Edward
Adams
Born about in England
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of
Mary (Unknown) Beers
— married
1645 in Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut Colony
Descendants 
Father of
Mary (Adams) Sherwood, Abraham Adams, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Nathaniel Adams and Nathan Adams
Died before
before about age 52
in Fairfield, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony
Profile last modified
| Created 21 Sep 2010
This page has been accessed 4,020 times.
There are disproven, disputed, or competing theories about this person's parents. See the text for details.
There are disproven, disputed, or competing theories about this person's spouse. See the text for details.
| Edward Adams migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 1) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
Contents |
Biography
The name Edward Adams first appears in New Haven Plantation records in late 1640.[1] He was not among the original planters,[2] and the Court record regarding his receipt of lime at the mill suggests he may have been a laborer or servant.[1] Edward was also not an original planter at Milford in the New Haven Colony, but was listed as a principal "after-planter" in 1646.[3] He was offered land there provided he learn "the tanner's trade and to follow it into Milford."[4]
Family
Edward married Mary (birth surname unknown) and they had six known children:[5]
- Samuel; m Mary Meeker
- Mary b. abt. 1647, d. abt Apr 1712; m. (1) 23 Feb 1663, Luke Guire; (2) ---- Merwin; (3) Stephen Sherwood
- Abraham b. 9 Sept 1650
- Nathaniel b. bef 1656, d. bef. 1693, unm.
- John, b. after 1656, d. 1693. Will names brothers Samuel, Abraham, Nathan; sister Mary.
- Nathan, b. after 1656.
After Edward's death his widow Mary married Anthony Beers; she died in 1687.[5]
Fairfield
Edward Adams' family moved from Milford to Fairfield before 1650. He purchased a house lot in the Fairfield Plat initially assigned to Simon Hoyt (link to map) which he held until 1666.[6] Almost immediately he was in trouble with the authorities. Edward and others were fined[7] for helping Thomas Newton (a convicted adulterer), flee to the Dutch, escaping prison and execution.[8]
Edward gave land to his daughter Mary on November 26, 1688.[5] He was granted additional Fairfield land in January of 1670/1 that was recorded in 1681.[9]
Death and Estate
Edward Adams' will was drawn Aug 7, 1671 and probated on November 11, 1671. It names wife Mary, adult sons Samuel, Abraham; dau. Mary Marwin and her son Luke Guire; and minor sons Nathaniel, John, and Nathan.[10][11]
Jacobus reports additional estate agreements:[5]
- 5 Feb 1677 Nathaniel, respecting portion; Edward's son John chose John Banks for guardian; Anthony Beers and his wife chose Samuel Adams as guardian for Nathan.
- 2 Dec 1687 Adm'n on Est. of Mary Beers of Fairfield was granted to Sergt. Samuel Ward and Nathan Adams.
- 21 Jan 1713/4 Abraham, Nathan, Daniel, Abraham Jr., David, and John Adams, and Luke "Quire" of Fairfiled agreed to divide that part of the long lots that were Edward Adams'and Joseph Patchen's
On 27 April 1752, a distribution of the Commons in Fairfield that originally belonged to Edward Adams was made to the legal representatives of Edward Adams.[12]
Research Notes
Parents:
- This profile was previously attached as a child of William Adams and Elizabeth Alice Borrington. There is no source for the relationships and the parents have been disconnected.
Wife:
- Although claimed in many publications and online family trees, there is no evidence that Edward's wife Mary was a member of the Patchen family. Scholarly sources indicate her birth surname was unknown.[5][13]
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hoadley, Charles J. Records of the Colony and Plantation of New Haven 1638-1649. Hartford, CT: Self-Published, 1857. Page 46.
- ↑ Hoadley, 1857. Page 17.
- ↑ Federal Writers' Project. History of Milford Connecticut 1639-1939. Bridgeport, CT: Milford Tercentenary Committee, Inc., 1939. Page 8.
- ↑ Federal Writers' Project, 1939. Page 19.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Jacobus, Donald Lines. History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield Vol I. Fairfield, CT: Eunice Dennie Burr Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1930. Page 8.
- ↑ Schenck, Elizabeth Hubbell. The History of Fairfield Fairfield County, Connecticut from the Settlement of the Town in 1639 to 1818, Vol I. New York, NY: Self-Published, 1889. Page 67.
- ↑ Schenck, 1889. Page 70.
- ↑ Holdworth, William K. "Adultery or Witchcraft? A New Note on an Old Case in Connecticut." The New England Quarterly Vol. 43 No. 3. Boston, MA: The New England Quarterly Inc., 1975. Accessed via JSTOR. Page 402.
- ↑ Schenck, 1889. Page 334.
- ↑ Abstract of Probate Records at Fairfield Connecticut Down to 1721. Page 1.
- ↑ Will of Edward Adams 1671 accessed 17 Dec 2020 Link.
- ↑ “Probate Records, v. 9-10, 1741-1755”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-9922-6W8F : 22 May 2022), FHL microfilm 007627281, image 455-457, Fairfield, Fairfield, Connecticut, Vol 10, 1748-1755, Page 308-311.
- ↑ Torrey, Clarence Almon. New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Vol. 1. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing, 1985. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) By Subscription. Page 122.
- Mead, Spencer Percival. Ye Historie of Ye Town of Greenwich. Greenwich, CT: Knickerbocker Press, 1911 Page 489
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Categories: Puritan Great Migration
Of course you are perhaps already quite busy, so another project may not work for you.
edited by Curt Danforth III
Also, why has Mary Savage (1619-1687) not been consider as his wife? Please review Edward's FamilySearch profile KHWG-17N.
The same holds true for Mary Savage. I scanned briefly the sources and saw nothing to support a maiden name for his wife. Is there evidence that's being overlooked that should be considered?
Why would he "give" land if it were not for a marriage?
edited by Jill (Neibaur) Olson
Also, I don't see any source for his wife's LNAB, although it does appear that the Patchen family were neighbors...so maybe additional research could prove a connection.
The profile still needs to have an original biography written.
"A Catalogue of the Names of the Early Puritan Settlers. . . " bottom of page 20