acres in 1769 from Lord Thomas Fairfax, governor
of Colonial Virginia. He paid an annual rent of 40 shillings. In 1770 John Hobbs Adams was on
Powell's list with a Negro Ralph, two tithes and ten wolf scalps. Benjamin and Jacob served on
America's Continental line. In August of 1785 John Hobbs and wife Ann joined the South Fork
Roaring River Baptist Church

John Adams III, born after 1714 in Stafford County, son of John Adams Jr., grandson of
John Adams, born in 1689 of Northumberland county, and grandson of John the carpenter.

Absalom Adams, born before 1731, living at Prince William County by 1752. This is our
line, and there are two representatives: John C. Adams, and Loren Adams, both descendent of
Absalom and his son Feathergill Adams. There is no direct pedigree linking him to Dr. William
Adams or his brother John; however DNA evidence is convincing.

George Adams, grandson of John the Carpenter, son of John Adams, Jr., born about
1705. Represented by two individuals, the first listed above with descendent Isaac is a 23/24
match with Absolam Adams, born before 1731. As can be seen in the following chart, George
Adams father was John Adams Jr., born about 1687 in Northumberland, Virginia. As one
possibility, Absolam Adams is descended from John Adams Jr. or his brother Richard.

60

Ancestors of John Hobbs Adams

William
ADAMS, chiurgeon
John
ADAMS, carpenter
WILLIAM
d: Bef. 1677 in Northulmbertend County, Virginia

John
JR.
RICHARD
tt: Bef. 1680

DANIEL
b: Bef. l$84

WILLIAM
Gabriel
ADAMS
CATHERINE
SUSANNAH
b; Bef. 1700

BENJAMINE
KATHERINE

George
ADAMS
b: Abt. 1705

b: Att. 1714

William
ADAMS
Nipper
ADAMS
b : &?f. 1730

ELIZABETH
John Hobbs
ADAMS
b: Abt. 1727

Matthew
ADAMS
b : Bef. 1725

Abraham
ADAMS
Daniel Adams Goose
CREEK
George Jr
ADAMS
b: 1736

Jacob
ADAMS
b: 1739

Isaac Adams of Ashby's

GAP
b : 1741

C h a r t of John Adams, carpenter, George Adams, John Adams III, and John Hobbs Adams

61
Absalom Adams, our line, has no actual records tying him to the John Adams (the
carpenter) family, but there has long been a suspicion that he is connected to this Adams family ofthe
northern neck. He was found in Prince William county and Fauquier at a time when the John Adams Jr.
family was also living there. By this time the Northern Neck Adams had moved from small swampy
settlements to the Virginia Piedmont with gentle, rolling slopes covered with farms and plantations.
The Absalom Adams family also migrated through Culpeper County with Daniel Adams, ofthe
Northern neck family. The descendants of George Adams migrated with or settled near Absalom Adams
in Kentucky. George was a son of John Jr. who in turn was a son of John the carpenter. One possibility
is that Absalom is another son of John Jr. or his brother Richard. The families lived near each other and
intermarried later in Kentucky. Absalom granddaughter Judith Adams married Walter Adams, son of
Matthew Adams of Goose Creek.
The following two charts show how the earliest Adams of Northumberland connects to Absolam
Adams. Although the exact linage is debatable, DNA evidence is convincing.

Descendants of William Adams, surgeon

William

Adams

Richard

Absolam
Adams
1725-

Daniel

Gabriel

EBzabeth
FothergjU
-1790

Priscilla
Pearson

John
Hobbs

George

Matthew

John Adams
carpenter
1645-

Wiliiam

William

John
Jr.

George
Jr.

William

Frances

Catherine

Susannah
1700-

George

Absalom Adams in this diagram is descended from either Richard or John J r . , both
sons of John Adams, the carpenter.

62

Descendants of John Adams of Lancaster County

John Adams of Lancaster
County
1625James
Absolam
1725-

Feathergale
Adams
1755 -1807

Elizabeth (Betsy)
Smith
1760 -1803

Absolam
Adams
1782-

Abraham
Adams

EHzabcth
FoJhergjB
-1790

Daniel
Adams

Lake
Adams
1758-

Thorn

Thomas
Adams
1760-

Gavin
Adams

John.
Adams

Absalom Adams in this diagram is descended from J a m e s , a possible son or

grandson of John Adams of Lancaster County. John Adams was a neighbor of William
Feathergale (chapter seven). James Adams witnessed a 1701 land sale involving John Adams,
the carpenter.
Because it is not possible to identify exactly who Absalom Adams is descended from, two
possibilities are given. DNA evidence shows Absalom to be part ofthe Northern Neck Adams.
William Adams, chiurgeon, and John Adams of Lancaster County were likely brothers whose
earliest presence was in 1654 in Northumberland County.
Absalom Adams is the title of an unpublished manuscript by Kathryn Hutcherson
published in 1982, the product of forty years research. She used personal interviews, family
bibles, and many hand written family memoirs, which today are not accessible. We first
encounter Absalom as a member of a jury in a Prince William County (later Fauquier) jury in 1752,
indicating that he owned land there (along with the Northern Neck Adams), and was probably born
before 1731. Age 21 was the minimum to serve on a jury. No information has been found listing
Absalom as an orphan, apprentice, headright, receiving a land grant, or as an immigrant, thus his parents
likely were from Virginia.
In 1759 Absalom Adams signed a marriage record: quote "Absalom Adams and John
Hudnall are held and firmly bound to our Sovereign Lord King George the 2 n in the sum of 50
lbs current money, as Joseph Hudnall Jr. obtained license to marry Mary Taylor (spinster)".
Signed Joseph Hudnall, Absalom Adams X (his mark).

63
Because of the recurring first name Fothergill in later Adams, we assume it was
Elizabeth Fothergill who married Absalom Adams. The fact that her last name is in no
legal documents indicates that she herself did not own property.
Absalom and his wife Elizabeth lived in Fauquier County until 1775, when they bought
land near John Adams in Culpeper Co. This John Adams is not identified. He could be a brother
or son, or part ofthe Northern Neck Adams. The deed reports a price of 40 lbs of Virginia
money for 400 acres of land lying in the Little Fork ofthe Rappahannock River. The land had
been granted to James Spilman by Lord Fairfax, proprietor ofthe Northern Neck.
Absalom Adams is found in the 1783 poll tax for Culpeper, Virginia, listing three whites
and four slaves. His son Absalom is listed as single with one slave.
In 1790 Absalom Adams & wife Elizabeth sold this same land listed above in Culpeper
County Virginia to John Anderson. He and Elizabeth then moved to Lincoln County, KY
Quote: This indenture made Apr 20, 1790 between Absalom Adams and wife Elizabeth of
Culpeper Co. to John Anderson of same county for sum of 60 lbs. Current money of Virginia for tract
lying little Fork of Rappahannock River, being part of tract of 40 acres formerly granted to James
Spilman by the Right Honorable Lord Fairfax proprietor of then living in the Neck of Virginia and
bounded by the several courses by distances in acres of land sold by John Whiteside and wife Catherine
to John Adams by their certain indenture of bargain and sale appearing on the date of Nov. 18, 1772 and
recorded in the Culpeper Court (location is given) Pine comer ....ect.
Signed Absalom X (his mark) Adams
Elizabeth X (her mark) Adams
In the Culpeper county list of delinquent taxes for the 1787 -1790 are listed Absalom
Adams Sr., John Adams, son Gavin Adams, and son Absalom Adams Jr. All have gone to
Kentucky. Gavin /Gowen Adams received a land grant of 400 acres located on the north fork of
Licking Creek on January 29, 1789, an awarded for his service in the Virginia militia during the
French and Indian War. Gavin Adams is listed early on at Shelby county Kentucky, then Henry
county Kentucky and later in Indiana where his revolutionary war pension application states he
was born in 1762 in Fauquier County, Virginia.
In the Virginia state library, a listing on August 18, 1781 for a gun for public service
from Absalom Adams. On June 16, 1783, Absalom Adams makes claim for payment of a
smooth born gun impressed on August 1781 for the use ofthe Culpeper county militia. This was
validated. Absalom Adams Sr. last appears in the Lincoln County census in 1800. Neither
Absalom nor Elizabeth is listed in the census for 1810.

64

CHAPTER 6 1790 AND 1800 KENTUCKY CENSUS,

ANCESTOR CHARTS
1790 census of Madison county Kentucky
The date indicates when the census was taken
Elizabeth Adams 4 - 2 1 - 1789 - widow of Matthew Adams Sr, who died in Rowan county in
1781. Note that Absalom Sr. is alive.
Feathergale Adams 4 -22-1789- son of Absalom
Walter Adams 4 -18- 1789 -the son of Walter Adams and Elizabeth. He married Chloe
Adams, the daughter of Abraham Adams. Matthew's brother Luke also had a son Walter,
born ca 1780 who married Feathergale's daughter Judith.
Matthew Adams 4 -7 1789 is likely Matthew Adams Jr., who married into the Owsley
family. His is shown on the John Hobbs Adams chart, above.
George Adams 3-14 -1789. This could be either George Jr. of Goose Creek, or George
Adams the son of John Adams III, both of whom disappear early from the Virginia records.
George Adams, son of Daniel (Abraham's son) was in North Carolina, and George Adams, son
of Matthew was only age 9. This relationship can be seen on the ancestors of John Hobbs Adams
chart, above.
James Adams 3 -14 -1789 The eldest child of Absalom Adams Jr. was James.
John Adams 3 -14 -1789 possible brother or son of Absalom

The 1800 Kentucky census

A b r a h a m Adams Madison county KY 8-12 -1800. This is one ofthe Goose Creek Adams,
born between 1725 and 1731, wife Triphena, nephew Walter, and son of Matthew
Absalom Adams Sr Lincoln county KY 8-23-1800 last census appearance of Absalom Sr.
Absalom Adams Harrison county KY 1800. Son of William Adams and wife Sarah,
grandson of John Adams III. He was born about 1765
Capt Absalom Adams Fayette county KY 11 -17 -1800. Son of Absalom Sr

65

Feathergale Adams Garrard county KY 8 -6 -1800. Son of Absalom Sr.

James Adams Garrard county KY 8-6-1800 son? of Absalom Adams Jr.
George Adams Madison County KY 8-6-1800. He married Elizabeth Adams, his cousin.
George is the son of Daniel Adams, married to Isabella Wilcoxsen. Daniel was the son of
Abraham Adams, of Goose Creek, and Tryphena Adams. George was named in the estate of
his grandfather Abraham, when he and Elizabeth were in Garrard County.
Major George Adams Garrard county KY 8-6-1800. As one possibility, this could be
George Adams Jr., brother of Abraham Adams. As evidence his original land was adjacent to
James Brooks, an orphan boy assigned to Abraham Adams at Dettingen Parish ca 1757. He is
likely the George Adams who received a land grant on Paint Lick Creek as early as 1785. In the
1800 upper district taxpayers he is listed on Paint Lick with 700 acres and six Blacks. He
claimed land at Logan's Fort. He fought in the war of 1812 in the Ohio campaign.
Luke Adams Garrard County Kentucky 8-6-1800 - Eldest son of Matthew Adams and
wife Elizabeth, confirmed by Matthew's will and land transactions with his son Walter.
Robert Adams Garrard County KY 8-6-1800

-Son of Absalom Sr.

William Adams Lincoln County KY 8-25-1800

William Adams Madison county KY 10-1-1800

66
Ancestors of Joh:
k

ck) Adams

Feathergill
ADAMS
b: February 04, 17SS
d: November 09, 1807 in Garrard, KY

Absalom
ADAMS
b; 1748

Abraham
ADAMS
Daniel
ADAMS
Luke
ADAMS
* 17S8

Thomas
ADAMS
b: February 1760

Gavin
ADAMS
John
ADAMS

John B. (Jack)
ADAMS
b: April 27, 1791 in Sugar Greek, Madison KY
m: May OS, 1812 in Gemsrti. Co. KY
d: Abt 1870 in Rsxkastie, KY

Nancy Anne
ADAMS
Margaret (Peggy)
ADAMS
b: 1 775

Elizabeth
ADAMS
b: 1778

Virginia
ADAMS
b: 1780

Judith
ADAMS
b: 1783

Absalom
ADAMS
Mary (Pally)
ADAMS
b; 1787

Katherine
ADAMS
b: 17S9

Martha
ADAMS
b: 1793

William (Devil Bil

b. 1776

NAHCY ELIZABETH (BETY5Y) SMITH

BORN ABOUT 1760 IN VIRGINIA
DID ABOUT 1803 IN GARRARD COUNTY, KENTUCKY

67

Ancestors of William Johnson Adams

Absalom
ADAMS
b: Abt. 1 7 2 5
d : in Virginia

Feathergill
ADAMS
b: February 04, 1 7 5 5
d : November 09, 1 8 0 7 in Garrard, KY

Elizabeth
FOTHERGILL
John B. (Jack)
ADAMS
b : A\pri! 27, 1791 in Sugar Creek, Madison KY
m : May 05, 1812 in Garrard, Co. KY
d : Abt. 1870 in Rockcastle, KY

Weyden (William)
SMITH
b : Abt. 1 7 4 0 in Fauquier, Virginia
d : Sef. March 2 1 , 1821 in Lincoln, KY

Nancy Elizabeth ( B e t s y )
SMITH
b : Abt. 1760 in Virginia
d : Abt. 1803 in Garrard, KY

Frederick Feathergill
ADAMS

__ PEGGY
b : Abt. 1745 in Culpepper, Virginia
d : Aft. July 09, 1821

b: November 23, 1814 in KY

m : May 15, 1838 in Bath Co. KY
d : April 0 1 , 1890 in Dover, Ky (Mason County)

William
SAMPSON
b: November 0 4 , 1765 in Goochland Co. VA
d : November 04, 1833 in Lincoln Co,. KY

Mary Catherine
SAMPSON
b: 1793 in Virginia
d : 1862 in Uncoln Co. KY

Robert
POVALL I I I
b : July 03, 1732 In Henrico, VA
d : March 02, 1767 in Henrico, VA

Elizabeth Povail
PERVALL
b: 1765 in VA
d : May 3 1 , 1787 in Henrico, VA

W i n i f r e d James
MILLER
b : May 2 2 , 1743 in Goochland, VA

William Johnson
ADAMS
b : Auaust 10. 184S in Dover. K v (Mason County)

68

CHAPTER 7 CHILDREN OF ABSALOM ADAMS

Descendants ofAbsalom Adams

Absalom
Adams
1725-

Elizabeth
FothergiH
-1790

Feathergale
Adams
1755-1807

Following is a summary ofthe Hutcherson book, which is divided into six chapters,
including one for each of five sons. There are no recorded daughters of A b s a l o m . Absalom and
Elizabeth had nine children:

John Adams, listed in the 1790 Madison County, Kentucky census, his relationship is uncertain

Feathergale Adams, born February 4, 1755, and married Elizabeth Smith. Feathergale is
continued below.

Daniel Adams, married Amelia Hiatt, died before May 1850, Lincoln KY. His will is dated May
8, 1849

Luke Adams, born about 1757, was Absalom Adams and Elizabeth's second child. He
farmed on Sugar Creek, Madison County, Kentucky and later lived in Garrard County Kentucky.
Luke married Sophina Thorn. Luke's first son was Reuben Adams, who married Mary "Polly"
Adams (daughter of Feathergale Adams and Elizabeth Smith). Reuben and Polly Adams had
eleven children. Reuben was a farmer and physician. He moved from New Liberty Kentucky to
New Bethel, Indiana. He cleared land, and built a log cabin. While traveling north, it was
necessary to cut trees to find his way home. He became wet, caught cold, and died within six

69
months, leaving his wife to raise their eleven children. Walter was the second son, born in 1778
in Montgomery, Virginia. He died August 3, 1825 in Garrard, Kentucky. Walter married his
cousin Judith Adams, daughter of Feathergale Adams and Nancy Smith. Walter had eleven
children. Other sons were Daniel, John (married Susannah Childers), and Abraham.

A b r a h a m , Absalom and Elizabeth's third child was born on David's fork in Fayette
county Kentucky in 1797. Abraham had a son Absalom, who preached for Lancaster Christian
church 20 years. This Absalom died 1879 in Lancaster Kentucky. Abraham Adams was among the
very first members ofthe Three Forks Baptist church in Rowan County.

Thomas, born Feb 10, 1760 in Fauquier County was the fourth child of Absalom
Adams and wife Elizabeth. He served three years in the revolutionary war, and died in Madison
county Kentucky in 1821; his will is dated April 4, 1821, in Madison County

Absalom J r . was born about 1748 in Virginia, and died in Fayette County in 1823. He
was the fifth child of Absalom Adams and wife Elizabeth. He was a member ofthe Elkhorn Church
in Fayette County. By 1797 he owned land on the David's Fork ofthe Elkhorn Creek in Fayette County
Kentucky. He paid $457 for one Negro man. He had nine children, including Absalom III who was
born in 1784 and died October 15, 1849. The other children were Reuben, James, Jephtha,
Elizabeth (married Middleton Estes), Sally (married Benjamin Kemper), Frankie (married
Benjamin Davis), and Polly (married Henry Perry). Sally Kemper Adams had 18 children.
Katherine Hutcherson in her later years with much emotion visited the Absalom Jr. Grave site.
She had placed an advertisement in the Lexington Herald paper, which got a response from a
family who lived in Jackson County, near the tombstone.

Gavin Adams, seventh son of Absalom and Elizabeth, is listed early on at Shelby county
Kentucky, then at Henry county Kentucky and later in Indiana where his revolutionary war
pension application states he was born in 1762 in Fauquier County, Virginia.

70

CHAPTER 8 FEATHERGALE ADAMS

Feathergale Adams was born in Fauquier County on 1755 and married Nancy Elizabeth Smith
of Bedford County, Virginia in 1771. She is not mentioned in his will of 1807. She is the daughter of
William and Peggy Smith of Lincoln County, Kentucky. Two of Feathergale Adams' sons gave the
name of Smith to their sons: William "Devil Bill" Adams named his first son Smith Adams, and John
named his second son Smith Adams.

William Smith died in 1821, leaving his nine slaves to the heirs

of Nancy Ball, ( daughter of William and Peggy), Reuben (son of William) Smith, and the heirs of
Feathergale Adams, who received one Negro woman Isabel, worth $450, one Negro boy Anthony, $75,
and one young Negro woman Barbary, worth $450.
On August 9, 1774, in Fauquier Virginia, Feathergale leased land for one shilling per acre and
was required to build a house 16 feet square. In 1775 Feathergale served as a Waggoner in the
Revolutionary War (militia of Fauquier County). On September 2, Feathergale was for hire in the
militia. From September 10 until November 9 he was in the militia assigned to Elian Edmond. On
March 25, 1782, Fethergale waggoning was valued at 36S 12P.
In about 1782, Feathergale moved to Madison County, Virginia, which later became part
of Kentucky. Feathergale is listed on several deeds and tax records in Virginia until 1789, even
though he had moved to Kentucky.
Feathergale Adams lived in Montgomery county Virginia in 1782 on the south side of New
River near the mouth of Reed Island Creek, where William Smith lived in 1789. The Montgomery
County deed book of 1784 (Oct 25) shows an indenture between James Grey and Feathergale (listed as a
planter) for $140 of good and lawful money ofthe commonwealth of Virginia. Feathergale received
600 acres of land in Montgomery County on the south side of New River, near the mouth of Reed Island
Creek. On April 1, 1785 Feathergale bought land in Montgomery County on big reed island at the mouth
of Greasy Creek. Feathergale sold the same land in 1788 for $150. Feathergale moved to Sugar Creek
April 22, 1789. This was in Madison county Kentucky which became Garrard County in 1796. Garrard
County was formed from Lincoln, Mercer, and Madison Counties. The first deed recorded was for
land purchased by Feathergale from Moses Dooley. Feathergale Adams and his brother Robert were
listed on the 1800 census for Garrard County. The census was taken on August 6, 1800 and on
the same date are also listed James, George Jr., John, Luke, and Maj. George Adams. These are

71
names ofthe Northern Neck Adams. Weedon (William) Smith, whose daughter Elizabeth
married Feathergale, was in Garrard county between 1783 and 1800. William Smith had the
following Children: Reuben Smith died in 1815, Nancy Smith (married John Ball), and
Elizabeth Smith (married Feathergale Adams).
In 1790 Feathergale was licensed as a Baptist preacher to perform marriages.
Feathergale was also a distiller, and in his estate is listed the big and little still, tubs, casks, and
smokehouse. The process of making bourbon whisky is credited to Elijah Craig, a Baptist
preacher. The standard bourbon must be produced from at least 5 1 % corn, be no more than 160
proof, and be aged in charred oak barrels that cannot be used again. As early as 1790 some
Kentuckians became bootleggers, avoiding a federal whiskey tax. It became a portable way to
get their corn product to market. In 1797 Feathergale was appointed the guardian for orphans of
Garrard County, and in 1798 he was appointed justice ofthe peace. On March 3, 1798
Feathergale Adams received land in the Rye Cove, which is directly on the Little Moccasin
Trail, later to known as the Daniel Boone Trail to the Wilderness. Feathergale is listed in the
lower district of 1800 taxpayers in Garrard County with 223 acres, eight horses, and two Blacks.
Feathergale suffered a stroke while preaching on his pulpit on November 8, 1807. He
made his will that night and died the next day. The estate of Feathergale named his daughter
Judith and her husband Walter (son of Luke Adams) as heirs. It also names Reuben, his nephew,
who married his daughter Polly. Feathergale's son John (Jack) received a mare, colt, bed,
furniture, a suit of clothes, a new saddle and bridle, provisions for himself and his horses for one
year and $100. Patsy received a brown mare, furniture, $100, a suit of clothes, and provisions
for one year. John and Patsy were to live with their sister Judy. Not mentioned are children
Nancy, Kate, Absalom, Jennie, Betsy, and William. The balance ofthe estate was to be divided
between these children and the children of his daughter Peggy. Feathergale had four slaves.
John inherited the Negro boy Hara, Patsy the Negro girl Betty, Polly the Negro boy Isam, and
Juda inherited the Negro Sarah, but "I want Sarah to go to Juda at a good price and I think Sarah
is worth one hundred pounds."
Feathergale is buried in the Walter Adams cemetery on property he owned near the
Buckeye Road, west ofthe old Antioch church in Garrard County, KY. Others buried in this
cemetery include his wife, Elizabeth (Smith) and four daughters: Margaret (Peggy) Brown,
Elizabeth (Betsy) Hugison, Virginia (Jenny) Smith and Judith (Juda), the wife of Walter Adams.

72

Garrard County topography map (not to scale). On the NE section is the 382 acres of land on
Sugar Creek that Feathergale purchased from Moses Dooley and others. The cross on the right
middle marks the original home of Feathergale and the Adams Cemetery where Feathergale and his
wife Nancy Smith are buried, along with four of his daughters. In 1816 his heirs deeded 180 acres to
Absolam Adams, 95 acres to John Hutcherson, and 107 acres to Walter.

73

William Adams, son of Feathergale, moved to Barren County and was a preacher. A
nephew, Absalom, son of Abraham of David's Fork in Fayette County preached for the
Lancaster Christian Church for twenty years. The family bible of Feathergale Adams was taken
to Braddock, North Dakota by Willis Adams, Jr., and was owned by Smith Engleman.
There was a sale of property that belonged to the estate of Feathergale Adams. On Oct
15, 1817, John Hutcherson bought for $700 current money of Kentucky 95 acres on Sugar
Creek. The following signed the deed: Walter and Judith Adams, Thomas and Caty Brown,
William and Rebecca Adams, John Adams, Polly Adams, Abraham Adams, John and Patsy
Ratcliff, David, Elizabeth, Betsy, and Polly Ratcliff, Reuben Adams, and Polly Adams

BAPTIST CHURCH HISTORY

Feathergale Adams left no diary, however one does exist for another Baptist minister
John Taylor who came to Fauquier in 1779 and gave the following account: The travel from
Virginia was very rugged, and it was three months until he arrived at Craig Station. His wife
was in a helpless state. He built a sixteen foot square cabin, with a natural earth floor, no table,
bedstead, or stool. After much hard labor he had cleared twenty acres, built a fence, and planted
corn, which he sold to his neighbors. The corn had to be ground using mortars made out of logs
stood on end. The pestle was an iron wedge which beat the corn into hominy or meal. He had
brought two sows, and that fall butchered a thousand pounds of pork. He held Sunday sermons
in his house. Baptists were suspicious of any salaried minister, but did give him a reasonable
support in the form of a subscription for basic support of food, whiskey, and some cash. This
likely was the beginning ofthe present day New Antioch Christian Church.
Because the clergy ofthe Congregational, Episcopal, and Presbyterian churches in
Virginia received a subsidized income from the Virginia government prior to 1776, many
Baptists fled to Kentucky to avoid unfair taxes. The Baptists disapproved ofthe heavy drinking
and corruption common in the clergy. The Baptist followers were heavily taxed, some receiving
whippings, imprisonment, and time in stocks, giving more incentive to move to Kentucky. As a
result there was organized the South Spotsylvania Church of Baptists. Led by Elijah Craig, they

74
migrated out of Virginia with over 600 families. At the time Craig was likened to Moses. He
founded the Elkhorn Creek Church where later Absalom Adams Jr. worshiped. During the first
years, there were no church houses in the Sugar Creek area, and the preachers rode a circuit,
preaching at private homes. In 1790 Feathergale bought 250 acres of land on Sugar Creek near
Buckeye Road. This was then called Madison County, but later renamed Garrard County.
Others at Sugar Creek were Weedon Smith, father of Elizabeth. John Adams is listed as an early
settler nearby in Paint Lick. In 1792 Feathergale built a mill below the Antioch church (east fork
of Sugar creek). Here he built the old Adams meeting house, near road KY39, where he
preached for the remainder of his life.
The establishment of a church was an important milestone in the development of any
town, giving a sense of establishment. The Baptist church appealed to frontier people, who
opposed the established churches and wanted freedom for their interpretation ofthe Bible. The
Baptists were a plain people. The preachers were almost entirely laymen without formal
training. When an individual had a call from God to preach, he made it known to the
congregation and delivered a trial sermon. This must have been an agonizing experience for the
untutored and inarticulate speaker.
Religion had low importance to many in early Kentucky, as most settlers were occupied with
survival. Most were living beyond the reach of a church. Presbyterian minister James McGready
complained that people were concerned with material wealth. "All the conversation is of corn,
tobacco, or land, but for them the name of Jesus has no charm, and is rarely mentioned unless to be
profaned." The Baptists were the largest and earliest denomination. Catholics were numerous in
several Kentucky communities; the first priest was sent in 1793.

75

Lithograph of an early nineteenth century Kentucky Christian revival

It is significant that Kentucky, with its isolation and secular nature, was the center of
the Second Great Awakening. It was fertile ground with many settlers waiting conversion, which
Elijah Craig and Feathergill Adams passionately attempted. The year 1800 witnessed the biggest
Christian revival in memory. At Cane Ridge in Bourbon County, 20,000 people converged. It
reminded some of downtown Philadelphia with the roar of Niagara Falls. It was ecumenical,
interracial, and included Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist preachers. Some worshipers were
seized by the "holy jerks", and others went into trances. The Presbyterians as a group saw no
manifestation ofthe Holy Spirit in this "irrational" behavior, and dissociated themselves.

Many

ofthe new converts relapsed, some even before the close ofthe revival meeting; it was
necessary to patrol the grounds at night and segregate "sleeping" men and women. The leaders
charged that more souls were being made than saved. The Elkhorn Baptist Association
documented more excommunications than baptisms. One church reported only three new
converts of good report. The rest had in various ways "turned back like a dog to his vomit". Yet
evangelical churches had firmly established themselves. By the time the Great Revival had run
its course in 1805, evangelical churches had become a lasting influence in the South, and helped
shape moral attitudes. In 1811 there was a great earthquake that terrified Kentuckians that the
end ofthe world was near. The result was a renewal of religious enthusiasm. In a male culture
that emphasized toughness over tenderness, men were more likely to be excluded. The

76
following two years witnessed exclusions for absence from church, betting, dancing, drinking,
swearing, fighting, fornication and immoral conduct that outnumbered baptisms three to one.
Baptists and Methodists gained converts at the expense of Presbyterians, and their Kentucky
ranks grew tenfold during the first two decades ofthe nineteenth century. The most often cited
reason at the time for Presbyterian defections was the Calvinist dogma that salvation ofthe nonelect was impossible.
In the years after the Great Revival of 1800, no issue was a divisive for Kentucky
Baptists as slavery. An example the Baptists Forks ofthe Elkhorn Church was split, the
majority was not antislavery. This was a shift from the founding principles of 1792 declaring
slavery inconsistent with the principles of Christianity. The minority antislavery individuals
were permitted to speak their views, but in 1805 there was a backlash against antislavery
agitation. The ministers were not to "meddle with emancipation from slavery", a subject that has
"nothing to do with their religious capacities". Those preachers that did not heed this warning
were expelled. The Methodists at their 1816 general conference, while still damning slavery as
"contrary to the principles of moral justice", conceded that little can be done to abolish the
practice.

77

CHAPTER 9 ADAMS FROM VIRGINIA TO KENTUCKY

MM

i'

Louisiana, which included the Kentucky frontier, was once owned by the French.

i
:*
\C

Fincastle County, Virginia was organized into Kentucky in 1775. Lincoln County
was formed in 1780; the 1789 census lists Absolam Adams and his son Feathergale as well
as George and Matthew Adams, descendents of John Adams, the carpenter.

78

r t h

of

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I:;''".-K ; "r.;.'"/^

^1

k.k

mm
M222:'

tlfc,;,.:.:

LINCOLN

The Cumberland Gap was a possible route of Feathergale to C r a b O r c h a r d in 1789.

Kentucky was hundreds of miles from Virginia, where the best land was taken, and had to
be reached in one perilous move. The hope was that families could find adequate land for
their many children. By leaving Virginia, the women were losing their extended family and
neighbors. The population of Kentucky exploded in the late 1700's. .

Despite the dangers from Indians that at times threatened to eliminate the early Kentucky settlements, the population of settlers increased substantially during the years ofthe American Revolution.
Virginia paid its soldiers with military land warrants, with the amount of land awarded depending upon a
soldier's rank and length of service. Discharged soldiers and their families thus increased the ranks of
immigration into Kentucky. Some observers believed that the population may have doubled in 1784, the
first year in which Kentucky farmers produced large surplus crops. By 1800 the original nine counties of
1792 had increased to forty, and the population was 221,000. By 1810, the population was 406,509,
more than half of the population was of English origin, and most had recently come to Kentucky.
The percentage of slaves remained stable at about twenty percent. After 1820 the good land in
Kentucky had been taken and more people left the state than came. In 1819 the nation
experienced its worse panic, and the depression lasted several years. Many Kentuckians were
lured into land speculation, and were overextended when prices fell. Many had squatters' claims
without legal basis. One disgruntled Kentuckian complained, "Who buys land there, buys a
lawsuit". Land was usually poorly surveyed and referenced to as natural features.

79

Cumberland
Gap

C r a b O r c h a r d , near the home of Feathergale Adams, was a main site on the

Cumberland Gap road, and was used as an assembly point for people continuing north. It
was safer to travel in a group and avoid Indians and outlaws. The first real surge of settlers to
Kentucky came after Colonel Clark's successful Indian campaign of 1778-79 which seemed to
promise greater security.

80

\ \

\/*i*

MWr

..

'

Y~V>7
7 * vu

'"5'

G a r r a r d County, home of Feathergale Adams, was formed in 1797 from Lincoln,

Mercer, and Madison Counties.
Feathergale Adams moved to Sugar Creek in 1782, which by 1789 was in Garrard County.
Forrest Calico describes a beautiful county of oaks, chestnut, walnut, red bud, hickory, maple,
willow, and persimmon trees with bear, buffalo, elk, wildcats, and deer.

Important events from Forrest Calico's book of Garrard County

The first white women in Garrard County were the wives and daughters of Daniel Boone,
Richard Hogan, and Thomas Denton.

In April 1775 John Floyd surveyed Garrard County, and was later killed by Indians.

In 1779 Virginia passed a statute that allowed every settler who raised a crop before 1778 to
400 acres of land at $2.25, and additional 1000 acres at $40.

1780 was one ofthe busiest years for land settlement; it was also one with the most danger
from Indians.

Early settlers at Paint Lick as early as 1783 included John Adams

Feathergale Adams is listed on Sugar Creek in 1782

In 1783 George Adams secured a Virginia land grant of 400 acres on Paint Lick Creek. This
is likely the same Major George Adams found in the 1800 Garrard County, Kentucky census.

In January 1791 the road opened from Feathergale Adams' mill, located below the Old
Antioch Church, to the Lincoln County line. It intersected the Sugar Creek road.

In 1791 George Adams was one of the justices in the trial of Bartholomew Fenton, who was
cleared ofthe murder of a Negro woman named Jude

The first slave was emancipated by Thomas Owsley in 1798

Tobacco was grown in Garrard County in 1798. There was a superior variety known as the
"old Sugar Creek Tobacco", finding a good market in England. Production increased from 43,000
pounds in 1880 to 3.5 million pounds in 1889.

Divorces could not be obtained in the state until 1809

Wolf scalps paid a bounty as late as 1810

The court ordered Franklin lightening roads to be put on the courthouse in 1818

The first poorhouse was built in 1831

In 1836 typhoid fever struck Lancaster, and was called Lancaster fever

The old Republican church was so named because it was free and opens to all except
Catholics and Shaking Quakers.

The first celebration of Thanksgiving Day was in 1844.

82

There were separate churches for Negroes. After the Civil War, some had "gone off, meaning
they were set free. Some were "sent off, or sold before the close ofthe war. Some were "dismissed",
and left with their owners. Under "gone off is a Negro Chany listed with owner Adams
In the Company E. 3rd Kentucky Calvary, South is listed Captain Jack W. Adams. He is the only
Adams listed for either side. Garrard County was predominately Union, at a ratio of three to one. Most
ofthe citizens owned no slaves, and few believed in the right of secession. There was an antislavery
movement lead by Carter Tarrant, Baptist, together with David Rice, Presbyterian.
The first and only railroad began in 1867

The Ku-Klux outraged in 1870 to 1875 resulted in several murders and that required
President Grant to send troops.

In 1873 a cholera epidemic struck Garrard

83

CHAPTER 10 EARLY KENTUCKY H O M E

Feathergale likely chose a spot close to a creek to build his house. His neighbors brought
their tools and oxen and dragged logs to erect a cabin, which could be done in a single day.
Boards for the roof were split to a length of three feet with a tool called a frow. "Carry a corner"
is an expression for notching and fitting together the logs on the four corners ofthe cabin.
Chimneys were made of sticks and mud, with native stone used for the hearth. A pounded clay
floor was used until a floor of heavy wooden slabs could be split and smoothed. The cracks were
filled with small stones and plastered over with blue clay. When finished, the housewarming
lasted all night with food and dancing. Cabins were built in groups called stations for protection
from Indians; the last attack was in 1793 in Garrard County. Furniture was a crude table of split
logs, a few shelves, and a bed built on poles in the corner. A few cooking utensils consisted of a
skillet, pot, teakettle, platters, and wooden utensils. Buffalo hides were used for bedcovers. In
early spring the sap ofthe sugar tree was gathered and boiled; it was the only sweetening they
had. A garden with pumpkins, beans, squash, potatoes, cabbage, and turnips were harvested and
dried and stored for the winter. Pork was smoked and salted to keep out worms. A vegetable
garden was a woman's domain. They also spun, wove, and knitted cloth made with thread woven
at home on a spinning wheel. Yarn was dyed with juices from tree bark and berries, Flax and
wool were woven together on a loom into "linsey-woolsey". Hemp made a coarser cloth for
men's shirts and breeches. Wool was used to make Sunday pants and coats, and was stained
brown with the juice ofthe walnut. Linen was beaten and spun and made into sheets and
underclothing. Every girl was taught to spin, weave, and knit.

JAA home in the Kentucky wilderness

84

Cooking was done in an open fireplace using a Dutch oven, skillets, and an iron pot.

Those who grew up on a farm can identify with the hard work involved. The farm was a
small factory, with most of its output consumed within the family. Kentucky families lived
almost self-sufficient lives. Men cleared the forests. In Kentucky this commonly was done by
girdling the tree. Men also worked in the fields, tanned leather, made shoes, harnesses, and
saddles. They hunted and fished. They made furniture and barrels. As in earlier times, people
washed with homemade lye soap made from fat waste, wood ashes, and water. Water had to be
carried by hand. Surplus products were bartered for salt and tools. Diversity in products made
the farm more self sufficient. Corn was the ideal crop for subsistence farming. It could be
planted in unplowed ground and used to feed both people and livestock. It was easier to gather
and store than small grains. Beans, pumpkins, and melons could be grown among the corn. The
money crop was hemp or tobacco. Apple and peach trees were planted as soon as possible. A
barn was required for protection against weather and wolves. Fences had to be built to keep
animals out and livestock at home. Hogs, the most common animal, were often allowed to run
wild. They supplied a major part of a family's diet, and cured hams and bacon could be sold. Salt
would keep the animals close to home. With cool weather came hog butchering, and the
neighbors helped one another.
For all the family, a trip to the county store was a central part of people's lives. From
coffee to candy, harnesses to stoves, the store had a little of everything. Men needed a plow, ax,
hoe, and sickle; women needed a churn, spinning wheel, skillet, and scissors. It functioned as
grocery, clothing store, post office, and hardware store. People could barter eggs for sardines,

85
mail packages, and trade gossip. The pot-bellied stove was near the rocking chair and spittoon.
As mail-order houses offered free delivery after 1901, and stores declined.
Children worked from an early age. Girls helped their mothers and learned household
skills, gathered the chicken eggs, milked the cows churned butter, and rolled candles. They
often married at an early age. Courtships were brief, as were periods of mourning for widows. A
circuit minister might preach a funeral sermon, followed by a wedding ceremony for the
surviving spouse before riding on to the next town. Weddings were an excuse for the frontier
settlers to have fun erecting a house for the newlyweds. The daughter of a lower-class family
could look forward to little education, hard work, and marriage with a child on average every
two years. Divorce was difficult; the burden of proof was on the woman. Women rarely left
accounts of their lives in public records, and remain vague figures in the background. Sons were
bound to the family farm until they were twenty-one years old.
The first settlers in Garrard included surveyors, lawyers, and ministers who were better
educated than the succeeding generation. In the backwoods of Kentucky there were few
teachers, schools, and books. It was an era that practiced good handwriting and oral reading.
Most Kentuckians saw no need for education beyond the basics of reading, writing, and
arithmetic. School was a luxury in the frontier days when the children were needed to work. They
saw no need for more than the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. It was not supported by the
government because of cost. A survey in 1832 showed only one quarter ofthe 140,000 children
attended any school. Only small progress was made until after the Civil War.
People looked to themselves for entertainment. They told stories, sang songs, or listened to
banjo, fiddle, or perhaps piano music. Reading aloud was popular in some homes. Kentuckians
played cards and board games like checkers. Visiting neighbors, walking in the forest, or picking
dogwood blossoms were slow-paced pleasures. Cooperative work in barn raising and corn husking
provided a social opportunity on an isolated farm. A lavish meal and a jug or two was set out.
Fiddles were used for the square dancing afterwards. Men would have shooting or wrestling
contests, and the women had quilting parties and apple peelings. Crab Orchard Springs was a spa
that had spacious hotels, dining, and ballrooms. Outside, horseback rides, walks in the woods, or
visits to the mineral water appealed to the visitor.
Ten hours of work a day, six days a week was the norm. Most families lived in simple
houses and worked to produce most of what they consumed. Wages, good by European standards,

86
were far from generous when the cost of living was factored in. Food, clothing and shelter took
eighty percent or more of a worker's wages. Average unskilled laborers got seventy-five cents a day
in the early part ofthe century, and frontier farmers paid workers even less for the back-breaking
work of clearing the land. Slaves hired out got comparable wages.
Slavery was the most contentious problem in the beginning of Kentucky's statehood.
Thomas Hart, one ofthe Transylvania partners, had misgivings about transporting his slaves to
Kentucky, then a dangerous place. He justified the danger because his slaves smoothed the way for
his family. Henry Clay was another slave-owner who championed the emancipation of slaves. He
married the daughter of Thomas Hart, and later possessed 10,000 acres and fourteen slaves. He lived
outside Lexington in a fine brick mansion, and called his plantation Ashland. For more than a
decade starting in 1816 Clay was chairman ofthe American Colonization Society. Their aim was to
compensate slave-owners, and deport all free blacks to Africa. There was an absence of antislavery
protest, and emancipation was abandoned. The majority at the 1792 constitutional convention was
slave-owners, and the antislavery measure was defeated. There was a solid majority of Kentucky
voters against slavery, but again in 1799 the constitution protected slavery. Reverend David Rice, a
Presbyterian minister and slave owner, was a champion of emancipation. His convictions were
defeated by divisions within the churches. After years of debate, Methodists, Baptists, and
Presbyterians backed away from their early antislavery positions with hand-wringing statements
characterizing slavery as a "moral dilemma." The Baptists stated a historic commitment to the
separation of church and state. During the 1790's the number of slaves in Kentucky increased four
fold, more than the three fold increase in the white population. Still, only one in four households
was slave owners. Farmers who could not afford a slave could rent them seasonally. Renting slaves
was acceptable to some antislavery men. The price of slaves nearly doubled in a decade, making
slaves a major part of a family's net worth. Some slave owners took advantage ofthe price increase
and sold their slaves. Slaves were sometimes part of an inheritance, which might lead to the
breakup of the slave family.
Kentucky had brief economic boom after the end ofthe War of 1812. Tobacco was a
medium of exchange, as money was scarce. A shipping point at the mouth of Sugar Creek,
Quantico, was built in 1789. Prices were good and manufacturing increased, including iron
furnaces and textile mills. Much ofthe expansion was based on credit. In 1818 the state charted
forty-six banks. The easy credit created a speculative boom that crashed in the Panic of 1819, the

87
worst that the nation had experienced. Products could not be sold at any price; milk cows were
selling for a dollar. Following another period of expansion, there was a severe panic in 1837 which
lasted until 1840. By the end ofthe 1840's railroads were competing with steamboats and turnpike
roads. Kentucky had the most miles of navigable water of any adjacent state. Steamboats were
modified with an engine for each paddlewheel, and drew less than a foot of water. One captain
boasted that he could take his boat anywhere that had had heavy dew. Steamboats allowed
transportation to interior towns. By 1849 Kentucky had invested $2.7 million in 775 miles of hardsurfaced roads. The L&N railroad was completed in 1859 at a cost often million dollars, and
covered 185 miles in ten hours, about one-third the time taken by a stagecoach. The 1850's were a
time of rapid agricultural growth, and among the fifteen slaves states, Kentucky ranked first in the
production of rye, barley, horses, and second in hemp, tobacco, corn, and wheat. In 1859 Kentucky
produced one hundred million pounds of tobacco, a quarter ofthe nation's total production.
In 1910 only thirteen cities in Kentucky had more than six thousand people. Louisville, a
relatively large town, was described in the 1880s as a place where hogs roamed the streets, and only
the business section had sidewalks. People there carried lanterns after dark on the dusty or muddy
walkways, and from the 1880's until 1920 women wore long dresses to the ankles, as exposed
ankles were scandalous. They wore tight corsets, heavy skirts, and high-top shoes. Men wore hot
collars and cuffs, watch fobs, and a derby hat.
Drinking had long marked the daily routines of work and the celebration of most public and
professional events. Federalist Jurist Samuel Dexter wrote in 1814 that "the quantity of ardent spirits
surpasses belief." William Wirt, drawing on his experience as a Virginia planter and political leader,
thought that heavy drinking had "produced more vice, crime, poverty, and wretchedness in every
form, domestic and social, than all the other ills that scourge us combined." More liquor was drunk
in the early nineteenth century than ever before or since. The annual per capita consumption of
spirits by those fifteen or older in 1820 was four times that of today." Many in the general public
thought of drinking as healthy. Considering the state ofthe drinking water, perhaps it was. House
raisings were great times for drunkards and hard drinkers, but awful scenes for Christian
communities. Most liquor was sold in country stores and in fact represented the most significant
item in their inventory.
Medicine had progressed little from two centuries prior, and illnesses were thought to be
caused by invading foreign matter that could be eliminated by bleeding, sweating, and purging. A

home remedy for measles was tea made from sheep dung. One ofthe most common diseases was
malaria, known as ague (malaria). Chronic diarrhea and its treatment with "sugar of lead" and
calomel which contained mercury caused many to be swimming in heavy metals. Alcoholism and its
resulting depression was more common than today. Others without treatment were scarlet fever,
measles, whooping cough, diphtheria, dysentery, influenza, cholera, smallpox, typhoid fever, yellow
fever, and venereal diseases. Smallpox vaccination was known but not widely practiced. Cholera
was usually fatal, and Kentucky had two epidemics in 1832 and 1848.

89

CHAPTER 11 CHILDREN OF FEATHERGALE ADAMS

Records taken from the Feathergale Adams family Bible by M r s . Celia Adams Rice
of Mt. Vernon Kentucky, the great great g r a n d d a u g h t e r of Feathergale Adams. Joseph
Wade Adams and Judge Forrest Calico were other sources.

Descendants of Feathergale Adams

F.

Nancy E.
Smith
17601803

Adams
17551807

JohnB.
Adams
1791 1870

Nancy A
Adams
1774-

Margaret

Adams
1775-

Elizabeth
Adams
1778-

Virginia
Adams
1780 -

Judith
Adams
1783-

33=

MaryC.

John
Hutcherso

Joseph
Brown

Mr.
Hugtson

Nicholas
Smith

Walter
Adams

Absolam
Adams
1785-

Elizabeth
SLayton

Adams
1787-

RuWn
Adams

Katherine
Adams
1789-

Tbomas
Brown

Martha
Adams
1793-

John
Ranciiff

17931862

Nancy Ann, born 1775, was the first child of Feathergale Adams and wife Elizabeth
Smith. She married John Hutcherson in 1821.The Hutcherson mansion was three miles SW of
Lancaster, Kentucky on Crab Orchard Pike, and was a gift to Nancy from her father Feathergale.
There is no land record to support the Hutcherson mansion. In 1934 Katherine Hutcherson
drove to the old hall meeting house which adjoined the old Hutcherson farm, and found only the
stone foundation. The graveyard where Nancy Ann (Adams) and John Hutcherson were buried
was mostly destroyed. However the old log mansion house is still standing.

M a r g a r e t "Peggy" Adams, the second child of Feathergale was, born in 1775 and died
before 1807. She married Joseph Brown. Her three children are listed in Feathergale's will
(Elizabeth, Mary, and Joseph).

William "Devil Bill" Adams was the third child of Feathergale. William was born June
6, 1776 in Fauquier county Virginia and came to Garrard county Kentucky in 1788 with
Feathergale. He is the subject of a biography by John Lair who wrote Rockcastle Roots. His

90
mother Elizabeth Smith Adams was a red-headed Irish girl with a temper, and who would bite
the teats of her milking cow when it misbehaved.

William and his son Allensworth were

notorious for tall tales. It was popular for those with the Adams surname to claim kinship with
The President Adams. Devil Bill claimed to have had lunch with John Quincy Adams, and they
concluded that they might be cousins, which was proved false by DNA testing.
William Adams was a man of great charity, but subject to fits of almost insane temper.
When Bill was twelve, he ran away from home. His father had given him a switching witnessed
by the neighbor girl. Bill saddled his fathers best horse and rode from Garrard County through
many miles of Indian land to his grandfather's home in Virginia. He married Polly Long, and
with her had three children: Smith, Jones, and Allensworth Adams. He later married Rebecca
Lawrence in 1807 and they had six children. Feathergale, his father, did not approve of Rebecca
and did not welcome her in his home. William then gave up the fine family home and many
acres in Garrard County and settled in Rockcastle County in 1817. There is no marriage record
found for William and Rebecca, because unknown to Rebecca, Polly was still living when he
"married" Rebecca. When Polly took him to court for bigamy, Rebecca had to testify that she
was not married to him, even though that damaged her own reputation. She would have faced
financial hardships had she left. She stayed in this common law marriage and was a good mother
to her six children. The first of which was John (Jack) Adams, called Captain Jack for his
services in the Mexican War. The others were Elizabeth, Willis, Olmstead, and Thomas. Willis,
who had 17 children, also named one of his sons John (Jack) Adams.
William served in the war of 1812. He enlisted under General Charles Scott at
Lexington. He was first a private with Captain Ellis, then Richard Watson and last was in the
Calvary with Col Whitney's regiment. William served along with Absalom Adams of Fayette
County and Absalom's son Feathergale, who was killed at the Battle of River Raisin of 1813.
John Adams and Feathergale Adams were listed as privates. Others who served from Lexington
or Fayette in Hart's company were Benjamin Davis, husband of Absalom daughter, Frankey, and
Clement Ester, husband of Absalom's daughter Catherine.
It was during the war that William got the nickname "Devil Bill".

His commanding

officer was on his knees praying just before a battle. William burst in and with an oath informed
him that there was no time to pray; get up and fight. The officer rebuked him for his language,
exclaiming Billy, you devil, you!

91
John Lair's grandmother lived as a child with Devil Bill, and she told the story of Devil
Bill coming to the breakfast table in a black mood, giving the cook three minutes to have fried
turkey on his plate. The slave, a quick thinker, dashed out to the poultry pens, sliced the breast
from a live turkey, ran back to the kitchen, pulling out feathers, and had it smoking hot in three
minutes. The cook explained "if hell-fire had been as close to your back as it was to mine,
yhou'da thought of something too. Willis Adams, his grandson, told the story ofthe bully of Greene
County fighting Devil Bill, a small man but mighty with plenty of temper. Receiving a skull
fracture, the bully was treated by Devil Bill himself, who ran the local Dr. Love out of town because he
was afraid to treat the patient.
Devil Bill is also known to have clothed and helped many an unfortunate family through hard
winters. Most newcomers when borrowing corn from Devil Bill were asked if they could pay for it, and
if not, he would have their wagons loaded to overflowing with the understanding that they would be
called on at some time to work out the debt. If they later refused, they could expect a thrashing.
"Devil Bill" was a wealthy man when he came to Rockcastle County; he always said that he
could raise cheaply the many hogs it took to feed his slaves He owned thousands of acres around Mt.
Vernon and Brodhead. His property including the old house and cemetery where William and Rebecca
are buried can be seen now from the Mt. Vernon by-pass, across from the Rockcastle County high
school. In 1839 he owned 2500 acres of land valued and $7500, owned twenty slaves valued and $7500,
ten horses at $500, and ninety cattle at $400. His taxes were $26.85. Before his death on April 7, 1844,
he operated a tavern later known as the Ike Bowman house.
Except for the wild tales told about him he had been all but forgotten until 1954 when John
Lair found his grave in a tangle of weeds and briars on the old Jess Livesay place. A new headstone for
Devil Bill and Rebecca was remounted to their bases in 1986. The old Livesay cemetery in Rockcastle
County Kentucky is found by starting in Mt. Vernon, KY at the intersection of county routes #150 and
#1249, go west on #150, pass #461 on left and continue on #150 .1 miles to a dirt road on right, turn
right and drive through narrow, stone railroad underpass, continue on dirt road about .1 mile. The
cemetery is in a field on the right about 1500 feet from the dirt road.

92

William ("Devil Bill") Adams

This daguerreotype of about shows him as a well-groomed, cultured gentleman of
the Old South wearing dark suit, black cravat, and a flowered silk vest. He has a scar
over his right eye This picture was given to John Lair by Devil Bill's grandson. A Lexington,
Kentucky newspaper advertised the daguerreotype in 1839, at which time William was 63.

93

A L L E N S W O R T H ADAMS

Allensworth, (born 1812), was the son of William "Devil Bill" Adams. He studied
medicine under his brother Jones Adams. Jones was a prisoner during the Civil War.
Allensworth moved to Texas from Garrard County, Kentucky. He was at the Alamo and with
permission from Jim Bowie, escaped, disguised in a dress and bonnet. Afterwards he joined the
Texas Rangers. When their group of 225 men was surrounded by 500 Mexicans, their captain
surrendered to the Mexican captain. Allensworth cursed the captain as a coward and traitor, and
along with the other men were marched without water to prison, where only 25 out ofthe 225
survived. Allensworth with four others escaped prison in Mexico City. Nearly starved and with a
broken ankle, Allensworth was then captured by Indians, who prepared to put them to death.
However, the Allensworth group was recaptured by the Mexicans and condemned to die. Before
sunrise, the five men were placed in a wagon, each sitting on a coffin. A priest asked them if
they had anything to say. One fellow prisoner who spoke Spanish said that they were only
following orders, fighting for their country, and that he had five little golden-haired girls in
Kentucky awaiting their father's return. They were thus spared, sent back to prison, and
released after peace was declared. William "Devil Bill" Adams, his father, got him free through
the efforts ofthe President ofthe United States. This story is similar to one in the Texan Santa
Fe Pioneers, by Noel M. Lomis. There is a new bronze head marker erected on Allensworth's
grave; the cemetery is located on KY 325, or Negro Creek road, about 2.3 miles off US 150.
Allensworth had a son Jackson "Jack" Adams who lived in Rock Castle (not to be confused with
John "Jack" Adams, son of Feathergale).

94

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mm

Allensworth Adams, survivor o f t h e Alamo, son of Devil Bill

The fourth child of William "Devil Bill" was named John "Jack" Adams, born
January 2, 1817, also known as Captain Jack for his services in the Mexican war. This last John
"Jack" Adams named his son John "Jack" Adams Jr. The sixth child of Wm. "Devil Bill" was
named Willis (born 1819) who had 17 children by two wives, one of whom Joseph Wade
compiled some of this data.

Elizabeth (Betsy), the fourth child of Feathergale, was born in 1778, died in 1811. She
married a Mr. Hugison.

95
Jennie was the fifth child, born 1780 who married Nicholas Smith, probably her cousin.
He was a pioneer in 1790 to Kentucky.

Judith " J u d a " Adams was the sixth child of Feathergale, born Jan 16, 1783. She
married Walter Adams, her cousin. Judith died August 23, 1870 in Garrard, Kentucky and is
buried in the Walter Adams cemetery in Garrard, Kentucky. The second child of Walt and Juda
was named Feathergale Adams, who died in 1869. This Feathergale also named his son John
Walter "Jack" Adams. Other children of Judith and Walter were Elizabeth, Nancy, Luke,
Walter, Zerilda, John, Daniel, William, and Polly. Both Walt and Juda are buried at the old
Antioch meeting house cemetery.

Absalom Adams was the seventh child of Feathergale Adams, born in March 1784 and
died at the age of 65 in 1849 in Madison County. He married Elizabeth Slayton. Among the
children mentioned in his will were John S. Adams, Minerva (Daniel Parks), Jane (Robert Cox),
Elizabeth (William Golden), and Mary Ann (Martin Rice). He may have been a Baptist preacher
like his father. He was a farmer, toll road supervisor, and operated a stage house on Big Hiss,
now in Morrell, Jackson County, Kentucky. He is buried in the Adams-Cox cemetery at Morrill,
Jackson County, KY. Feathergale's son Absalom sold the estate near William and went to
Barren County, Kentucky.

Mary, "Polly" Adams was the eighth child of Feathergale, and was born April 14,
1787. She married her first cousin Reuben (son of Luke Adams who was the brother of
Feathergale). Reuben was a Baptist preacher. Reuben and Mary emigrated from Virginia to
Owen County Kentucky where most of their eleven children were born. In 1824 Reuben farmed
with his son William in Marion County Indiana.

Katherine Caty or Kate, the ninth child of Feathergale Adams and Elizabeth Smith was
born in Culpeper, Virginia Aug 23, 1789, and died March 23, 1867 in New Liberty, Owens,
Kentucky. She married Thomas Brown in Garrard, KY on July 5, 1806.

96
M a r t h a Adams, (Patsy) the eleventh child of Feathergale and Elizabeth was born in
Sugar Creek, Garrard County Kentucky on January 16, 1793 and died in 1871. She married John
Radcliff on Aug 24, 1808, in Garrard, Kentucky.

John " J a c k " Adams the tenth child of Feathergale Adams and Elizabeth Smith is our
line about which Kathryn Hutchinson gathered information from Miss Arnold in Lancaster,
Kentucky. He was born April 27, 1791 in Sugar Creek, Garrard County, Kentucky and married
Catherine Sampson in Garrard County on May 5, 1812. Catherine, born in 1793, was the daughter of
William Sampson, a revolutionary war soldier from Goochland county Virginia and Elizabeth
"Betsy" Purvall. John "Jack" was a farmer and he and his wife raised thirteen children. John is found
in the 1820 Garrard County, Kentucky census with six girls and five boys. There are no slaves listed. He
is listed in the 1830 through 1870 Rockcastle County, Kentucky census. Rockcastle is located in the
foothills ofthe Cumberland Mountains, with tobacco being a major crop. Two pioneer trails, Boone's
Trace and the Wilderness Road intersect in Rockcastle at Mt. Vernon. Early settlers found an endless
forest, and with the coming ofthe railroad, the lumber industry boomed. Two-thirds ofthe county is
quite rugged, with narrow valleys, huge boulders, steep hillsides and swift winding creeks.
The county is difficult to traverse; indeed, in the 1820 census, enumerators were unable to
reach some sections ofthe county. The 1850 census shows John as a farmer with real estate valued
at $800. He was living with his son William Sampson, age 12. In 1860 he had accumulated $4600 of
real estate and personal property of $1270. In post Civil War 1870, John was 79, living alone, with
personal property of $250.
Unlike his brother William "Devil Bill", who fought in the War of 1812 there are no military
records for John. The Rockcastle county court house records dating back to 1790 were all destroyed in a
fire, and no will or cemetery records exist. The original Jack Adams farm was divided Dec 31,
1869 between William Adams, Judith McCall, and Harriet Dunn, according to Judge Calico.
There is a court record after his death contesting property involving land in Rockcastle County on the
headwaters of Reufraes Creek. On April 24, 1876, the court of Rockcastle, Kentucky ordered the heirs
of John Adams to give property to Judith McCall. Also listed are Frederick Adams, George Gatewood,
William G. Adams and Elizabeth Adams, Laura Adams, Harriet Adams, Rhoda Adams, Eva Adams,
Edward Adams, Robert Adams, Mary Shinglebower, William Shinglebower, and Harry Cummings.

97

CHAPTER 12: CHILDREN OF JOHN " J A C K " ADAMS AND MARY

CATHERINE SAMPSON

William Sampson Adams, born March 27, 1813, married Elizabeth Green
Feathergill " F r e d " Adams born Nov 23, 1814, married Maranda Young
Elizabeth Adams, born in 1816, married Fleming Cummings
Judith Adams born in 1817 married William McCall
Agnes Catherine Sampson Adams born 1819 married George Slaughter
Smith Adams - born in 1823
Walter Adams- born in 1828
Rebecca Lawrence Adams born in 1830 married William Watson
Mary Windfred Adams, born 1832 married William Shinglebower
John Adams born 1832, died in infancy
Harriet Adams born 1837 married James Dunn
Stephen Sampson Adams born 1839, died Oct 5, 1853 of dropsy
M a r t h a Adams born in 1840, died infancy

FREDERICK FEATHERGILL ADAMS

Frederick Feathergill Adams our line, was born on November 23, 1814. He married Maranda
Young about 1835 in Bath, Kentucky and died April 1, 1890 in Dover, Mason County Kentucky.

The 1850 census of Mason County shows Feathergill as a Waggoner, Ferrier, and drayman, with
a worth of $1000
The 1870 Mason County, KY census show:
Fred age 55
Maranda age 51
William J. age 21
Julia M. age 13,
Hesperea age 11
Mary Jane age 9

98

The 1880 Augusta, Bracken County KY census show:

Fred, age 66
Maranda, 62,
Julia M. 24,
Hessie 21,
Robert 17.

Is .'

The land around Maysville and Mason County, home of Feathergill Adams (grandson
of Feathergale, son of John B.) and his descendents, had been settled early in Kentucky's
history. There were both small, tenant-operated farms and stately homes. The 1850 census of
Mason County shows Feathergill Adams as a waggoner, ferrier, and drayman.

99

The caretaker of the Rosemont cemetery in Dover, Kentucky found lot 244
registered to Robert J. Adams and the following stones:
Mary Jane, daughter of F. and M Adams, died January 4, 1872 age 11 years, 11 months, and 9
days.
The adjacent stone was covered with a black moss, and was illegible.
Robert Adams, 1863-1940,
Fred Adams, born Nov 23, 1814 died April 1, 1890 and Maranda his wife born Aug 10, 1818,
died Oct 7, 1898. This is a larger stone covered in black moss, the top shaped like an open bible.
Elizabeth Adams 1858 -1943.
Ryan A. Adams 1876 -1946

Frederick and Maranda raised five children of whom one, Mary Jane, died young.

100

CHAPTER 13 CHILDREN OF FREDERICK FEATHERGILL ADAMS

William Johnson Adams, firstborn on August 10, 1848, married Elizabeth True. Elizabeth died
Jun 17, 1901, after a long siege of typhoid fever. William bought land in 1885 on Lees Creek near
Dover, Mason County, KY. He and his family are listed in the 1870 Mason County census. William
died at age 74, Oct 29, 1922. His cause of death was bronchopneumonia of three days duration. He had a
stroke several years before, leaving him long an invalid. He was buried in the Rosemont cemetery in
Dover.
The Civil War and reconstruction negatively affected the wealth of the Adams, along with most
others in Kentucky. Land records record smaller holdings than earlier generations. Fred Adams,
Williams' son, was further diminished, and said there was no shame, only inconvenience to being poor.
Fortunes improved only after WWII with William K., Fred son.
Julia Marshall Adams, born in 1856. Julia married George W. Laycock. In the 1900 Mason
County KY census, all born in KY are:
Laycock, George born Dec 1856
Julia M. bom June 1856
Will?B. born Mar 1881
Francis M. born July 1883
Joseph R. born Jan 1885
Moses F. born Jan 1887
John W. born Dec 1889
Mary born May 1891
Jesse born Feb 1893
Laurence R. born June 1896
The 1920 Mason County census for Dover lists: all born in KY
Laycott, George W.
Julia M. Wife
John W. age 30
Lawrence K. age 23

Hesperea Elizabeth was born in 1858 and died in 1943 buried near parents at Rosemont
Cemetery. Hesperea married John Thomas and in the 1900 Mason County KY census is listed:
Thomas, John, born 1857 all born in KY
Hessie wife born Jan 1859
Katie born Oct 1882 married Cla. Donovan Nov 28, 1907 in Mason County
Jane born May 1884

101
Fannie born July 1885
Edith born 1887
Berthie F. born Dec I
Roberta H. born Nov 1897
Robert J. brother in law born Jan 1863
Mary Jane was born Jan 29, 1860 and died January 7, 1872.
Robert J. was born in 1863 and died in 1940, the last of his immediate family. His obituary of
Aug 14, 1940: Being unmarried he made his home with his brother-in-law G.W. Laycock for 40 years
until the last month, when his niece Mrs. C B . Anderson took care of him. Other nieces are Mrs. William
Dwyer and Mrs. James Collins of Dover; he has three nephews, Lawrence and John W. Laycock of
Dover, and Joe Laycock of Omak, Wash. He had chronic nephritis for a month, followed by three days
of pneumonia. In 1935 he bought land from Martha M. True, his mother's sister.

102

CHAPTER 14 CHILDREN OF WILLIAM J. ADAMS

After William J. Adams's first wife Elizabeth True died, William remarried on November 25,
1906, Elizabeth Mitchell, who raised seven step children. In Elizabeth Mitchell Adams obituary, the
seven are named:
Nellie: Mrs. Harry Apple of Huntington, West Virginia
Hessie: Mrs. Robert P. Moore of Omaha, Nebraska (in 1920 andl930 Omaha census)
Maude Francis: Mrs. William Ringo
Mary Jane: Mrs. Mary Beyer of Elwood, Indiana
Fred Adams of Caldwell, Idaho two children Delbert and William K. Adams
Robert Adams of Birmingham, Alabama. He never married
Ryan Adams of St. Joseph, Missouri. No children.
Nell Adams, born 1888, died in 1978, children Harry and Jack Apple
The 1910 Columbiana, Ohio census shows Harry Apple, age 25, Ohio, and Nellie age 21. In
1920 they have moved to Huntington, W.V. and have two sons, Harry and Jack.
The 1930 Huntington City West Virginia census lists:
Harry W. Apple, age 45 Ohio
NelleG, age41KY
Harry T. age 17 Ohio
Jack C. age 19 West Virginia
Hessie M. (Marsha) Adams, born in 1891, she married Robert P. Moore. She taught school, and
had no children
Mary Jane Adams, born Feb 1878. She may be the same Mary J. Adams who married Jesse L.
Allen in Maysville, Mason County on June 7, 1906. Both Jesse and Mary J. resided in Fleming County.
Mary J. is listed as age 22 in 1906 (her birth date in 1879 would make her 27); she likely is the Mary
Beyer listed in her stepmother's obituary, having remarried. She is not buried with her brother William
Jr. and parents. An early photo (about 1893) exists of Mary Jane and her brother Fred H. Adams.
The 1920 census for Paris City, Bourbon County, KY lists: all born in KY
Jesse L.
Mary age 29
Elebgin daughter age 12
John age 7
Jess age 6
Kenneth age 4
Roger age 2
Baughau, son age 4 months
Adams, Eva, mother, age 57, widow. Mary Jane's mother was Elizabeth True, who died in 1901.
An Eva Adams is listed in the 1876 court records for John B. Adams, detailed above, at which time she
would have been thirteen years old.

103
Fred Henry, born July 5, 1880 in Dover, KY, married Luella Christopherson November 29,
1908, and died in Caldwell, Idaho May 12, 1963. He had two children, Delbert with one daughter, and
William Kenneth with three children: William L., John C. and Beth
Maude Francis. Born in 1875, married William Ringo of Winchester, Ohio. William Adams
Ringo, son of Maude, was born December 7, 1896. He registered for the draft at age 45 and listed his
residence as Eagle Twp. Brown County, Ohio
The 1930 Brown County Ohio census lists: all but last born in KY
W.Ringo, age 50
Maude, age 50
Resfread age 25
William age 23
Walter age 16 born in Ohio
Robert born 1883 He never married
Ryan born 1876 married Sue Mitchell on Feb 6, 1906, and they had no children. They were in
Fairfax City, Atchison County, Missouri in 1910 and Maryville City, Nodaway County, Missouri in
1920 (both are 49). In 1930 they were in St. Joseph City, Missouri. Ryan listed his occupation as barber.

William J. Jr. Adams, born Sept 29, 1887, died April 22, 1901 of Typhoid fever

104

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William Johnson Adams, tobacco merchant, born in 1848

105

William J. Adams, born in 1848 in Dover, Kentucky

Elizabeth True Adams, born in 1845, married William J. Adams

106

Fred H. Adams, born in 1880, married Luella Christopherson in 1908 in Cutbank, Montana

107

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William Kenneth Adams, born in 1916, married Rosemary Slavens in 1941

108

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109

John C, Beth, and William L Adams, children of William K. and Rosemary (Slavens) Adams

110

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112

CHAPTER 15 FRED H.ADAMS

Biography of Fred Adams, by his son William K. Adams, dated 1989, and grandsons
William L. Adams and John C. Adams.

In the middle 1840's Dover was one ofthe world's major tobacco markets. Dover was known
for its fine taverns and coffee houses. After 1847 Dover gained importance as a shipping port. There
were as many as 150 wagons in line to be shipped to New Orleans and Boston. The 1850 census of
Mason County lists Fred Adams' grandfather Feathergill as a Waggoner, Ferrier, and drayman. At one
time, a farrier and blacksmith were all but synonymous. A farrier trims and balances a horse's hoof to fit
a shoe. A drayman was the driver of a dray, a low, flat bed wagon without sides.
In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the lifestyle of the average Kentucky family had
changed little. Children learned cultural patterns shaping their character, which was continued for
generations to come. Four out of five families lived on a farm as late as 1910. Families were large,
averaging more than five in 1870. They would rise early without the benefit of a clock, something few
had. They lit kerosene lamps, as it was not until the 1940's that electricity came to their homes. Many
homes, poorly insulated, had a single fireplace. People left their goose down beds and dressed in from of
the fireplace, able to see their breath. If the fire died, a trip to the neighbor to borrow fire was necessary,
since matches were luxuries until late in the nineteenth century. When the weather warmed, featherbeds
attracted fleas. Cooling breezes were the only answer to summer's heat, but the open windows allowed
flies. Rainwater was collected in barrels or cisterns, or it came from outside, usually a well or creek. One
resident of Louisville recalled that no family was without its case of typhoid. Using a chamber pot
indoors or taking a trip to the outside privy further complicated hygiene.
Feathergill may have witnessed the last duel fought in Kentucky. Camp Kenton was a Union
recruiting station in Mason County, not far from Dover, and was the site of an altercation between
William Castro, a hot tempered Confederate sympathizer, lawyer, and once Mayor of Maysville, and
Leonidas Metcalfe, 43, a Union officer, and youngest son of Gov. Thomas Metcalfe of Nicholas County.
Metcalfe was ordered to arrest Castro, who had made the mistake of threatening Union officers with his
secret band of southern sympathizers, led by the Honorable H. Stanton, a member of Congress. Stanton
was charged "with being the soul of rebellion" in this part of the Kentucky. He "fitted-out" men in
Mason and adjoining counties for the Southern Army.

113
He and several others were arrested and charged with aiding and abetting "the so-called
Confederate States of America." These men were called "Secesh", and sent to Fort Lafayette,
where they spent three difficult winter months in 1861 -1862 at Camp Chase, the Federal
prison near Columbus. On February 21, 1862, Castro was released after much pressure. He
returned to Maysville. He was obsessed in belief that Metcalfe was solely responsible for his
arrest and incarceration. He demanded redress under the "code duello." On May 6, 1862, he
knew that Metcalfe was in Maysville and challenged him to a duel. It took two days to set the
time, the place, and to secure seconds and surgeons as well as to choose arms. Castro practiced
daily with firearms with the intent to call Metcalfe to account. Metcalfe, who attended West
Point, was one ofthe best shots in Kentucky at any distance from thirty to two hundred yards.
Metcalfe was nervous with quick actions; he had cold steel-blue eyes, and had the appearance
of a rugged customer. Metcalfe felt he could not refuse this challenge with Castro, because if
he did, he would appear cowardly and have a hundred more challenges. In his written reply to
Castro, Metcalfe acknowledge the right to challenge, but admitted he did not remember Castro.
The duel was fought May 9, 1862, at four o'clock p.m. at the fishing shore below Dover. The
weapons were Colt's rifles, the distance sixty yards, and the time to fire was after the word
ready, and during the numbers one, two, and three. Metcalfe, who was expert at two hundred
yards, chose sixty yards to give his opponent a fair chance. He also allowed Castro the best
position, with the sun behind his back. After the word ready both brought their rifles into
position. Castro fired first, at the count of one. The rifle ball whistled so close to Metcalfe's ear
that it deadened his sense of hearing. At the count of two Metcalfe fired, striking Castro on his
left side with a half ounce miniball. The surgeon supported his head and saw that the case was
hopeless, and within fifteen minutes Castro was dead. Metcalfe turned to the crowd, and
stated, "This fight was forced on me. I bore this man no ill will, and gave him no cause to
quarrel. His blood is on his own head." By the following August, Col. Metcalfe led a number
of men in a rendezvous at Blue Licks, as Colonel ofthe 7th Kentucky Volunteer Calvary.

114

As a Waggoner, Feathergill Adams may have driven one of the Union supply train wagons loading
commissary goods at Hamilton Gray's warehouse at the corner of second and Sutton streets in
Dover, Kentucky

Dover was dominated by rural interests, and was a quiet town on the Ohio River. It was eleven
miles below Maysville. Kentucky was relatively homogeneous in 1870, as only one in twenty were
foreign born. The population in 1870 was 532 white and 67 black. In 1880 Kentucky was growing
slower than the national average, as there was an out-migration. William Johnson Adams, son of
Feathergill, was a tobacco buyer. He went from barn to barn to bid on the tobacco. The tobacco was
delivered and packed in hogsheads, later shipped to Cincinnati and Louisville. In 1902 the Dover brick
company opened, and telephone lines were beginning. In 1908 the C&O railroad served the town.
There was a beautiful sandy beach below Dover where all-day fish fries were held for the
social life of the community. After catching the fish in seines from boats, they were breaded in corn
meal and cooked in two huge copper boilers filled with bacon grease. Fox hunting was a pastime.
William married into the True family, who were aware of class distinction. The True family was wealthy

115
landowners in the Dover area, and they disapproved of their daughter Elizabeth True's marriage to
William Adams. Fred Adams, my grandfather, was born in Dover, Kentucky, on July 5, 1880.

1876 map of Dover, Kentucky, a shipping port on the Ohio River, population about 600.

In 1886 William J. Adams bought land on Lees Creek. This map shows the True and Jacobs's
home sites. Elizabeth True married William J. Adams. Elizabeth's mother was Nancy Jacobs, whose
father John Jacobs was an early resident of Dover. Elizabeth's father was Henry True, whose parents
were James True and Phebe (Nower) True.
There was at this time an active temperance movement. The Order of Good Templar had
three hundred chapters across Kentucky. Temperance advocates asked citizens to look around
themselves for evidence of deaths resulting from drunkenness.

The prohibition forces argued that

116
drinking destroyed families and ripped apart the social fabric of society. In 1906 a legislative bill passed
that allowed wet or dry counties, and by 1907, 95 out ofthe state's 119 counties were dry.
Fred left home in 1894 at age fourteen. His entire family was still living in Dover, and hoped
there was a bright future for this ambitious young man. There was a severe depression in 1893, and
times were still hard in 1894. Perhaps another reason Fred left was his father's drinking, which had such
an impact that Fred abstained. Fred was able to take the train from the small town of Dover to Cleveland
where he was trained as a machinist. He later took a job with the Great Northern railroad, first in
Pipestone, Minnesota, and then in Cut Bank, Montana. He did some very detail mechanical drawings in
preparation to become a draftsman, but he ended up with hard, noisy and dangerous work cleaning the
inside ofthe boilers for the steam locomotives. The expansion of American railroads after the Civil War
was extraordinary, a classic American boom. Between 1860 and 1900 railroads expanded six fold. The
annual freight ton-miles of railroads increased thirty-five times between 1865 and 1916. Fred worked for
the railroad until the 1920's when he began farming. Railroading was the country's largest industry in
1900, employing a million workers at an annual cost of $567 each. One pay stub for Fred showed an
hourly wage of 18 cents an hour. Because the trains needed to be on time, in 1883 the country was
divided into four time zones. Railroads developed a trunk and branch system, connecting major cities to
smaller communities.

117
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In 1902 Fred Adams submitted this drawing to become a draftsman for the Great Northern
Railroad. Fred left home at age fourteen, having only an eighth grade education. He did hard,
dirty work cleaning the inside of steam engine boilers until he had saved enough money to buy a
farm in Idaho.

In 1901 Fred's mother Elizabeth and Brother William died of Typhoid fever. The cistern water
system was blamed; however there were other possible sources of contamination. The cistern was a
safer water source than creek water, not uncommonly contaminated with sewage. In a pre antibiotic era,
typhoid was especially deadly to the young and old.
The Kentucky frontier had many diseases and few treatments. Scarlet fever, measles, mumps,
whooping cough, diphtheria, dysentery, influenza, cholera, smallpox, typhoid fever, yellow fever,
pneumonia and ague (malaria) were common. Kentucky was hit hard by two cholera epidemics in
1832-1835 and 1848-1854. At this time it was not known that fecal contamination of water was the
cause. Cholera was usually fatal, and people fled when cases were reported, further spreading the
disease. Malaria had been endemic in the US, especially in the south, until the late 1940's, when DDT
was applied to the interior of rural homes. By the end of 1949, more than four million homes had been
treated

118
Fred lived in Cut Bank, Montana and rode a horse to the railroad yard. One winter the
temperature dropped to minus fifty, and Fred barely made it home. Cut Bank was near the Blackfoot
Indian reservation. No one had a dog because the Indians would steal and eat them. Fred's married
Luella Christopherson in 1908. She grew up in some poverty on a farm in Cut Bank. There was mile
after mile of bleached buffalo bones, killed along the railroad. Luella convinced Fred they should leave
Cut Bank, and they moved to Madras, Oregon, where they bought land. It was claimed by emanate
domain for an airport, and next they moved to Caldwell, Idaho. A dam had been created in 1903, and
Lake Lowell provided irrigation water for the desert county. They used a horse and sleigh until they
purchased a 1924 Ford model T. The homestead they bought included a two story house, barn, root
cellar, and a windmill. Later a new house was built which allowed a big garden and fruit trees. The new
house had an outdoor toilet and kerosene lamps. Electricity didn't arrive until the 1930's. Later an
indoor toilet was added. There were two wood burning stoves, one in the kitchen for cooking, and one in
the living room for warmth. An oil furnace was added in 1950. For a bath a large galvanized tub was
placed on the kitchen floor. The musty cellar had shelves of canned vegetables, root crops, eggs, a box
of used bent nails, and balls of string of various types. The old house on the hill was removed, but the
windmill supplied water to the new house and horse tank.
Farm work was a job with long days and few days off. Luella was a great canner of fruit,
vegetables, and meat. They separated milk from cream, made butter and cheese, and slaughtered their
own chickens and beef. After watching what the chickens ate, Fred was loath to eat chicken. Fred started
the day early, and tapped on the bedroom window to get sons Delbert and Bill up to milk the cows. On
the north side ofthe house was a holding water tank for the milk. Fred farmed with horses when the
neighbors had switched to tractors. It was time consuming to harness and care for them. Fred built the
corn storage bin, garage, chicken house, and outhouse by himself. The farm house was surrounded by
large cotton wood trees. One image I have of Fred at age eighty is seeing him up high in the trees with a
hand ax trimming branches. He had his own personal war with the red ants that seemed immune to his
poisons.
Fred was very frugal, buying only what he needed, and avoiding debt. Fred lost money during
the bank defaults ofthe depression, and had no use for banks. He used to say "it's no disgrace to be
poor, just mightily inconvenient". Another saying was "if you have a little money and can ask enough
questions, you can get along well enough". Fred avoided talking about his family except for his sister

119
Marsha, who came to visit. Regarding Fred's brother Ryan and three other sisters, their history was lost
to the family.
Fred was self taught, and loved to show his grandchildren how to milk cows, feed chickens, and
care for his garden. He had a large raspberry patch. He was thin and wiry with leathery skin and
prematurely white hair. At the end ofthe day he would sit on the porch, oblivious to the hundreds of
mosquitoes that blackened his arms. Fred was such a workaholic that he had difficulty with leisure. He
only played games with his grandchildren, and only watched television late in life. One Saturday
afternoon we had scarcely had the boat launched into Lake Lowell and got our fishing poles wet, when
Fred announced that he was ready to leave.
Fred and Luella's first son was born in 1909 and named Delbert, a strong farmer who died in
1939 from a ruptured appendix. His son Delbert Bob was born shortly after to his wife Fae. William
Kenneth was born May 27, 1916 in Cut Bank, Montana. Bill developed polio at age two, resulting in a
partially paralyzed left leg. Luella took Bill to the Mayo clinic for muscle transplantation. The total
cost was $50. Bill rode a horse to the Lake Lowell grade school, starting at age five. There was a small
stable for the horse. Fred would put a burlap sack of alfalfa leaved behind the saddle. The horse always
galloped to get back to the farm. Bill was in a hurry to get through school, skipping the sixth grade, and
attending two years at the College of Idaho before attending the North Pacific dental school and
graduating at age twenty three. In 1939 Bill started his dental practice in Caldwell, Idaho. While having
lunch at a nearby diner, he met his future wife, Rosemary Slavens. They were married November 3,
1941. During World War II Bill was drafted into the second air force dental corps, first as a lieutenant
and later captain. Bill's first son William Larry Adams was born while stationed at Dyersburg,
Tennessee. Fred Adams continued to be active and alert through his 80's. He developed histoplasmosis
ofthe lungs, one of which was removed toward the end of his life. He needed oxygen toward the end,
and died in 1962 at the age of 82.
William K. Adams, Fred's son and my father, returned to Caldwell, Idaho in 1946 where he
resumed a successful dental practice. He was very skillful and meticulous and worked long hours. He
enjoyed taking his family fishing and hunting. He also collected Indian artifacts, enjoyed gardening, and
was active in politics. Interestingly, his two sons William L. and John C. both became ophthalmologists.
His daughter Beth became a dental hygienist.

120

CHAPTER 16 THE 1950'S AND 1960'S

William K. Adams was a smoker all his life which affected his health later in life. Tobacco was
acceptable during the 1950's and 1960's, when it was advertised in medical journals.

U3J97 DOCTORS FROM COAST TO COAST WERE ASKED!

tccordmg fo this recent Nationwide survey:

MORE DOCTORS s m m CAMFJSTHAN ANY OWER CIGARETTE! f 2

THi* i* lie *asusl claim. It's stn CK*UO! **wf. ft$e4 n the tetsre*ivts of dQs;tcn
tfcomsefve* to t.br*o rtqfionaliy known independent research organization*,

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Cigarettes were advertised in The J o u r n a l of the American Medical Association

until the 1960's. According to the advertisements, it was just what the doctor ordered,
and claimed to make you healthier by soothing jangly nerves and sharpening j a d e d
minds.
The 1950's was a world in which much was acceptable. Drinks before dinner? The
more the better! X-rays were thought so benign that shoe stores installed machines that
allowed your foot bones to be visualized inside the shoe. Instead of a dangerous

121
tonsillectomy, I was given the modern X-ray treatment. It worked, and so far, no thyroid
cancer, a side affect not considered. Seat belts, air bags, smoke detectors, and bottled water
had not been invented. No one wore bike helmets or elbow pads. Nearly all foods were good
for you. Sugar gave us energy, red meat made us strong, whole milk made healthy bones, and
coffee kept us alert.
No country had known such prosperity as America in the 1950's. We had more wealth
than the rest ofthe world combined. We owned sixty percent ofthe world's oil, and nearly all
ofthe seven million cars sold in America in 1954 were built in America. There was a strong
demand for all the new products available, from electric toasters to waffle irons. Mechanics
Illustrated offered color television for sixty five cents, for which one received a multicolored
sheet of transparent plastic to tape over the television screen.
Our family visited Disneyland shortly after it opened in 1955. We drove on the new
interstate highway system, which took my father some adjustment. That year we had watched
the television series, essentially an hour long commercial. The prices were shocking, and
received the biggest criticism of visitors. According to Time magazine, the average person
spent $4.90 a day, broken down to $2.72 for rides and admission, $2.00 for food, and $.18 for
souvenirs. For most, it was far too expensive to ride in spinning teacups or flying Dumbos at
fifteen cents a pop. We enjoyed the submarine ride with Captain Nemo, the riverboat safari
with giant hippos, and the rocket to the moon.
Time magazine featured a cover article in 1959 reporting exciting advances in the
kitchen. "A few years ago it took the housewife five hours to prepare daily meals for a family
of four. Today she can do it in ninety minutes or less." Coincident with this increased
productivity was more time for TV and TV dinner trays. It was no longer necessary to skip
Bonanza, which came on at dinner time. A frozen TV dinner was complete with chicken,
potatoes, and a vegetable. General Foods laboratories were increasing the number of food
choices; there were nearly five hundred types of breakfast cereal. Supermarket foods
contained as many as two thousand additives including emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners,
surfactants, anti-oxidants, and artificial color. By 1959 most people owned everything they
had dreamed of, and there was not much else to do with their wealth but buy bigger versions
of things they didn't need: second cars, lawn tractors, extra televisions, and snow blowers.
This added complexity to life, with more monthly costs and repairs. Women increasingly

122
went to work to buy more labor saving devices they wouldn't have needed if they hadn't been
working so hard in the first place.
In 1951 Popular Science magazine promised exciting breakthroughs in nuclear
armaments, including personal atomic warheads carried by ground troops. As many as four
nuclear detonations a month were conducted in Nevada in the peak years ofthe 1950's.
Between 1946 and 1962 the United States detonated just over a thousand nuclear warheads,
including three hundred above ground. The mushroom clouds were visible from any parking
lot in Las Vegas. Most visitors went to the edge ofthe blast zone itself to have a picnic lunch
and stayed for the fallout afterwards. These large blasts could be seen by airline pilots
hundreds of miles out over the Pacific Ocean. After some ofthe early tests, government
technicians with Geiger counters checked personal radioactive levels. People lined up to see
how radioactive they were. It was all part ofthe fun.

: '

'

^jllg;iiyl31|l

WkmvkkkA--

Nuclear test viewing in Las Vegas, 1952

The nuclear fallout was carried in large amounts to Idaho, where in 1953 the citizens
of Melba, Idaho, near where I lived, woke up to white ash. High in radioactive iodine and
strontium 90, it was taken up by cows and consumed as milk by growing children. Years
later, there was an increased incidence of thyroid cancer. In 1962 a hydrogen bomb was

123
detonated in Frenchman Flat, Nevada. Measured in megatons of TNT, it dug a crater eight
hundred feet across and the radioactive dust cloud was so thick two hundred miles away in
Ely, Nevada the street lights had to be turned on. No public warnings were issued not to touch
the ash, which covered six western states and Canada.
The Owyhee desert was a good area to prospect for uranium mines and look for
Indian arrowheads. It was believed that a good uranium mine would be worth millions, and
there were hundreds of promising claims. My father William K. and many others staked
claims using Geiger counters that really were just picking up radioactive fallout from nuclear
bomb testing, and not valuable uranium. The same area was good for hunting sage hen grouse,
now a threatened species.
The cold war, nuclear proliferation, and political conservatism were part ofthe
1950's. Linus Pauling, winner of two Nobel prizes, twice had his passport confiscated
because of publically expressing a liberal thought. Air raid drills, bomb shelters, and school
preparedness were all taken seriously

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Siren sounded for a nuclear bomb attack drill

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124

Television became increasing popular as the price decreased. At a time in the early
1950's when the average factory worker's after-tax pay was under $100 per week, a $500 TV
was a real luxury. The desire was insatiable, and an opinion poll at that time reported that
people would rather go hungry than go without their television. McGregor, a sporting goods
company, reported that because of this revolutionary new way of life, more people were
staying indoors. Pastimes of prior generations were becoming obsolete, such as playing music
with the neighbors, writing letters to friends, sitting on the front porch, and gathering
huckleberries in the mountains.
The Gallup poll organization reported that 1957 was the happiest year ever recorded in
the United States. The simple pleasures in my hometown of Caldwell, Idaho were within
walking or biking distance. It was a time of playing games with the neighbor children. Long
battles of croquet, catching fly baseballs, collecting frogs, playing wiffleball, building tree
forts, and riding bikes filled the days. The Carnegie library had wonderful stereoscopic
viewers. The grade school was so close I could walk home for lunch every day. Nearly all
mothers stayed at home in that era. I had the same teacher, Miss Humphries, that my mother
had twenty seven years earlier. I was once required to stay after school for penmanship, a
skill that worsened through medical school. Marbles was a popular grade school sport,
requiring sighting low on the hard dirt with a large agate to knock the opponents' marbles out
ofthe ring. Once outside, they were yours.
On E-bay, one can find the Dick and Jane books, solid hardbacks with blue and red
fabric. They were used from the early 1950's until 1970. They had short sentences in large
type and illustrations of a typical family. Every Dick and Jane story provided a simple lesson,
such as to be polite, honest, helpful, and work hard. Words were repeated many times,
reinforcing sight reading. The passages today seem comical. "Here we are at the farm," says
Father. "Hello," responds Grandmother. "See who is here. It is my family. Look, Look! Here
is my family." "Oh look! Here we are at the farm," adds Dick. "Here is Grandfather, too!
Here we are at the farm."
I was given the first round of polio vaccine in 1955. Polio caused my father to be
partially paralyzed in his left leg, and our neighbor was confined to a wheelchair, having
contracted polio in the 1949 epidemic. It disproportionately affected young people. There

125
was much anxiety during these epidemics, and children were kept out of school. Polio
remained at epidemic proportions into the 1950's, with more than 35,000 cases annually. It
seemed to hit in the summer, and was associated with summer activities like picnics and
swimming. It caused vague symptoms that the best doctors could not diagnose initially. One
third had partial or total paralysis, and three percent died.
In 1957 Russia was first to put the satellite Sputnik into space. The schools were
pressed to improve math and science. Television was changing with new Heroes. Ben Casey
was a very popular cult hero from 1961 to 1966. His buttoned black and white doctor style
shirts were popular. Other doctor shows included Marcus Welby, M.D. and Dr. Kildaire. It
was not surprising that applications to medical schools increased.
The early sixties brought extra trips to the farm to bring Grandfather Fred his oxygen.
His failing health was emotionally difficult for his son William K., who like his father had
bouts of depression. Grandfather Fred was very independent, finding it difficult to be
dependent on others. On the last trip to the farm, he told me how strong he had once been,
able to easily lift two hundred pound sacks.
Idaho during the sixties was a conservative state that largely ignored the peace
movement and hippies. The "buck shop", a barber specializing in crew cuts was popular. The
game Risk occupied friends for the afternoon. The majority ofthe Caldwell young
participated in school activities and continued on to the College of Idaho where our parents
had gone. My mother's semester's tuition costs were one hundred dollars; double that of her
sister Helen ten years earlier. I had the same general chemistry teacher my mother had twenty
seven years earlier. The format had changed little, with an alphabetical description of each
element and its ores. Idaho had long been a mining state.

126

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Rhys, Isaac. The Transformation of Virginia 1740-1790. University of North Carolina

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Morgan, Edmund S. Virginians at Home. Charlottesville: The University Press of
Virginia
Morgan, Edmund S. American Slavery American Freedom. New York: W.W.Norton
& Company, 1975
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Of American Society. New York: Vintage Books, 1997
Jordan, Winthrop D. White Over Black American Attitudes Toward the Negro 15501812. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1968
Breen T.H. Tobacco Culture. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985
Rutman, Darrett B. & Anita H. A Place In Time Middlesex County, Virginia 16501750. New Your: W.W. Norton & Company, 1984
Breen, T.H. & Innes, Stephen. "Myne Owne Ground" Race & Freedom On Virginia's
Eastern Shore, 1640-1676. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980
Brown, Kathleen M. Good Wives, Nasty Wenches, & Anxious Patriarchs. Chapel Hill:
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The Hobson Book Press, 1947
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Descendants of William Adams, chiurgeon

I William Adams, chiurgeon
2 John Adams, carpenter 1654 +Katherine
3 Richard 1680 4 Absalom Adams 1725 +Elizabeth Fothergill - 1790
5 Feathergale Adams 1755 - 1807
+Nancy Elizabeth (Betsy) Smith 1760 - 1803
.... 6 John B. (Jack) Adams 1791 - 1870
... +Mary Catherine Sampson 1793 - 1862
7 Frederick Feathergale Adams 1814 - 1890
+Maranda Young 1 8 1 8 - 1 8 9 8
8 William Johnson Adams 1848 - 1922
+Elizabeth F True 1845 - 1901
9 Frederick Henry Adams 1880 - 1963
+LuellaM. Christopherson 1888 - 1974
10 William Kenneth Adams 1916 - 1993
+Rosemary Slavens 1920 11 John Clayton Adams 1947 +Jane Marie Klimes 1946 12 Jeremy Adams 1977 12 Nathan Adams 1980 12 Tyler Adams 1986 11 Beth Adams 1952 +Robert Klein
12 David Klein 1983 12 Jeffrey Klein 1983 11 William L. Adams 1944 12 Scott William Adams 1975 12 Gregory Marc Adams 1982 12 Kimberly Sue Adams 1984 10 Delbert Adams 1910 9 Mary Jane Adams 1878 +Jesse L. Allen
10 John Allen 1913 10 Kenneth Allen 1916 10 Roger Allen 1918 9 Marsha (Hessie) Adams 1891 9 Nell Adams 1888 +Harry Apple
10 Harry T. Apple 1913 -

130
10 Jack C. Apple 1911 9 Maude Adams 1875 +William Ringo
10 Resfred Ringo 1905 10 William Ringo 1907 10 Walter Ringo 1914 9 William Jr. Adams 1885 9 Robert Adams 1883 8 Julia Marsh Adams 1856 +George W. Laycock
9 Francis M. Laycock 1886 9 Will B. Laycock 1881 9 Francis M. Laycock 1883 9 Joseph R. Laycock 1885 9 Moses F. Laycock 1887 9 John W. Laycock 1889 9 Mary Laycock 1891 9 Jesse Laycock 1893 9 Laurence R. Laycock 1896 8 Hesperea Elizabeth Adams 1858 +John Thomas
9 Katie Thomas 1882 9 Jane Thomas 1884 9 Fannie Thomas 1885 9 Edith Thomas 1887 9 Berthie F. Thomas 1889 9 Roberta H. Thomas 1897 8 Mary Jane Adams 1860 - 1872
8 Robert J. Adams
8 Ryan A. Adams
7 William Sampson Adams 1813 +Elizabeth Green
7 Elizabeth Adams 1816 +Flemming Cummins
8 Margaret Cummins
+William Anderson
8 Henry Cummins
8 Harriet Cummins
+Shapleigh Elmore
8 William Cummins
8 Addie Cummins
+William Cummins
7 Judith Adams 1817 +William McCall
8 Ann McCall
+Mr. Curtis

131

6
6
6
6

8 Rebecca McCall
+Mr. Crawford
8 James McCall
8 Agnes McCall
+Mr. Owens
8 John McCall
8 Joplin McCall
7 Agnes Catherine Adams 1819 +George Slaughter
7 Walter Adams 1828 7 Rebecca Lawrence Adams 1830 +William Watson
7 Joint Adams 1832 7 Mary Winfred Adams 1834 +William Shindlebower
8 Thomas Shindlebower
8 Bruce Shindlebower
8 Sampson Shindlebower
8 Sarah Shindlebower
+B W Smith
7 Harriet P Adams 1837 +James Dunn
8 Joe Dunn
8 Grant Dunn
8 Frank Dunn
8 Maynie Dunn
+John Wagner
7 Stephen Sampson Adams 1838 7 Martha Ann Adams 1840 Nancy Anne Adams 1774 +John Hutcherson
7 Margaret (Peggy) Hutcherson 1797
7 Feathergill Hutcherson 1802 7 James Hutcherson 1808 7 John W. (Jack) Hutcherson 1799 7 William Hutcherson 1805 7 Absalom Hutcherson 1814 Margaret (Peggy) Adams 1775 +Joseph Brown
Elizabeth Adams 1778 +Mr. Hugison
Virginia Adams 1780 +Nicholas Smith
Judith Adams 1783 +Walter Adams
7 Elizabeth Adams

132
+William Lear
7 Luke Adams
+Elizabeth Parker
7 Feathergill Adams
7 Nancy Adams
7 Walter Jr. Adams
7 John Adams
7 William Adams
7 James Adams
6 Absalom Adams 1785 +Elizabeth Slayton
7 John Adams
7 Elizabeth Adams
7 Mary Adams
7 Minerva Adams
7 Sally Adams
+Benjamin Kemper
7 Polly Adams
+Henry Petty
6 Mary (Polly) Adams 1787 +Rubin Adams
7 Lucinda Adams
7 Simeen Adams
7 Lucinda Adams
7 Harrison Adams
7 Reuben Adams
7 Gowen Adams
7 Wesley Adams
7 Hubbard Adams
7 Benjamin Adams
7 John Quincy Adams
6 Katherine Adams 1789
+Thomas Brown
6 Martha Adams 1793 +John Radcliff
5 Absalom Adams 1748 6 Feathergale Adams 1760 6 James Adams 1776 6 Polly Adams 1776 6 John Adams
6 Reuben Adams 1778 6 Elizabeth Adams 1782 6 Sally Adams 1786 6 Catherine Sally Adams 1789 6 Mary Polly Adams 1790 6 Franky Adams 1794 -

133
6 Jeptha Adams 1795 6 Absalom Adams 1797 6 Robert Adams
7 John Adams
7 Feathergill Adams
+Judith Adams
7 Walter Adams
5 Abraham Adams
5 Daniel Adams
5 Luke Adams 1758 +Sophina Thorn
6 Reuben Adams
6 Margaret (Peggy)
+Travis Rogers
6 John
+Susannah Childers
5 Thomas Adams 1760 5 Gavin Adams
5 John Adams
6 William (Devil Bill) Adams 1776 +Poly Long
7 [1] Smith Adams
7 [2] William Adams
7 [3] Jones L. Adams
7 [4] Crawford Adams MD
7 [5] James Adams MD
7 Allenworth Adams
8 John R Adams 1835 8 Bird Adams
8 Callie Adams
8 Willis Adams
9 Rebecca Adams
9 Elizabeth Adams
9 Ella Adams
9 Celia Adams
9 Callie Adams
9 Sarah Adams
9 Willis B Adams
9 Joseph Wade Adams
8 Allenworth Jr Adams
7 Jackson (Jack) Adams
8 Thomas C. Adams
8 Owsley Adams
8 Lucy Adams
8 Jim Adams
*2nd Wife of William (Devil Bill) Adams.

134
+Rebecca Lawrence
7 [ I] Smith Adams
8 [2] William Adams
7 [3] Jones L. Adams
8 [4] Crawford Adams MD
8 [5] James Adams MD
7 John (Jack) Adams
7 Elizabeth (Betsy) Adams
7 Olmstead Adams
7 Thomas Adams
4 Richard Adams 1701 3 Daniel 1684 3 William
3 John Jr.
+Elizabeth
4 George Adams 1705 5 Matthew Adams 1725 +Elizabeth
6 Walter Adams 1755 6 Luke Adams 1750 6 Matthew Jr. Adams 1759 6 George Adams 1780 6 Frances Adams 1780 +William Heard
5 John Hobbs Adams 1727 6 John Adams Jr. 1747 6 Benjamin 1749 6 Spencer 1750 6 Jacob 1753 6 Frances
6 Jesse Jr. 1771 5 Abraham Adams 1730 +Triphena 1731 6 Leaner Adams 1750 6 Daniel Adams 1752 6 Abraham Jr Adams 1758 6 Elizabeth Adams 1760 6 Amelia Adams 1760 6 Jacob Adams 1765 6 C h l o e Adams 1767 6 Agnes Adams 1770 +John Blackwell Ball
5 Daniel Adams Goose Creek 1743 6 Sylvester 1763 6 Ephraim 1766 6 Nathan 1773 -

135
6 Daniel 1784 - 1830
6 William 1778 5 George Jr Adams 1736 5 Jacob Adams 1739 5 Isaac Adams of Ashby's Gap 1741
6 Edmond 1762 6 Abraham 1767 6 Jacob 1773 6 Daniel 1775 4 John Adams III 1714 +Eleanor
5 Joshua Adams
5 John Adams IV
5 William Adams
5 George Adams
4 William Adams
4 Nipper Adams 1730 5 Nipper Adams 1745 5 James Adams
3 Gabriel Adams
+Priscilla Pearson 1680 4 Philip Adams 1713 4 John Adams 1720 3 Catherine
3 Susannah 1700 3 Benjamin
2 William - 1677
+Frances