The Adams Genealogy

The Adams Genealogy

By Jared L. Olar

September 2019

The English surname "Adams" is a patronymic signifying a family descended in the male line from a man named Adam. Variant forms of the surname include Adamson, Addams, and Addoms. Given how common the Christian name Adam has been in English history, naturally there are a great many unrelated Adams families of English origin. Probably the two most notable colonial Adams families were the Adamses of Braintree, Massachusetts (ancestors of U.S. Presidents John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams), and the Adamses of Hartford, Connecticut, and Great Egg Harbor, New Jersey (maternal ancestors of my wife). The English ancestry of the Braintree Adamses has been traced back to Barton St. David in Somerset, England, but unfortunately the origin of our Adamses of Hartford is still unknown. The fact that the patriarchs of the Braintree and Hartford families were fellow passangers aboard Puritan minister Thomas Hooker's ship the Griffin has naturally led researchers to speculate that they were brothers or perhaps cousins. As explained below, they certainly were not brothers, but may have been cousins. As for the Adamses of Braintree, many amateur genealogists continue to be taken in by the spurious "Ap Adam" pedigree that was concocted in 1853, even though it was definitively debunked in 1927 by J. G. Bartlett in his Henry Adams of Somersetshire, England & Braintree, Massachusetts. Neither the Braintree Adamses nor the Hartford Adamses have any known Welsh or medieval aristocratic or royal origin.

The following account of our Adams genealogy is derived chiefly from the work of preeminent Adams genealogist Arthur Adams, namely, his article "Jeremy Adams of Hartford, Conn., and Some of his Descendants", published in the New England Historical & Genealogical Register (July 1905), Vol. 59, and his book Jeremy Adams of Cambridge, Mass., and Hartford, Conn., and His Descendants (1955). Those works are supplemented and augmented by primary and secondary sources quoted and cited below:

Four Generations of the Adams Family

1. JEREMY ADAMS, parentage and ancestry unknown, born circa 1604 in England, died 11 Aug. 1683 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut. Jeremy's approximate year of birth is based on the fact that he gave his own age as 60 in a 1664 deposition when he was freed from watching and warding on 2 March 1665. Jeremy, one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut, was one of the original members of Rev. Thomas Hooker's company of colonists, arriving with Hooker aboard the Griffin in 1633. Some genealogical researchers have claimed that Jeremy was a brother of his fellow Griffin passenger Henry Adams of Braintree, Massachusetts, but apart from the fact that both Jeremy and Henry were surnamed Adams and they arrived together on the Griffin, there is nothing to support the claim that they were brothers. Furthermore, Jeremy is not mentioned in the will of Henry's father as he should have been if they were brothers (though they could have been cousins). It is due to the unfounded speculation that Jeremy and Henry were brothers that many genealogists believe Jeremy came from Chelmsford in Essex, where Hooker was a minister, or Barton St. David, where Henry Adams' family came from. Although pioneer Adams researcher Arthur Adams thought Jeremy may have come from Stoke-by-Nayland in Suffolk, unfortunately nothing is known of where Jeremy was born in England. Some have speculated that Jeremy may have been born in or near Cranbrook in Kent, since Jeremy's first wife was born there -- however, Jeremy did not marry her until after his arrival in Hartford, Connecticut, and while it is possible that they knew each other before coming to America, there is no reason to think so.

Considering the fact that Jeremy Adams was about 29 years old when he came to America, it's very likely that he first married in England and that his unknown first wife died before Jeremy embarked for Massachusetts in 1633. In light of these considerations, Arthur Adams believed it was likely that our Jeremy Adams was the same as a Jeremy Adams from Stoke-by-Nayland in Suffolk. That Jeremy Adams is known to have married in 1625 in Stoke-by-Nayland to a woman named Ann Plampin, who also is known to have died before 1630. While that may possibly be our Jeremy Adams, that proposed identification has not been confirmed, and in fact some online sources say Ann Plampin's husband "Jeremye Adams" was born in 1589 and died in 1639, which would rule him out as our Jeremy.

Earlier researchers believed Jeremy had arrived in New England in 1632 as part of Hooker's advance party of colonists, who at first settled at Braintree, Massachusetts. That date of arrival for Jeremy was based on the 7 Jan. 1733 list of colonists who supplied fencing -- however, as Robert C. Anderson has explained, that list in fact was drawn up later. Jeremy therefore must have arrived with Hooker and the main party in 1633. Jeremy settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, along with the other members of Hooker's company, where he was granted one rood at Cambridge for a cowyard on 5 Aug. 1633 and received a proportional share of one-half in the undivided meadow on 20 Aug. 1635. Jeremy was made a Freeman at Cambridge on 6 May 1635. The Cambridge land inventory of 10 Oct. 1635 showed that Jeremy Adams owned four parcels of land: the rood in the cowyard, one acre and one rood in Old Field, two acres in the Great Marsh, and two acres on Small Lot Hill.

In 1636, Hooker and his companions made plans to establish a new settlement in Connecticut. In preparations for that venture, Jeremy began to sell off his land in Cambridge. Thus, by May 1636 some of the land mentioned in the 10 Oct. 1635 inventory had become the property of John Taylcott -- it is described as "the land late of Jeremy Addams." Some of Jeremy's land is now occupied by buildings belonging to Harvard University.

ConnecticutHistory.org describes the move of Hooker and his party from Massachusetts to Connecticut as follows:

"In June 1636, less than three years after Thomas Hooker arrived in Boston, he and one hundred members of his congregation set off on the two-week overland journey, accompanied by 160 head of cattle, goats, and pigs. They followed a Native American trail, later known as the Connecticut Path or the Bay Path, west to the Connecticut River and then south to the future site of Hartford."

Jeremy married circa 1637 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, to REBECCA (TAYLOR) BASEDEN GREENHILL, born circa 1608 in Kent (probably Cranbrook), England, died 1678 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut. Rebecca had been widowed twice before she married Jeremy. She first married on 24 April 1627 in Cranbrook, Kent, England, to Walter Baseden, who died within a year of their marriage. Rebecca then remarried on 24 June 1628 in Cranbrook, Kent, to Samuel Greenhill, born circa 1603 in Staplehurst, Kent, England, died circa 1635 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, son of John and Anne (Roberts) Greenhill. Samuel and Rebecca had a daughter, Rebecca, and a son, Thomas. About two years after the death of Samuel Greenhill, his widow Rebecca remarried to Jeremy Adams, with whom she had two sons and three daughters. About five years after Rebecca's death, Jeremy remarried circa 1683 to REBECCA FLETCHER, born circa 1636, died 25 June 1715 in Middletown, Hartford County, Connecticut, daughter of John and Mary (Ward) Fletcher and widow of Andrew Warner. Rebecca (Fletcher) Warner had had two children by her husband Andrew, but had no children by Jeremy.

Robert C. Anderson in his The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, pages 6-11, provides this information on the children of Jeremy Adams and his first wife Rebecca:

"Savage includes a first wife, [of Jeremy Adams] before the widow of Samuel Greenhill, on the basis of his proposed early birthdates for the first two children of Jeremy Adams, but these children need not have been born as early as Savage claimed, and could easily have been born to Rebecca (Baseden) (Greenhill) Adams. Aside from the baptism of Samuel, we have no direct evidence for the birthdates of any of the children. If we assume that the other four children named in the 16 July 1653 will of Thomas Greenhill are listed in birth order, and if we arrange them at two years intervals prior to the birth of Samuel, we get the sequence given above. Since Samuel Greenhill died within two years of his arrival in 1634, Jeremy Adams could easily have married his widow in time to have a child born in 1637. And since the marriage record for John supposedly claims that he was under age in 1657 when he married, he might even be placed a year or two later. Some sources claim that Jeremy Adams had another daughter who married Robert Sanford, to justify the bequest by Adams to his 'grandson' Zachary Sanford, but this is not correct, since Zachary Sanford had married Sarah Willett, daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah (Adams) Willett. This is made clear in the dispute between the Greenhill and Adams heirs over the estate of Thomas Greenhill, when Zachary Sanford makes the claim 'in right of his wife.'"

Jeremy's house lot in Hartford was just west of the Little River. After settling in Hartford, Jeremy Adams was appointed constable of Hartford in 1639. On 13 Oct. 1669, he was listed with other Freemen on the north side of the river in Hartford, and was made a townsman in 1671. The 1639 land inventory of Hartford listed Jeremy as holding six parcels of land. By the time of his death, he had acquired nearly 300 acres -- probably because the court on 13 March 1662 made some large grants to several settlers, including 340 acres to Adams. (See J. Hammon Trumbull's The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut Prior to the Union with New Haven Colony May 1665 - 1636-1665 (1850), Vol. I, page 377) Due to his frequent debts, Jeremy had to mortgage his house to the colony, which eventually foreclosed on the mortgage. However, after Adams' death the town conveyed the property to Jeremy's grandson-in-law, Zachary Sanford.

Jeremy also was involved in Hartford's unequal relationship with the Native American tribes in the area. Thus, an order of the General Court at Hartford, dated 5 April 1638, says, "It is ordered that there shalbe sixe sent to Warranocke Indians to declare unto them that wee have a desire to speake with them, to knowe the reasons why they saide they are affraide of us, and if they will not come to us willingly then to compell them to come by violence, and they may leave 2 of the English as pleadges in the meane time and to trade with them for corne if they can." That party of six colonists, led by Capt. Mason, included Jeremy Adams. At the same court, Jeremy and Capt. Mason were sent to trade with the Indians for corn and to settle further trade. (See J. Hammon Trumbull's The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut Prior to the Union with New Haven Colony May 1665 - 1636-1665 (1850), Vol. I, pages 17, 19)

A few years later, however, a Hartford Particular Court issued a summons dated 5 March 1644 requiring that Jeremy appear before the next session to receive a censure for "adhereing to Tho: Osmer, in his misaprhensions about the execution, and giveing him incouridgement by prvoking speches to resist the officer, but espetially his passionat distempered speches, lowd languadge & unmannerly cariedge in the face of the Court, to the great offence of the beholders." (See J. Hammon Trumbull's The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut Prior to the Union with New Haven Colony May 1665 - 1636-1665 (1850), Vol. I, page 123)

On 13 March 1662, the Connecticut General Court granted the request of "Jeremie Adams" that his house become an "Ordinary" -- that is, an inn or "house of entertainment," and that it should remain so for Jeremy and his successors with the following stipulations: "That ye said Jeremie, his heires and successors, carry on this worke, by such prson or prsons inhabiteing in ye said house as shalbe to ye good likeing and approbation of ye Genll Court from time to time," that his house be capable of giving "sufficient enterteinment as need and occasion shal require, both to neighbours and strang," that there be "necessary & comfortable accommodation and provision made for enterteinment of Travellers" and of horses, and that there be food, wine and liquours "both for man and beast." Lastly, if Jeremy "shall not attend his agreement in attending the provision made in ye foregoing Articles, he shal not forfeit his licence, but shalbe liable to be censured by the Court as they shal judg most suteable." On 14 May 1663, the General Court appointed "Jeramie Adams to be Custome Master for Hartford." (See J. Hammon Trumbull's The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut Prior to the Union with New Haven Colony May 1665 - 1636-1665 (1850), Vol. I, pages 378, 401)

Arthur Adams, who was in truth the leading genealogical researcher of the Jeremy Adams family, said Jeremy's inn or tavern was on the site of the 1906 Traveler's Building in Hartford. According to Connecticut tradition, it was at this tavern where the Court was in session with the Connecticut Charter, when New England Governor Edmund Andros demanded the charter be surrendered. Instead the colonists put out the lights and, so the story goes, hid the colony's charter in the "Charter Oak."

Jeremy made his will on 4 Aug. 1683 and died one week later at Hartford. Arthur Adams also informs us that after Jeremy, he was given a public funeral at which his fellow colonists drank three gallons and three quarts of wine, all paid for by the colony. On 6 Sept. 1683, Caleb Stanly and Phineas Wilson took an inventory of Jeremy's estate. Jeremy's will was proved on the same date. The incipit of the inventory says, "The inventory of the estate of Mr. Jerremyah Addams who deceased agust 11d 1683 taken by us whose names are under written." The estate was valued at £243.05.06. Following in a transcription of Jeremy's will and related probate documents (from Ancestry.com's "Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999" and Charles A. Manwaring's Early Connecticut Probate Records, Hartford, Conn. (1904), Vol. I, page 267):

"I Jeremy Adams of Hartford being very sick & weak due ordeine this to be my last last [sic] Will & Testament, hereby makeing voyd all former wills & Testaments by me made First I due desire all my Just debts ma be truely & honestly payd, & whereas I have formerly given to my Grandson Zachary Sandford my Oxpasture Lott in the way to Wethersfield, & put him in possession thereof before witnesses, I do hereby confirme the same to him & his heires forever & the Lott that I have at the wolfe pound by mrs./mr Webster I do Will and Bequeath it to my Grandson Zachary & his heires forever he paying the value of it, as it shall be prized in the Inventory, towards the payment of my Just debts or to my Grand children as I shall hereafter expresse, & the remaynder of my Estate, when my debts are paid shall be equally divided to my Grand children the one halfe to my sonn John Adams his children, & the other halfe to my sonn Willett's Children & I doe appoynt nath: willett to be the Executor to this my Last will & Testament, & Major John Tallcott & Capt John Allyn to be my Overseers In witness hereof I hereunto set my hand this 4th of August 1683.
"JEREMY X ADDAMS
"his mark
"Signed and declared in presence of us John Talcott, John Allyn.
"18 December 1683: Whereas, Jeremy Adams his Estate stands Indebted to Mr. Richard Lord in the Full Sum of £117-05-08, for which there is Mortgaged all that Parcell of Land in Hoccanum Meadow which the sayd Jeremy bought of Widdow Lattimore of Wethersfield, the sd. Mortgage dated 6 December, 1674, I Nathaniel Willett of Hartford, Executor to the Will of Jeremy Adams, not being capacitated to redeem sd. Mortgage now acknowledge Judgement & the Mortgage is forfeited, and doe Quitt Claim the sayd Land to the Use of Richard Lord.
"21 April, 1691: Nathaniel Willett, being aged and having lost Jeremy Addams his books and Accounts when his House was burnt, This Court desire and appoint Capt. Jonathan Bull to be Adms. with sayd Nathaniel Willett to the sayd Estate of Jeremy Addams, who are appointed to Issue so far as they are capable as soon as may be and to make Return to this Court."

Jeremy was interred in Hartford's Ancient Burying Ground, located behind the First Congregational Church on the corner of Main and Gold Streets. In the burying ground a brownstone monument was erected in 1837, which was replaced in 1986 by a pink granite obelisk displaying the names of the Founders of Hartford -- heading the list is the name of Jeremy Adams.

In the course of his research, Arthur Adams prepared a genealogical essay entitled, "Jeremy Adams of Hartford, Conn., and Some of his Descendants" which was published in the New England Historical & Genealogical Register (July 1905), Vol. 59, pages 315-316. Following is a transcription of Arthur Adams' biographical and genealogical resume of Jeremy Adams from that essay:

     1. JEREMY 1 ADAMS came from England with Rev. Mr. Hooker's Company. This company settled first at Braintree, but removed soon to
     Cambridge, Mass., then called Newtown, where Jeremy was as early as 1632. He was made freeman at Cambridge, May 6, 1635, and the 
     Proprietors' Records of the town show that he was in possession of a house-lot there in Oct. of the same year.
     
     On the removal of Mr. Hooker's Company to Hartford, in 1636, Jeremy was one of the number, and became an original proprietor of 
     that town; and, according to Mr. Hinman, he was a juror and deputy to the General Court in 1638. Apr. 5, 1638, he was sent, with 
     Capt. Mason and four others, by the General Court, to treat with the Indians, and to trade with them for corn. [Public Records of 
     Connecticut] In the land division of 1639, he received thirty acres on the highway, now Elm street; and was constable that year.
     
     About 1639, he married first, Rebecca, widow of Samuel Greenhill, perhaps as a second wife. Greenhill had come from Staplehurts, 
     Co. Kent, England, in the same ship with Simon Willard.
     
     Mar. 5, 1644, the General Court ordered Jeremy Adams to appear at the next General Court to receive censure for adhering to 
     Thomas Asmor, encouraging him to resist and officer; and especially for his 'passionat distempered speeches, lowd language and 
     unmannerly caredge in the face of the Court.' The General Court on Mar. 13, 1661-62, granted to Jeremy Adams 300 acres of upland
     and 40 acres of meadow on the road going to Monhegin. About the same time, the Court established Jeremy as keeper of the 
     'Ordinary.' This tavern was on the site of the present Universalist church. He bought the lot of John Morrice, and mortgaged it
     to the Colony, Jan. 26, 1660. According to the Public Records of Conn., he was established 'Custome Master' for Hartford, by the 
     General Court, May 14, 1663. He was freed from watching and warding at the age of sixty, Mar. 2, 1664-65, and served as 
     'townsman' in 1671.
     
     His wife Rebecca died in 1678, and he married second, Rebecca, widow of Andrew Warner, Jr., and daughter of John Fletcher. 
     Jeremy Adams died Aug. 11, 1683. His estate was valued at £243.5.6, and he gave his property to his grandson Zachariah Sanford, 
     the children of his son John, and those of his son-in-law Willet. The house of his executor, Nathaniel Willet, was burned, and 
     in it all the books and papers of the deceased.
     
     His wife survived him, although not mentioned in his will, and died in Middletown, Jan. 25, 1715, aged 77.
     
          Children: 

     2   i. JOHN, m. Aug. 26, 1657, Abigail, dau. of Richard Smith; d. Sept. 6, 1670. 
     3  ii. ANN, m. Robert Sanford, d. 1682. 
     4 iii. HANNAH, m. Nathaniel Willet. 
        iv. SAMUEL, bapt. Nov. 23, 1645, prob. d. young. 
         v. HESTER.
        vi. SARAH.

While most of what Arthur Adams wrote of Jeremy Adams in 1905 is correct, he nevertheless followed James Savage in misinterpreting the reference in Jeremy's will to his "grandson" Zachary Sandford, taking that to mean Zachary's mother Ann was a daughter of Jeremy Adams. In fact Jeremy had no daughter named Ann -- as noted above, Zachary was rather Jeremy's "grandson-in-law," having married a granddaughter of Jeremy Adams. About 50 years after his essay The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, Arthur Adams published an expanded and corrected account of Jeremy's life in his book Jeremy Adams of Cambridge, Mass., and Hartford, Conn., and His Descendants (1955), pages 2-4. Following is what Arthur Adams' wrote of Jeremy in his book:

     1. Jeremy Adams came to Cambridge, Mass., in 1632. He was a member of the Company that came over under the influence of the Rev.
     Thomas Hooker, though Hooker himself did not come over till the next year. Hooker was one of the most influential ministers in 
     the Puritan movement in the Church of England. He was a minister of the Established Church in Chelmsford, Essex. His Puritanism 
     was so pronounced that he had to leave England, if not for his safety, at least for the sake of preaching and ministering to his
     Puritan followers. Most of his Company came from parishes within twenty-five miles of Chelmsford.

     Though we have searched persistently for more than forty years, we have not been able to establish certainly the parentage of 
     Jeremy. Adams is a common name in many or all parts of England. There were numerous families of the name in Essex, Suffolk, 
     and Hertfordshire, the counties bordering on Essex. One would not expect to find many Jeremys among them, but there are a 
     surprising number. For example, at Saffron Walden in Essex, there was a family with a Jeremy in at least three successive 
     generations. However, it has not been possible to fit our Jeremy into that family. There was a Jeremy, of the right age, in 
     Kettering, Northamptonshire, and a Jeremy in Stoke-by-Nayland, also of the right age, in Suffolk. I think he is the most likely
     of all the Jeremy’s to be ours, though positive proof is lacking.

     Well, Jeremy came over to Cambridge in 1632. He was unmarried, though we know from his own statement that he was born in 1604 or
     1605 -- he gave his age as sixty in a deposition in 1664. That would make him twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old when he came
     over, and certainly there were few if any unmarried men in the settlement so old. He may have been a widower. The fact that the 
     Stoke-by-Nayland Jeremy has lost his wife shortly before our Jeremy’s leaving England is one reason why I incline to identify our 
     Jeremy with him.

     Space forbids giving any account of Jeremy’s four years stay in Cambridge. There isn’t much to say, anyway, except that he owned 
     land, some of it now occupied by buildings of Harvard University.

     He came to Hartford in 1636, probably with the main company led by Hooker, rather than with the small company who had come the 
     preceding year to prepare for the arrival of the main body.

     Within a year or two after his coming to Hartford, he married Rebecca, the widow of Samuel Grenhill. Grenhill had come over 
     shortly before with his wife and two children from Staplehurst, Kent. The records of the baptisms of the two children are found in 
     the Register of the Church in Staplehurst, but the marriage is not. Extensive research carried on by a number of people over many 
     years has failed to turn up the record of the marriage of Samuel and Rebecca Grenhill. So we are still ignorant of the family name
     of Rebecca, the wife, first, of Samuel Grenhill, and secondly of Jeremy Adams.

     Jeremy shared in the land divisions of the Hartford settlement, and also had in his possession, as trustee for the Grenhill children, 
     the Grenhill estate. 

     Only a few incidents relating to Jeremy’s life in Hartford can be touched on here. 

     April 5, 1638, he was sent with Captain Mason and others on an expedition to the Warranocke Indians. It is evident that this was an 
     armed expedition, though there was no war at the time, and this service makes Jeremy a qualifying ancestor for the Society of 
     Colonial Wars.

     In 1662, Jeremy Adams was made official inn-keeper for the Colony. His inn was on what is now Main Street in Hartford; the site is 
     now occupied by the Main Office of the Travelers Insurance Company. Another tract of land owned by Jeremy, is now a part of the 
     Campus of Trinity College.

     Jeremy kept the inn till his death in 1683. He was succeeded by his grandson-in-law, Zachary Sanford, and in time Sanford was 
     succeeded by his son-in-law Jonathan Bunce. The inn was used for the meetings of the General Court -- the legislative body -- of the 
     Colony, and for other public purposes. Probably few men knew so many of the prominent men of Connecticut or were personally known 
     to so many.

     March 31, 1661/2, Jeremy had a grant of a large tract of land in what is now Colchester. There is a ridge of rock there still known 
     as “Jeremy’s Back,” and a considerable stream running into the Connecticut River there is called “Jeremy’s River” or the Salmon 
     River. March 11, 1662/63, the Court granted to Jeremy’s son, John, 330 acres in Colchester.

     These grants in a later day were the occasion of prolonged litigation, and the documents in the case give us proof as to who Jeremy’s
     descendants were for a hundred years!

     Jeremy’s wife, Rebecca, died in 1678, and he married secondly, Rebecca, daughter of John Fletcher and widow of Andrew Warner, Jr. 
     She survived him, though not mentioned in his will, and died in Middletown, Conn., Jan. 27, 1715, aged seventy-seven. 

     Jeremy died August 11, 1683, and received a public funeral. The Colony paid for three gallons and three quarts of wine consumed on the occasion! 

     He speaks of his grandson -- really a grandson by marriage -- Zachary Sanford, the children of his son, John, and the children of his 
     son-in-law Nathaniel Willett. Wiliett was appointed executor of the will. We learn from a court record dated April 21, 1691, that all 
     the books and papers of Jeremy were burned when Willett’s house was destroyed by fire. 

          Children: 

     2   i. John, born about 1637. 
        ii. Hannah, married Jonathan Smith, but died soon without issue. 
       iii. Hester, died young. 
     3  iv. Sarah, born about 1641, married Nathaniel Willett. 
         v. Samuel, baptised Nov. 23, 1645, died about 1661.

The children of Jeremy Adams by his first wife Rebecca were:

     2.  JOHN ADAMS, born circa 1637 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut.
     --  HANNAH ADAMS, born circa 1639 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, married Jonathan Smith.
     --  HESTER ADAMS, born circa 1641 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, died young after 1653 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut.
     --  SARAH ADAMS, born circa 1643 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, married Nathaniel Willett.
     --  SAMUEL ADAMS, baptised 23 Nov. 1645 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, died before 16 July 1653 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut.

2. JOHN ADAMS, son of Jeremy and Rebecca Adams, born circa 1637 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, died 6 Sept. 1670 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut. In 1655, John went to court to try to recover a debt of 35 shillings from Thomas Dement. The following year John was fined 5 shillings "for playing att cards and yt at a vnseasonable time of the night," and again was fined 40 shillings for "unseemly carriage to Symon Smiths wife." A letter of consent dated 24 Aug. 1657 (and entered into the records of the Particular Court of Connecticut) granted John permission to marry ABIGAIL SMITH, baptised 21 Jan. 1638 in Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England, died after 2 April 1689 in Huntington, Suffolk County, New York, youngest daughter of Richard and Rebecca (Buswell) Smith of Wethersfield, Connecticut. The letter of consent was signed by both the father of John and the father of Abigail, and their marriage certificate was entered in the Particular Court records on 1 Sept. 1756. John and Abigail had three daughters and four sons.

Following his marriage, John appears twice in The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut (1636-1776), by James Hammond Trumbull and Charles Jeremy Hoadly. First, on 11 March 1663 at a General Assembly at Hartford, "This Court doth grant vnto John Adams, 300 acres of land, at yR place where his father Adams took vp land in ye way to N: London, whereof thirty acres of meadow ioyneing to his father or Nicholas Olmsted. He relinquisheth his right at Fairfield." Again, in Oct. 1669, John Adams appears on the list of freemen "on ye South side of Hartford."

John died the following year, being probably only about 33 years old. On 9 Oct. 1670 an inventory of his estate was completed. The date of John's death is mentioned in the incipit of the inventory: “An Invitory of ye Estate of John Addams deceased September 6: 70 taken by us whos hands are under written.” John's estate was valued at £74.15.06, and those who conducted the inventory were Matthew Gilbert, Nathaniel Willett, and Siborn Nickols. The children listed were: "Rebeccah – 12 years Agust last; Abigall – 11 next february; Sarah – 9 march next; Jeremy 6 August last; John 4 septr last; Jonathan 2 years old Nov (last?); one not yet borne." John's widow Abigail was made administrator and John Talcott and "Jeremie Addams" (John's father) were asked by the court to serve as guardians and overseers of John's children.

Another account of the children of John and Abigail Adams is found in an old deposition recorded in Connecticut Towns and Lands, Vol. 5, page 204:

Hartford, May ye 20th 1726 These may certifie whome it may concern yt I Richard Risly of Hartford do of my Certain Knowledge know yt my father John Addams formerly of Hartford, Deceased, had seven children, viz: 4 sons & three Daughters: one son Died without issue: I married one of ye Daughters & Edward Higbee married another: John Brush married ye other: ye sisters are all Deceased but they have left Children as I herd by Jeremiah Addams viz, two higbee & 2 Brushes which ware well last I herd from them: ye above written I am Ready to testify if cald, witness my hand. RICHARD RISLE

Not quite three years after John's death, his widow Abigail remarried on 13 March 1673 probably in Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut, to JOHN BETTS, baptised 5 May 1627 in Claydon, Oxford County, England, died early 1697 in Huntington, Suffolk County, Long Island, son of John and Mary Betts. John and Abigail had no children together. On 1 April 1673, John Betts produced "a writing subscribed by Rebeckah Boreman, Mary Wright, Martha Smith and Sarah Butler, which signified that the 13 of March John Betts was married to Abigail Betts, & that the sd John Betts took her in clothes of his own providing to her, Shift & Stareless, being Stript as aforesd by the aforesaid women" -- through this old marriage custom, John renounced all claims and interest to her estate, including her debts. John and Abigail at first lived in Wethersfield, but in 1680 John purchased a farm at Huntington on Long Island, after which John and Abigail and their children from their first marriages moved to Huntington, and the two of them remained there till their deaths.

Arthur Adams provided the following initial account of John Adams' life and family in his article, "Jeremy Adams of Hartford, Conn., and Some of his Descendants" in the New England Historical & Genealogical Register (July 1905), Vol. 59, page 316:

     2. JOHN 2 ADAMS (Jeremy 1). Of this John little is known, except the date of his death, and the inventory of his estate. He
     died in 1670. The inventory, dated Nov. 9, 1670, amounted to £74.15.06. His widow, Abigail, married John Betts of 
     Wethersfield, who was probably son of John, the son of Mary Betts the School Dame of Hartford.
     
     On Jan. 26, 1680, John Betts, of Wethersfield, bought of Jacob Walker, of Stratford, a farm at Huntington, Long Island. It is
     probable that at this time John Betts and his wife Abigail, widow of John Adams, removed with the Adams children to 
     Huntington. At all events, they were there by 1684, when John Betts and his wife Abigail conveyed to Edward Higbee, 'for and
     in consideration of a marriage' between the said Higbee and Abigail Adams, his step-daughter, a part of the farm bought from 
     Jacob Walker.
     
          Children: 

         i. REBECCA, b. Aug., 1658. 
     5  ii. ABIGAIL, b. Feb., 1660; m. Edward Higbee. 
     6 iii. SARAH, b. Mar., 1662. 
     7  iv. JEREMIAH, b. Aug. 1664; m. ______. 
     8   v. JOHN, b. Sept. 1666; m. ______.
        vi. JONATHAN, b. Nov. 6, 1668; m. Barber (? Barbara) ______; d. 1727.
       vii. A CHILD.

Five decades later, Arthur Adams gave this fuller account of John Adams' life in his book Jeremy Adams of Cambridge, Mass., and Hartford, Conn., and His Descendants (1955), pages 4-5:

     2. John 2 (Jeremy 1) Adams was the only son of Jeremy’s to leave issue. August 24, 1657, he married Abigail Smith, a sister of
     Jonathan Smith who married his sister, Hannah, and youngest daughter of Richard Smith, Sr., of Wethersfield, whose wife was 
     named Rebecca. Richard Smith was an early Wethersfield settler, and left a numerous and very respectable progeny. Neither John 
     Adams nor Rebecca Smith was of age at the time of the marriage, and the document giving the consent of both Jeremy Adams and 
     Richard Smith to the marriage is of record.

     Very little is found of record, besides the grant of Colchester land in 1663, concerning John Adams. The explanation of this 
     is his early death.

     He died September 6, 1670, without a will. However, the records of the Probate Court give the names and ages of the children 
     and tell us that another child was expected. John’s widow married, secondly, John Betts, of Wethersfield, March 13, 1672/3. 
     John Betts moved with his own and his wife’s children, for the Adams marriage was also his second venture, to Huntington, 
     Long Island. Probably the oldest original document relating to the family in private hands is a deed from John and Abigail 
     Betts, dated April 2, 1689, conveying land to John Betts, Jr., Thomas Adams, and John Adams. Thomas was the posthumous child
     of John Adams, mentioned in the Probate Court record. This deed is owned by Dr. Lewis Paddock Addoms, of Brooklyn, N. Y., now
     retired from practice and spending the summer months at his summer home in Huntington. He is a descendant of John, son of 
     John and Abigail (Smith) Adams.

          Children:

         i. Rebecca, born in August 1658. She married the second Richard Risley, and they are the ancestors of all the Risleys. See 
            the Risley Genealogy.
        ii. Abigail, born in Feb. 1660. She married Edward Higbee, and they are the ancestors of all the South Jersey Higbees. See 
            the Higbee Genealogy.
       iii. Sarah, born in March 1662. She married John Brush of Huntington, and left at least two children.
     4  iv. Jeremiah, born in August 1664.
     5   v. John, born in September 1666.
     6  vi. Jonathan, born November 6, 1668.
       vii. Thomas, born in 1670. Died a young man, unmarried, in Huntington.

The seven children of John and Abigail Adams were:

     --  REBECCA ADAMS, born Aug. 1658 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, married Richard Risley.
     --  ABIGAIL ADAMS, born Feb. 1660 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, married Edward Higbee.
     --  SARAH ADAMS, born March 1662 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, married John Brush of Huntington.
     3.  JEREMIAH ADAMS, born Aug. 1664 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut.
     --  JOHN ADAMS, born in Sept. 1666 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut.
     --  JONATHAN ADAMS, born 6 Nov. 1668 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut.
     --  THOMAS ADAMS, born 1670 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, died young and unmarried in Huntington, Suffolk County, New York.

3. JEREMIAH ADAMS ("Jeremy"), son of John and Abigail Adams, born Aug. 1664 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, died Dec. 1735 in Great Egg Harbor, Gloucester County, New Jersey. In contemporary records, Jeremiah's surname is sometimes spelled "Addams" rather than "Adams." Jeremiah accompanied his mother Abigail and step-father John Betts from Hartford, Connecticut, to Huntington on Long Island. There his step-father conveyed to him part of the Crab Meadow Neck farm in Huntington, by way of a deed dated 18 June 1688. Again, his step-father and his mother conveyed to a six-acre farm in Crab Meadow on 10 Nov. 1689. Jeremiah also conveyed some of that land to his younger brother Jonathan. A court record dated 9 Feb. 1697 reads: "I Jeremiah Adams of Huntington, Long Island, son of John Adams and gr. son of Jeremie Adams and Nephew of Thomas Greenhill, make my Brother-in-Law Edward Higby Trustee and Attorney. Witness: Mary Udal."

Jeremiah is known to have married twice, first to DEBORAH (NN), died after 12 March 1709 but well before 7 Feb. 1711 in Huntington, Long Island, New York. Jeremiah and his first wife Deborah conveyed land in Huntington to Thomas Skidmore by a deed dated 12 March 1709. After Deborah's death, Jeremiah removed to Great Egg Harbor in New Jersey, where he married, probably in 1710, to REBECCA (NN), died Jan. 1754 in Great Egg Harbor, Gloucester County, New Jersey. Rebecca first appears on record as a party, along with her husband Jeremiah, to a deed dated 7 Feb. 1710[/11] in Great Egg Harbor, New Jersey, by which they conveyed some of Jeremiah's former property in Huntington, Long Island, to Thomas Bunce of Huntington. Jeremiah is known to have had three sons and four daughters, and at least some of those children -- including Jeremiah Jr. and Abigail -- are known to have been born before 12 March 1709 and thus were born of Deborah, but it is possible that some of Jeremiah's children were born of his second wife Rebecca.

Arthur Adams provided the following brief account of Jeremiah Adams' life and family in his article, "Jeremy Adams of Hartford, Conn., and Some of his Descendants," in the New England Historical & Genealogical Register (July 1905), Vol. 59, page 317:

     6. JEREMIAH 3 ADAMS (John,2 Jeremy 1), born in Aug., 1664, went with his mother, Abigail, and his step-father John Betts, to Huntington,
     L. I. June 18, 1688, John Betts conveyed to Jeremiah Adams a part of his farm on Crab Meadow Neck at Huntington. [Huntington Town
     Records, June 18, 1688] Jeremiah married ______, and removed to Great Egg Harbor, N. J., where letters of administration on his estate
     were granted to his son Jeremiah, Dec. 16, 1735. [Record in the Office of the Secretary of State, Trenton, N. J.]
     
          Children: 

         i. JOSEPH. 
     9  ii. JEREMIAH.

Arthur Adams later was able to provide a somewhat augmented account of Jeremiah Adams' life and book in his landmark book Jeremy Adams of Cambridge, Mass., and Hartford, Conn., and His Descendants (1955), pages 5-6

     4. Jeremiah 3 (John 2, Jeremy 1) Adams. He was born in August 1664, and went with his mother, Abigail, and his step-father, John Betts,
     to Huntington. June 18, 1688, John Betts conveyed to him a part of the farm on Crab Meadow Neck in Huntington. Just when he went to Great
     Egg Harbor, we do not know, but it was somewhat later than when Jonathan went. He was twice married, first, to Deborah, and secondly, to 
     Rebecca, before February 7, 1710, when he and his wife, Rebecca, of Great Egg Harbor, conveyed land to Thomas Brush [sic - Bunce], of 
     Huntington.

     Letters of Administration on his estate were granted to his son, Jeremiah, December 16, 1735. 

     The will of his widow, Rebecca, is dated August 1, 1750, and was proved June 28, 1754. She mentions, among others, a “grandson-in-law,” 
     David, evidently a son of one of Jeremiah’s children by his first wife. 

          Children: 

     7   i. Jeremiah, born about 1685-1695. 
        ii. Joseph. 
       iii. Abigail; married James Somers. 
        iv. Isaac; married by license of January 23, 1730/1, Bathsheba Weldon. He was living in Great Egg Harbor in 1773, but nothing is known
            of his descendants. 
         v. Sarah; married John Covenhoven. 
        vi. Elizabeth, married by license of May 22, 1729, John Van Gelder. For descendants, see an account of the Van Gelder family in the 
            N. Y. Genealogical and Biographical Record. 
       vii. Esther; married _________ Robertson.

Jeremiah Adams is also known to have been appointed guardian for Peter Covenoven Jr., as mentioned in this abstract of a petition that Peter filed a few months before Jeremiah's death: "1735, April 26. Covenoven, Peter, Jr., (eldest son and heir-at-law of Peter Covenoven, late of Great Egg Harbor, Gloucester Co., yeoman, deceased) ward; petition of. Guardian — Jeremiah Adams of same place. Witnesses — Richard Phillpotts, Ellas Steelman."

The exact date of Jeremiah's death is unknown, but he evidently died intestate in Dec. 1735 in Great Egg Harbor, New Jersey, as shown by the letters of administration granted on 16 Dec. 1735 to his son and heir Jeremiah Adams Jr. After his death, Jeremiah Sr.'s widow Rebecca lived on for about two more decades. She made her will on 1 Aug. 1750 in Great Egg Harbor and died about three-and-a-half years later, as indicated by the date of the inventory of her estate which took place 8 Feb. 1754. An abstract of Rebecca's will may be found in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, XXXII, 6-7, as follows:

"1750, Aug. 1. Addams, Rebeccah of Great Egg Harbour, Gloucester Co., widow; will of. Children -- Abigail Somers, Isaac, Sarah Covenover, Elizabeth van Gelder, Ester Roberson and Joseph. Grandchildren -- Sarah Roberson, and Ester Hickman. Grandson-in-law, David, son of Jeremiah Addams, dec'd; great-grandson, John Hickman. Personal estate. Son, Joseph Addams, sole Executor. Witnesses -- Richard Devenny, Sarah Ireland, John Lumley. Proved June 28, 1754. 1754, Feb. 8 -- Inventory, £31.15.11, made by Edmund Cordeary and John Lee. 1754, Dec. 28 -- Account by Executor, Joseph Addams. Amount -- £40.15.9."

The children of Jeremiah Adams by his two wives were:

     --  JEREMIAH ADAMS JR., born circa 1685-1695 in Huntington, Long Island, New York, died July 1742 in Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, md. Mary Homen.
     --  JOSEPH ADAMS, born circa 1685-1695 in Huntington, Long Island, New York.
     4.  ABIGAIL ADAMS, born 21 July 1695 in Huntington, Long Island, New York.
     --  ISAAC ADAMS, died after 1773 probably in Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, married Bathsheba Weldon.
     --  SARAH ADAMS, married John Covenover (Covenhoven).
     --  ELIZABETH ADAMS, born circa 1708 in Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, died 1757, married John Van Gelder.
     --  ESTHER ADAMS, married (NN) Roberson.

4. ABIGAIL ADAMS, daughter of Jeremiah and Deborah Adams, born 21 July 1695 in Huntington, Long Island, New York, died 5 Sept. 1772 in Egg Harbor City, Gloucester County, New Jersey. Abigail's birth and death were recorded in the 1693-1837 records of the Great Egg Harbor Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends (Quakers), as follows: "Abigail Somers wife of James Somers was born the 21 of 7 month 1695. Abigal Somers deceas'd ye 5 of ye 9 mo. 1772." On 1 Jan. 1719 in Egg Harbor City, Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, Abigail married JAMES SOMERS SR., born 15 Jan. 1695 in Somers Point, Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, died 22 Feb. 1761 in Egg Harbor City, Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, buried in Friends-Central Cemetery, Linwood, New Jersey, son of John and Hannah Somers. Abigail and James had eight daughters and three sons.

The dates of James' birth and death are noted in the 1693-1837 records of the Quakers' Great Egg Harbor Monthly Meeting, as follows: "James Somers son of John Somers from England was born the 15th of 1st month 1695 and deceased the 22 day of ye 2nd month 1765." [sic - 1761] Elsewhere in the same records, it is written that at the Monthly Meeting of 1 Jan. 1731, it was concluded that "Ye meeting for Worship shall be removed from John sculls house and shall Hence forth be kept in ye Meeting of James Somers'es." That fact is further noted by James B. Kirk in his book, From Leedsville to Linwood: A brief history of Linwood, New Jersey, which also sheds some light on the life of James Somers:

"As early as 1702, the Egg Harbor-Cape May Friends Monthly Meeting was held in private dwellings of the members. Thomas Chalkley's Journal specifically mentions the house of John Scull as a meeting place. The first Meeting House in the area was built circa 1730, in Leedsville (Linwood) on land donated by James Somers, son of the early settler, John. Known in old deeds as 'the Miller,' James operated the first gristmill on Patcong Creek on the south side of Central Avenue by Bargaintown Pond."

In his will, James bequeathed "one acre [of land] to the people commonly called Quakers, for a meeting and burying ground where on the Meeting House now Stands, forever More."

An abstract of James' will may be found in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, XXXIII, 401. James made his will at Great Egg Harbor on 30 April 1758, and he died about three years later, on 22 Feb. 1761. An inventory of his estate was taken on 10 April 1761, and the will was proved 15 April 1761. Following is the abstract of his will:

"1758, April 30. Somers, James, Sr., of Great Egg Harbor, Gloucester Co., yeoman; will of. Son, John, a tract on Great Egg Harbor River, of 450 acres, whereon he now lives, but he shall return 1/3 of the rent thereof to Abigail Somers, his mother. One acre to the people commonly called Quakers, whereon the meeting house stands. Son, James, Jr., the homstead, where I live, of of 449 acres, with the grist mill, dam and one acre purchased of Return Badcock; but he shall return 1/3 of the rent thereof to his mother, Abigail Somers. Son, Isaac, land on the southwest side of Peter Covenover's, of 250 acres; and he shall return 1/3 the rent thereof to his mother Abigail. Son, John, land lying on the Beach, of 100 acres, known by the name of Great Hammock, at the east end of the beach. Son James, a tract at the beach. Son, Isaac, a tract at the beach. Son James, the rest of the west end of the beach; I also give him Lone Tree Island, of 70 acres; also 5 acres of swamp below the Cedar Swamp bridge. Wife, Abigail, 1/2 my moveable estate, and what is left after her decease to be divided among my 7 daughters. To my daughters, Sarah Steelman, Hannah Smith, Judith Swain, Abigail Smith, Rebekah Badcock, Mary Somers and Rachel Somers, 1/2 my moveable estate; and my daughter, Mary Somers, to be made equal with the rest of them. Executors--my wife, Abigail, and my son, James. Witnesses--Joseph Mapes, James Robison, Mathew Dennis. Proved April 15, 1761. 1761, April 10 - Inventory, £416.0.1, made by Joseph Mapes and James Robison."

Abigail survived her husband James by 11 years. She made her will on 20 Oct. 1769 in Great Egg Harbor, and an inventory of her estate was taken 10 Sept. 1772, five days after her death. An abstract of Abigail's will may be found in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, XXXIV, 485, as follows:

"1769, Oct. 20. Abigail Somers of Great Egg Harbor, Gloucester Co.; will of. Daughter Sarah Steelman, a 'neger' woman, Charaty. 'To my 5 daughters, Sarah Steelman, Judith Swain, Abigail Smith, Mara Smith, Rachel Somers and Hannah Smith, to come in an equal share with them: and John Badcok's three youngest children, Margaret Badcok, Rebekah Badcok and Nicholas Badcok, is to have their mother's share, and to be equally divided between the three, all my other estate.' Executor -- my son, John Somers. Witnesses -- Richard Dole, Jacob Somers, Phebe Hakney. Proved Nov. 17, 1772. 1772, Sept. 10 - Inventory, £189.6.9, made by Richard Dole. Bonds of James Somers, Silas Swain, Mary Smith, Benjamin Ingalson, Noah Smith, Joseph Dole. Notes of Isaac Somers, Fredrick Steelman and John Somers. Lib. 14, p. 466."

The children of Abigail and James Somers were:

     --  SARAH SOMERS, born 1 Nov. 1720 in Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester Co., New Jersey, died 3 Dec. 1809 in Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester Co., New Jersey, md. Fredrick Steelman.
     --  HANNAH SOMERS, born 9 July 1722 in Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester Co., New Jersey, died Sept. 1762 in Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester Co., New Jersey, married Richard Smith.
     --  JOHN SOMERS, born 30 Dec. 1723 in Egg Harbor City, Atlantic County, New Jersey, died 23 June 1783 in Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, married Esther Risley.
     --  JUDITH SOMERS, born 8 Feb. 1725 in Egg Harbor City, Atlantic County, New Jersey, died 30 June 1791 in Cape May County, New Jersey, married Silas Swain.
     --  ABIGAIL SOMERS, born 25 Aug. 1726 in Egg Harbor City, Atlantic County, New Jersey, died 1 Feb 1831 in Tuckahoe, Cape May County, New Jersey, married twice.
     --  JAMES SOMERS JR., born 25 March 1728 in Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, died 1779 in New Jersey, married Rebecca Steelman.
     --  REBECCA SOMERS, born 5 March 1729 in Egg Harbor City, Atlantic County, New Jersey, died 20 Oct. 1769 in Egg Harbor City, Atlantic County, New Jersey, married John Badcock.
     --  MARY SOMERS, born 7 Feb. 1731 in Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, married Uriah Smith.
     --  RACHEL SOMERS, born 21 Jan. 1733 in Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey.
     --  ISAAC SOMERS SR., born 15 Feb. 1735 in Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey.
     --  MILLICENT SOMERS, born 15 Jan. 1737 in Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, died 8 July 1743 in Great Egg Harbor Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey.

Adams Genealogy Resources:

"Jeremy Adams of Hartford, Conn., and Some of his Descendants", by Arthur Adams, in the New England Historical & Genealogical Register (July 1905), Vol. 59
Jeremy Adams of Cambridge, Mass., and Hartford, Conn., and His Descendants (1955), by Arthur Adams
We Relate: Jeremy Adams, with links to wives, children, and descendants.
Find-A-Grave: Rebecca Taylor Adams, with erroneous date of death.
Descendants of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven, including Somers link to Adams family.

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