James Adams (abt. 1622 - 1707)

Born about 19 Jan 1622 in Stirlingshire, Scotland [uncertain]

Husband of Priscilla (Ramsdell) Adams — married 7 May 1662 in Lynn, Essex, MA

Descendants

Died 2 Dec 1707 at about age 85 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Deborah David [send private message] and Bob Fields [send private message]

Biography

James Adams/Addams Sr. was born in Scotland abt. 19 Jan 1622, according to some, son of Johne Adamesone (b 1616) and Jonet Gillespie (b. 1615. (A birth date of 1640, listed in many sources is unlikely, given that he was one of Cromwell's Scot prisoners at the Battle of Dunbar in Sept 1650.^{[1] [2] [3]}

In 1653 he was sold by the British government, as a prisoner of war to the Lynn Iron Works and sent to North America on the "Unity" with 35 other Scots.^[4]

In North America by Nov. of 1653, he was working with both John Gifford's & Daniel Salmon's teams carting for the Saugus Iron Works. “About 17 Scots were subcontracted to the colliers (charcoal makers) and other plant workers. Accounting records show that a few of the Scots received wages from the Company for skilled work. For example, James Adams was paid for managing ox teams; Scots James Adams, George Darling, Malcolm Maccallum, John Mackshane and John Pardee ran the Iron works farming operation.” ^[5]

In 1656, he sued Samuell Bennett for taking away his cart & wheels, & Nicholas Pinnion for debt. 6 Jan 1657 he (as James Adamos) contributed to the founding of the Scots Charitable Society (earliest charitable organization "in the western hemisphere").^[6]

On 7 May 1662, Scottish iron worker James Adams/Addams married in Concord, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts to Priscilla/Praseller Ramsdell, daughter (b. abt. 1640, Concord) of John Ramsdell, a part-time employee at Saugus and later connected to the Rowley Village Iron Works). ^[7][8]

James and Priscilla Ramesden had 8 children who survived birth:

1. Priscilla ADAMS 1663-1707^[9]
2. Elizabeth Adams 1665-1710 ^[10]
3. James Adams (1668-1741)^[11][12]
4. Hannah ADAMS 1670-1727^[13]
5. John Adams 1672-1730
6. Nathaniel Adams 1674-1707^[14]
7. Dorcas Adams, 1677 ^[15]
8. Abigail Adams 1681-1707 ^[16]

^[17]

Disputed son: Richard (1678-1749) have been discounted as their son but rather is the son of William Adams and Elizabeth.^[18][19]

James married second on 17 February 1690/91 in Concord, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts to Priscilla Hawthorne Shore (widow of Jonathan Shore), daughter of John Hawthorne. ^[20][21]

30 Nov 1700 James Adams Sr. sold land (70 acres plus building) to John Heald of Cocord (sic) for 20 pounds (12 pd, 8 secured)

Last child Dorcas Adams, 1703-1785 (L4QY-S93), would have been born of 2nd marriage of James Adams to Priscilla Hawthorne Shore based on the date of their marriage and the date of her birth. ^[22]

James Adams died on December 2, 1707 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States. ^{[23] [24]}

Research Notes

See Research notes at Priscilla (Shore) Adams (1671-1769), which discusses the question of whether Priscilla Shore Jr. or Sr. married James Adams Jr. or Sr.

• In the 18th century, the people in the northern part of Concord found it hard to get to church in winter and in the time of the "flud". They petitioned the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony to make their area a separate district so that the taxes that they had to pay for the support of a church could be used to provide a minister and meetinghouse closer to their farms. The General Court complied; it established the First District of Carlisle in 1754. The town was named after Carlisle, England, because the first settler in the district, JAMES ADAMS, came from there to settle on South Street. (JAMES ADAMS was the first white settler of the district, who was banished from England by Oliver Cromwell in 1640) The local people supported a minister for two years, but when they could not agree on the location of the meetinghouse they successfully petitioned the General Court to restore the district to its original status as part of Concord.

• Hamilton, Marsha L., Social and Economic Networks in Early Massachusetts: Atlantic Connections, p49. "Deed of Jonathan Rude (husband of Abigail Adams)....sells for himself, John Adams and Richard Adams 100 acres of land formerly the property of 'our brother' James Adams, late of Wells" 16 Jan 1728/9. (probably James Adams, Jr.)

James was mentioned on an unsourced memorial with a death date of 2 December 1707.^[25]

Sources

1. ↑ Geni.com
2. ↑ https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LBSH-5F7 link]) The Battle of Dunbar - 1650. Commemoration of the 350th Anniversary of the Battle of Dunbar delivered at the Saugus Iron Works, Saugus, Massachusetts by Bruce Hedman on September 3, 2000.
3. ↑ LDS AFN #LDC8-4KY
4. ↑ Battle of Dunbar record for James Adams
5. ↑ Iron Works Inventory, dated Nov 1653, listed as "35 Scots", in Elizabeth French Bartlett Collection at the New England Historic Genealogical Society.
6. ↑ [1] featured on “Who do you think you are?” Season 10, episode 1: Ancestor of American actor Jon Cryer. TLC. 21 May 2018 (9th gr grandfather and indentured servant in Concord, Massachusetts.)
7. ↑ Concord, Massachusetts Marriage Records to 1800 From Early Massachusetts Marriages Prior to 1800. Frederick W. Bailey, Worcester, Massachusetts,1914.
8. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G979-Q94J-M?cc=2061550&wc=Q4D4-92Z%3A353350601%2C353890401%2C353895801 : 30 October 2019), Middlesex > Concord > Marriage index 1646-1850 > image 7 of 81; page1 (first 2 entries-1 for each wife) citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston.
9. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCMB-3JF : 10 November 2020), James Addams in entry for Priscilla Addams, 9 Feb 1663; citing Birth, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004198966.
10. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCMB-CLT : 10 November 2020), James Addams in entry for Elizabeth Addams, 9 Feb 1665; citing Birth, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004198966.
11. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCM1-98F : 10 November 2020), James Addams in entry for James Addams, 29 Mar 1668; citing Birth, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004198966.
12. ↑ Two James Adams, one son of James and Pricilla the other son of William and Elizabeth Adams, https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/adams/3454/
13. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCM1-W3F : 10 November 2020), James Addams in entry for Hannah Addams, 25 Jul 1670; citing Birth, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004198966.
14. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ64-Q3D : 5 January 2021), James Adames in entry for Nathaniell Adames, 1674.
15. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FC9M-F6D : 10 November 2020), James Addams in entry for Dorcas Addams, 1 Feb 1677; citing Birth, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004198966.
16. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6W-DL7 : 5 January 2021), James Adams in entry for Abigail Adams, 1681.
17. ↑ LDS AFN #L7BV-J8Q
18. ↑ Byron S. Niemann, "The Possible Parentage of James Adams (1668-1741) of Westerly, RI", The Connecticut Nutmegger Volume 25, pages 573-575 (March 1993): states that by his matching up of relationships with the records of Concord, Massachusetts it became apparent that James Adams of Wells was the son of William and Elizabeth Adams of Sudbury and Concord, Massachusetts, and the brother of Richard Adams, born 22 August 1678 who married Mercy Leonard. Hereinafter cited as "James Adams (1668-1741) of Westerly, RI."
19. ↑ Revised by Robert S. Wakefield, James Chilton and Richard More of the Mayflower (Five), Person# 51, Mercy Leonard, page 53, noting his "possible" parents as William and Elizabeth Adams of Sudbury, Massachusetts.
20. ↑ Connecticut Nutmegger, Byron S. Niemann, "The Possible Parentage of James Adams (1668-1741) of Westerly, RI", 26[1993]:573.
21. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPC7-J21D : 31 October 2019), James Adams and Priscilla Shore, 17 Feb 1692; citing Marriage, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007011227.
22. ↑ "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch <https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:35FR-YM8 : accessed 7 February 2020), entry for Dorcas Adams, cites sources; "Skinner" file (2:2:2:MMXM-Y8X), submitted 22 October 2019>
23. ↑ Massachusetts Town Death Records, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Online - Ancestry.com: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999.
24. ↑ Concord (Mass.); Tolman, George, 1836-1909,Concord, Massachusetts births, marriages, and deaths, 1635-1850; Concord Registers, book2, Boston, 1895, p69
25. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (no image)
    Find A Grave: Memorial #113968009 (accessed 6 April 2023)
    Memorial page for James “Adamson” Adams (19 Jan 1622-2 Dec 1707); Maintained by J&P Gen (contributor 51099652).

See also:

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org), entry for this profile (PID FamilySearch Person: LZ2N-XPF); contributed by various users.

• Worldconnect family tree

• Ancestry family tree

• Ancestry family tree

• Rootsweb Discussion

• Ian Watson, The Origins of Aquila Ramsdell's Given Name: Investigating the 17th Century with Mitochondrial DNA, American Ancestors, NEHGS, v18, #2, Summer 2017, pp54-56.

• Janet Regan and Curtis White, Hammersmiths Through the Historical Texts...

• Stephen P. Carlson, “The Scots of Hammersmith”

• Alfred Sereno Hudson (1889), The History of Sudbury, Massachusetts. 1638-1889.

• Ruth Chamberlin Wilkins. Carlisle: Its History and Heritage 1976-Rev., 2002 (may be purchased from Carlisle Historical Society

• https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Dunbar