Peter Adams (bef. 1622 - bef. 1690)

Born before 1 Mar 1622 in Kingweston, Somerset, England

Ancestors

Husband of Rachel (Newcome) Adams — married 1650 in Braintree, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died before 23 Oct 1690 at about age 68 in Medfield, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

Peter Adams immigrated to New England as a child during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).

This profile is part of the Adams Name Study.

Peter was born or christened 1 March 1622 in Kingweston, England, son of Henry Adams and Edith Squire. He arrived in New England abt.1638. probably one of the thirty-two Braintree petitioners of Oct. 1645 but with his name erroneously written Christopher. ^[1] [Christ = X so Christoper was often written Xopher which Peter could look like to a translator.]

He was mentioned in his father's will in 1646 and was admitted Freeman of Massachusetts Colony May 22, 1650, being then a resident of Braintree. ^[2]

He married abt. 1650 in Braintree Rachel, who is recorded as the mother of his children. She is believed to Rachel Newcomb, eldest daughter of Francis Newcomb and Rachel Bracket of Braintree.^[3] but no marriage record exists.

In 1651 Peter, his new wife and child, moved with his brothers Henry and Edward and his mother and step-father to Medfield, a new town recently set off from Dedham, the town’s western frontier area. The first 13 lots were issued 19 June 1650. In the spring or summer of 1651 Peter and his kin received their lots. Peter’s 2-1/2 acres [on Bridge Street near Dale Street just east of the Charles River ] was the first in a line of Adams house lots - to the northwest lay his brother Edward's lot, next a clay pit, then his stepfather John Fussell ’s lot and finally his brother Henry's lot.] ^[4]

His older brother Henry was the active one, serving as town clerk from the beginning.

On 21 Feb 1675/6, when Peter was in his mid-50s, the Indians, as a part of the general uprising known as King Philips War, made a surprise early dawn raid on Medfield. They burned half of the houses in town, including the homes of the Adams families near the river, and killed fifteen people, including Peter's aged stepfather, who was unable to leave his burning house, and his brother Henry, who was shot at his front door. The homes of sons-in-law George Fairbank and John Fisher were also burned. ^[5]

After the attack, Peter rebuilt and continued to live in Medfield. At the time of his death, twenty years later, in 1690, his homestead, per his estate papers, totaled 8-1/2 acres, described as upland and meadow on the lower (west) side of the way (Bridge St.).

The date of Rachel's death is not known. She died before Peter for she is not mentioned in the division of his estate.

Peter died in 1690 [age c.67]. [His death was not recorded in the Medfield vital records nor he did not leave a will.] His estate was inventoried on October 23, 1690 and appraised at £234. The following April the court divided the estate among the following heirs [the men signed and the women put their mark to the document]: Peter Adams, John Fisher and wife Hannah, John Adams, Joseph Adams, Mary Adams, Ruth Adams, and [brother] Ens. Edward Adams for Samuel Adams. The 8-1/2 acre homestead was divided 1/4 each to Hannah Fisher, John Adams, Joseph Adams and Mary Adams; about 26 acres on the west side of the Charles River went to Peter Jr.; and the large 101-acre tract as well as his horse went to to Ruth. The two children of deceased daughter Rachel were not mentioned. [For a copy and more, see:^[6]]

They had nine more children, all born in Medfield.^[7]

^[8] Note: Although Tilden, p. 291, says the first born was John, according to the estate papers, Peter Jr. was the eldest son. That makes Rachel the eldest child and likely the baby who arrived with them.

Children

1. Rachel Adams, b.est.1651, m. Dec 1 1671 George Fairbanks. Jr., d. May 12 1678. Lived in Medfield MA.
2. Peter Adams Jr. Dea. b. Apr 1653, m. May 27 1680 Experience Cooke, d. Dec 8 1723. Lived in Medway [Millis].
3. Hannah Adams, b. Jan 16 1655/6, m.1 Mar 6 1673/4 widower John Fisher, m.2 Mar 12 1729/30 widower Joseph Metcalf, d. Nov 1 1746. Lived in Medfield.
4. John Adams, b. c.1658, m. Apr 2 1685 Michall Bloyse, d. Feb 16 [or 26] 1724/5. Moved to Canterbury, CT.
5. Mary Adams, b. Mar 1 1661, d. Mar 19 1703/4. Single.
6. Jonathan Adams, b. Jul 11 1663, d. May 15 1664.
7. Ruth Adams, b. Jun 20 1665, m. Dec 22 1691 Amos Fisher, d. Nov 26 1745. Lived in Dedham's West End [Westwood], died in Needham MA.
8. Joseph Adams, b. Aug 25 1668, m. abt.1690 Mary Davenport, d. Dec 9 1748. Moved to Canterbury CT.
9. Samuel Adams, b. Apr 2 1671, m. Nov 11 1703 Sarah Sabin, d. Feb 15 1730/1. Lived in Medfield.
10. Henry Adams, b. Jan 6 1673/4. Not named in division of estate.

Research Notes

• Deleted links to photos on geni.com as they require login; also deleted links to private ancestry.com family trees

Sources

• Adams, Eleanor Enid. Ancestors and Descendants of Jeremiah Adams (1974), p.29-46. [Family Search] Has a lot on Peter. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/105722-ancestors-and-descendants-of-jeremiah-adams-1794-1883-of-salisbury-connecticut-sullivan-county-new-york-harbor-creek-pennsylvania-and-vermilion-ohio-including-known-descendants-of-his-brothers-and-sisters-most-of-whom-went-to-michi?viewer=1&offset=0#page=52&viewer=picture&o=info&n=0&q=
• Tilden, William S. History of the town of Medfield, Massachusetts.(1887), p.290,1. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo1.ark:/13960/t6c25g876&view=1up&seq=290

1. ↑ Mackenzie, George Norbury, and Nelson Osgood Rhoades, editors. Colonial Families of the United States of America: in Which is Given the History, Genealogy and Armorial Bearings of Colonial Families Who Settled in the American Colonies From the Time of the Settlement of Jamestown, 13th May, 1607, to the Battle of Lexington, 19th April, 1775. 7 volumes. 1912. Reprinted, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1966, 1995.
2. ↑ Waldo C. Sprague, Genealogies of the Families of Braintree, Massachusetts, 1640-1850, including the Modern Towns of Randolph and Holbrook and the City of Quincy, Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society (2001), p12
3. ↑ Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Before 1700, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985 Reprint.
4. ↑ Tilden, William Smith. History of the town of Medfield, Massachusetts. (1886), p. 48. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo1.ark:/13960/t6c25g876&view=1up&seq=48
5. ↑ Tilden, p.84, 85. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo1.ark:/13960/t6c25g876&view=1up&seq=84
6. ↑ Adams, Eleanor Enid, Ancestors and Descendants of Jeremiah Adams (1974), p. 35. [Family Search] https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/105722-ancestors-and-descendants-of-jeremiah-adams-1794-1883-of-salisbury-connecticut-sullivan-county-new-york-harbor-creek-pennsylvania-and-vermilion-ohio-including-known-descendants-of-his-brothers-and-sisters-most-of-whom-went-to-michi?viewer=1&offset=0#page=52&viewer=picture&o=info&n=0&q=
7. ↑ Norfolk, Vital Records of Medfield to the year 1850, pp9-13
8. ↑ Tilden, William S., The History of the Town of Medfield, Massachusetts 1650-1886, (Boston, Geo. H. Ellis, 1887), p.291

See also:

• Ancestry.com family trees, Peter Adams

• Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots; Volume: 1; Serial: 10572; Volume: 12

Acknowledgments

• Created through the import of David Rentschler Family Tree_2010-09-30.ged on 01 October 2010.

• Created through the import of Schauman Skinner Tree_2011-05-21.ged on 22 May 2011.

• Adams-5488 created through the import of DeMarco-Gaffney Family Tree.ged on Jul 1, 2011 by Regina DeMarco.

• Adams-6169 created through the import of Adele Schauman Skinner_2011-07-11.ged on Jul 11, 2011 by Adele Schauman.

• Adams-6437 created through the import of 2e4y9w_6792005b2a92y72e4mejcc.ged on Jul 27, 2011 by Allan Stuart.

• Thank you to Barbara Corley for creating WikiTree profile Adams-11860 through the import of export-BloodTree.ged on May 12, 2013.

• Thank you to Al Adams for creating Adams-13111 on 14 Aug 2013.

• Jasmine Jones