Andrew Adams Esq. (1736 - 1797)

Born 11 Dec 1736 in Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut, New England

Ancestors

Died 27 Nov 1797 at age 60 in Litchfield, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States

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Biography

Hon. Andrew Adams Esq. was a Founding Father in the American Revolution.

Andrew Adams Esq. is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A000398.

Andrew Adams, son of Samuel and Mary, was born 11 Dec 1736, in Stratford, Connecticut.^[1][2] Some websites list other dates, such as 7 Jan 1736, but 11 Dec 1736 is the date in the vital records.

Adams graduated from Yale in 1760, then studied law with his father and was admitted to the Fairfield County bar.^[3]

Andrew married Eunice in 1761. She died June 1797.^[4] Eunice was the daughter of David Booth. A 1762 distribution of the estate of David Booth, was made to his daughter Eunice (no surname mentioned so presumed still Booth), her siblings and her mother. A later distribution made in 1769 divided a tract of land between Eunice Adams wife of Andrew Adams and her siblings.^[5]

There are differences of opinion about who Eunice was.

-The Manuscripts Division William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan, Finding aid for Andrew Adams Papers, 1763-1797 lists Eunice as Eunice Samuel.

-A DAR lineage book calls her Eunice Fairchild Buell.

-Some trees call her Eunice Canfield, but this seems to be a case of mistaken identity. Their son Andrew married Annis Canfield.

Adams became prosecuting attorney of Litchfield County in 1772 and moved there in 1774. He was a member of the Connecticut Council of Safety for two years. He served in the militia as a Colonel during the Revolutionary War and also as a member of the State house of representatives 1776-1781, serving as speaker in 1779 and 1780. He was a member of the Continental Congress in 1778; signed the Articles of Confederation in 1778; was a member of the executive council in 1789. In 1793, Adams was appointed chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court and served in this position until his death.^[6]

Adams was a Whig and a mason.^[3] He was also a congregationalist,^[7] and sometimes served as a deacon of the first church in Litchfield.^[8]

According to the papers and some other sources, Andrew Adams died Monday morning Nov. 27, 1797, age 61, in Litchfield, Connecticut,^{[4][9][10][11]} of a lingering and distressing disorder.^[12] Andrew's death was somewhat overshadowed in the papers by the death of the Governor Oliver Wolcott, also in Litchfield, just a few days later. Several sources list his death on the 26th.^[6][13]

He is buried at the West Cemetery in Litchfield. The epitaph on his stone reads:

In Memory of the Hon. Andrew Adams, Esq., Chief Judge of the Superior Court, who died November 27, 1797, in the 63d year of his age. Having filled many distinguished offices with great Ability and Dignity, he was promoted to the highest Judicial Office in the State, which he held for several years, in which his eminent Talents shone with uncommon Lustre, and were exerted to the great Advantage of the Public and the honor of the High Court in which he presided. He made an early Profession of Religion, and zealously sought to promote its true Interests. He lived the Life and died the Death of a Christian. His filial Piety and paternal tenderness are held in sweet Remembrance.^[14]

Children:

1. Andrew Adams Jr., d. 1806^[4]m. Annis, had children^[15][16] Andrew Adams, of Branford, and Annis Canfield, of Sharon, were married 25 April 1785, by the Rev. Cotton Mather. The marriage was recorded in Litchfield^[17] and the Sharon Congregational Church records^[18]
2. Samuel Adams, died single.^[4]
3. Elijah Adams, moved to Geneva, New York.^[4]
4. Eunice Adams, married Mr. Masters.^[4]
5. Polly Adams married Nathaniel Lamson.^[4]
6. Lydia Adams married Elias Cowles.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ White, Lorraine Cook, ed. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Vol. 1-55. Stratford. p 61. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002; digital image, American Ancestors, (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB414/i/12612/1/0 : accessed July 2023)
2. ↑ "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906," index, FamilySearch: (accessed 21 May 2015), Andrew Adams, 11 Dec 1736; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} The Litchfield Historical Society "The Ledger"
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7} Woodruff, George Catlin. A Genealogical Register of the Inhabitants of the Town of Litchfield, Conn., From the Settlement of the Town, A. D. 1720, to the Year 1800,... . Hartford, Conn.: The Case Lockwood & Brainard Company, 1909
5. ↑ Probate Files Collection, Early to 1880; Author: Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut); Probate Place: Hartford, Connecticut. Probate Packets, Blakesley, Amos-Briggs, N, 1720-1880. David Booth, Woodbury 1753, #5281. Accessed at Ancestry ($)
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774-Present
7. ↑ The Religious Affiliation of Andrew Adams a Signer of the Articles of Confederation
8. ↑ Kilbourne, Payne Kenyon. Sketches and Chronicles of the Town of Litchfield, Connecticut: Historical, Biographical, and Statistical : Together with a Complete Official Register of the Town (Google eBook). Press of Case, Lockwood and Company, 1859.
9. ↑ Vital Records of Woodstock 1686-1854." Hartford: The Case, Lockwood and Brainard Co., 1914. Reported his death in Litchfield.
10. ↑ The Norwich Courier. Thursday, Dec. 7, 1797. Vol.II, Issue 2, p. 3, and other papers
11. ↑ "Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772-1934," index, FamilySearch: (accessed 21 May 2015), Andrew Adams, 27 Nov 1797; citing Connecticut, reference P 58; FHL microfilm 3,076.
12. ↑ Litchfield Monitor Wednesday, November 29, 1797 Volume: XII, Issue: 642, p. 3
13. ↑ Wikipedia and Find a Grave
14. ↑ History of Litchfield County, Connecticut, Part 1 J.W. Lewis & Company, 1881 p. 124 Google books
15. ↑ "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906, ["https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F77D-VKQ index, FamilySearch]: (accessed 21 May 2015), Andrew Adams in entry for Maria Canfield Adams, 27 Dec 1787; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
16. ↑ "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906," index, FamilySearch: (accessed 21 May 2015), Andrew Adams in entry for Cornelia Adams, 16 Feb 1786; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
17. ↑ White, Lorraine Cook, ed. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Vol. 1-55. Litchfield Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002.
18. ↑ Sharon Fist Church of Christ. 1755-1879. Connecticut. Church Records Index. Connecticut State Library, Hartford, Connecticut. (1966)

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Adams_(congressman)
• http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=A000029
• Find A Grave: Memorial #8045162
• http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/ledger/students/13
• Woodruff, George C. A Genealogical Register of the Inhabitants of the Town of Litchfield, Connecticut, (The Case Lockwood & Brainard Company, Hartford, Conn., 1845) Page 5
• Orcutt, Samuel. A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut (New Haven, Conn. : Press of Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1886) Vol. 2, Pages 1115, 1198.
• Kilbourne, Payne. Sketches and Chronicles of the Town of Litchfield, Connecticut (Case, Lockwood and Co., Hartford, 1859) Page 185
• Payne, Charles Thomas. Litchfield and Morris Inscriptions (D.C. Kilbourn, Litchfield, Conn., 1905) Page 9
• GRAVES OF REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS