Adam Fickas (1799 - 1895)

Born 17 Jul 1799 in Lewisburg, Greenbrier, Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Susan (McDonald) Fickas — married 7 Oct 1819 in Howard, Missouri, United States

Husband of Elizabeth (Bowman) Fickas — married 31 Oct 1875 in Warrensburg, Johnson, Missouri, United States

Descendants

Died 6 Jan 1895 at age 95 in Warrensburg, Johnson, Missouri, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Kathy Carlson [send private message]

Biography

Adam Fickas, one of the late honored and brave pioneers of Johnson county, Missouri, was born July 17, 1799 in Virginia. He was the son of Adam, Sr. and Eve Fickas, both of whom were natives of York county, Pennsylvania. Adam and Eve Fickas were united in marriage in Pennsylvania and from that state moved to Virginia, thence to Henderson county, Kentucky, their little son, Adam. Jr., accompanying them to Kentucky. On their plantation there, both the father and mother died, the mother in 1814 and the father two years afterward.

In the autumn of 1818, Adam Fickas, Jr. and his sister came from Kentucky to Missouri, riding a pack-horse. They located in Boone county, where they remained nearly six years. In early manhood, he was united in marriage with Susan McDonald, who was born in the state of New York, but reared in Kentucky. Susan (McDonald) Fickas was the daughter of Joseph McDonald, a prominent citizen of Kentucky in the early days. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Adam Fickas moved to Indiana, where they resided for one year, when they returned to Missouri and Adam Fickas entered a large tract of land from the government, upon which they settled. At the time of their marriage, all the possessions of Adam Fickas would not have been worth more than fifty dollars, consisting of a dog, ax, and gun. But he possessed some things of which no amount of money could measure the value — industry, courage, pluck, and endurance. For three years, all the meat that was consumed by the family, he obtained by hunting. Black bear, deer, wild turkeys, prairie chickens were to be found in abundance and Mr. Fickas was a hunter of established reputation. On his hunting expeditions, he often experienced many thrilling adventures. He never tired of relating of one encounter with a wounded bear. Mr. Fickas had wounded the animal, but not seriously, just enough to enrage the beast, which turned upon one of his dogs and was hugging it to death. With all the cunning and quiet alertness of the man of the forest, Adam Fickas softly crept up behind the bear and with one blow from his knife, the dog's life was saved. The land, which Mr. Fickas entered from the government, cost him from twelve and a half cents to twenty-five cents an acre for the greater portion of the tract, although a part cost three dollars an acre.

The Fickas estate comprised thirteen hundred acres of land, most of which was improved, at the time of his death. He and Susan (McDonald) Fickas were the parents of thirteen children: Levi, Jacob, James, Martha, Mrs. Ann Prosser. Mrs. Sarah Sanders, Adam, Jr., Mrs. Mary Beardsley, and Melinda, and four children died in infancy. The nine children above named were all living in 1882, but death has since broken the family circle, of the members of which but few now remain. The mother died in 1875. October 31. 1873 Adam Fickas was again married, his second wife being Elizabeth Bowman, who was born in Indiana and reared in Johnson county, Missouri. In 1895, his death occurred at the age of ninety-five years. Elizabeth (Bowman) Fickas was a member of the Dunkard church. Adam Fickas always remained true to his belief as a member of the Primitive Baptist church, of which he was a valued and worthy member and liberal supporter.

He built one church in Johnson county at his own expense, the structure costing him more than a thousand dollars, which for pioneer times was an enormous outlay. Mr. Fickas was ever held in the highest esteem in this county, for which he did so much. ^[1]

Notes

• Adam Fickas was a slave-owner, though loyal to Lincoln and the Union. In 1850 he owned three slaves; in 1860 seven. In a letter to his son, Adam Jr., in California, dated 28 February 1864, Adam summed up his beliefs and feeling about the Civil War: "I am a loyal man. I sustain Lincoln and I am for emancipation, not negro equality. I sustain the government, cost what it may."

• Note - the biography above does not name his son George Fickas, who died in 1850 during the California gold rush, not in infancy. The biography distinguishes Martha and Ann as two separate daughters, which does not seem to match with census records.

Sources

1. ↑ "History of Johnson County, Missouri" p. 808)

• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDZD-9L3 : 12 April 2016), Adam Fickus, Warrensburg, Johnson, Missouri, United States; citing family 202, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHZ4-9JM : 14 December 2017), Adam Fickas, 1860.
• "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M466-3ML : 12 June 2019), Adam Ficas, 1870.
• "Missouri Marriages, 1750-1920," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2DL-193 : 11 February 2018), Adam Fickas and Elizabeth Bowman, 31 Oct 1875; citing Johnson,Missouri; FHL microfilm 959,991.
• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVLJ-SNS8 : 13 December 2015), Adam Fickas, 1895; Burial, , Johnson, Missouri, United States of America, Fickas Cemetery; citing record ID 95424069, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

Acknowledgements

• Original profile created via events as recalled by Kathryn Carlson, 2019.