James C. Adams (abt. 1812 - aft. 1901)

Born about Apr 1812 in Giles County, Tennessee

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 1901 after about age 88 in Limestone County, Alabama

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Biography

James C. "Jim" Adams (c.1812-after 1901)

His first wife was Elizabeth UNKNOWN. Elizabeth was born c.1819 in Tennessee.

Jim and Elizabeth had twelve children:

• Dotia Adams (b. 1837) — her married names were Miller and Sims
  
• Minerva Elizabeth Adams (b. 1838)
  
• William James Adams (b. 1840)
  
• Esquire Adams (b. 1841)
  
• George W. Adams (b. 1844)
  
• Andrew Jack Adams (b. 1846)
  
• Polly Adams (b. 1847)
  
• Ransom Adams (b. 1853)
  
• Thomas A. Adams (b. 1855)
  
• Sarah "Sallie" Adams (b. 1857) — her married names were Lawrence and Garrett
  
• Nancy Catherine Adams (b. 1861) — her married name was Grigg
  
• Julia Anna Adams (b. 1865) — her married name was Eastep
  

Elizabeth died in Giles County, Tennessee, c.1873.

On 28 June 1874, James married the widow Anna Isabella (Barker) Lester (1830-1885) in Limestone County, Alabama. Their marriage license is in the Limestone County Archives.

On 4 April 1889, James married Anne Graham in Limestone County, Alabama.

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Please note that, while we have yet to uncover any documentary evidence that would definitively prove that Jonathan Adams was the father of James C. "Jim" Adams, the weight of circumstantial evidence—including DNA evidence—is so great that, unless we uncover evidence to the contrary, it is reasonable to assume that he probably was. In particular, the DNA evidence we have, matching known descendants of Jonathan Adams to known descendants of Jim Adams, tells us that Jonathan and Jim Adams were very closely related—if not father and son then at least uncle and nephew. In addition to the DNA evidence, we have census records and other documentary sources showing that both Jonathan and Jim Adams lived in Giles County, Tennessee, for many years before finally settling in Limestone County, Alabama, where Jonathan Adams is known to have died and where Jim Adams is believed to have died. We also know from census records that Jonathan had an as-yet unidentified son who was about the right age to have been Jim, and that Jim's father was from South Carolina, which is were Jonathan was born. None of this proves that they were father and son (they might very well have been uncle and nephew), but it does at least lend an air of credibility to those family sources that have long suggested that Jonathan Adams was the father of Jim Adams.

Sources

Limestone County (Alabama) Archives: http://limestonearchives.com/

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His second marriage record: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5Z7-89X

His third marriage record: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5ZW-KYW

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-possible 1840 census record (uncertain): https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHYL-XJV

-1850 census record: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCDR-536

-1860 census record: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8TZ-4BQ

-1870 census record: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MD8T-39W

-1880 census record: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4JT-XPV

[Virtually all of the 1890 census records were destroyed in a fire before they could be preserved on microfilm, so no record is available for that census year.]

-1900 census record: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9D7-53V

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Special thanks to Tori McKenzie and Nancy McClellan for identifying the husbands of Dotia Adams (namely, Isom Miller and John Sims).

And special thanks to Nancy McClellan for her Adams family DNA research.