Peter Elder of Virginia - Adams Notes

Adams Notes ─ Generation 2 ─ William and Mary Adams

Summary
Records
Discussion of Records
Land
Contemporary Events
References

Summary

William Adams was born 1787 in New Jersey. Mary Stansell Adams was born 1787 in New York. They married in New York, moved to Wayne County, Michigan, by 1834 and then moved to Hillsdale County, Michigan. They had 8 children. She died in 1846, and he died in 1864.

Records

These are the principal records for William and Mary:

William Adams was born 6 Jan 1787 [Bible record of Sally Ann Adams Cook (his daughter)]
Mary Stansell was born 7 Sep 1787 [Bible record of Sally Ann Adams Cook (her daughter)]
The death certificate of Sally Ann Cook lists her mother as Mary Stansell, born in New York [record]
William Adams of Wheatland, Michigan, received $95 for a War of 1812 claim [Index of Awards on Claims of the Soldiers of the War of 1812, Claim#12468, http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/state/1812/a-ea/adams-allen.html]
He probably served as Private in Swift's Detachment (1812-1813) New York Volunteers and the 71st Regiment (Swift's) New York Militia; a Samuel Dunn Jr. served in the same organizations, as did a Nicholas Stansell Jr. (in Swift's Detachment only) [War of 1812 Service Records, Ancestry.com]

"When war was declared, it became the policy of British ships to hover along the lakeshore in search of undefended villages which might yield stores. By the spring of 1813, the enemy had made several such incursions along the lake ... On June 15, 1813, ... a militia force had been stationed at Sodus Point in anticipation of an attack. Portions of Col. Philetus Swift's regiment and of Major William Roger's Battalion were ordered to Sodus Point almost immediately and remained there until the morning of June 19." [The Military History of Wayne County, Part II, http://www.co.wayne.ny.us/Departments/historian/MFMilitaryHistPartII.htm]

Philetus Swift appeared in the 1810 Census of Phelps, Ontario, New York [Series M252, Roll 33, page 234]; Sam Dunn appeared on page 235; N. Stansell Sr. and Jr. appeared in the 1810 Census of Sodus, Ontario County, New York [Series M252, Roll 33, page 258].
William and Mary Adams had the following children [Bible record of Sally Ann Adams Cook]:
John S. Adams, born 7 Jul 1815
James Madison Adams, born 3 Feb 1816
George Harmon Adams, born 24 Sep 1817
Sally Ann Adams, born 17 Mar 1819
Lewis Burges Adams, born 22 Feb 1820, died 17 Oct 1821
Nicholas S. Adams, born 16 May 1823
Eliza Jane Adams, born 28 Aug 1825
William Jones Adams, born 15 Apr 1828
Benjamin Gunsolly and wife Elizabeth and William Adams and wife Mary, heirs of Nicholas Stansell deceased, sold to William Stansell, Nicholas Stansell, James Stansell, Isaac Stansell, George Stansell and Margaret Stansell, all of the Town of Lyons, for $500US, the rights to two lots in Lyons, Ontario County, New York, formerly owned by Nicholas Stansell deceased, and said to contain 196 acres; dated 7 Apr 1819 and recorded 31 Jan 1838; witnessed by David Congar, Roger Benton and Jacob Baker [Wayne County, New York, Deed Book 23, pages 74-75; LDS microfilm number 479434] [record]

William Adams appeared as head of household in the 1820 Census of Lyons, Ontario County, New York [record]:

[Census of United States, Ontario County, New York, Lyons, Microfilm series Series M33, Roll 62, page 103]

Age Range	Free White Males	Free White Females
Under 10	3	1
10 – 15	0	0
16 – 18	0
16 – 25	0	0
26 – 44	1	1
45 & over	0	0

James Adams and James Adams Jr. also resided in Lyons (page 111), as did Margaret and Nicholas Stansell (the younger) (page 103).

William Adams appeared as head of household in the 1830 Census of Arcadia, Wayne County, New York [record]:

[1830 Census of Wayne County, New York, Arcadia, Series M19, Roll 117, page 82]

1830 Census	Under 5	5- 9	10- 14	15- 19	20- 29	30- 39	40- 49	50- 59	60- 69
Males	2	1	2	1	0	0	1	0	0
Females	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0

James Adams (page 68) and Alanson Adams (page 84) also resided in Arcadia.

William Adams patented 80 acres of land, the west half of the northwest quarter of section 25, in Canton Township, Wayne County, Michigan, 15 Oct 1835 (1834 crossed out) [Bureau of Land Management - General Land Office Records, found at http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/Logon/Logon_Form.asp?] [record, with map on page 2]
William Adams and wife Mary sold to Harris Smith (all of Canton Township), 80 acres in section 25, Canton Township; witnesses Cyprian S. Hooker and Stephen F. Tripp; dated 20 Jun 1835 and recorded 22 Jun 1835 [Wayne County, Michigan, Land Transfers, volume 8, DAR]
John S. Adams also sold to Harris Smith (both of Canton Township), 80 acres in section 24; dated 9 Jul 1835 and recorded 21 Jul 1835 (same source)
John S. Adams of Wayne County, Michigan Territory, sold to William Adams of Wheatland Township, county and territory aforesaid, 160 acres of land in Wheatland Township, Hillsdale County, being (1) the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter and the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 2 and (2) the west half of the northwest quarter of Section 11; witnesses Herman Pratt and Mary Pratt; dated 6 Jul 1836 and recorded 21 Feb 1839 [Hillsdale County, Michigan, Deed Book E, pages 175-176] [record]
Note: the the northwest quarter plus the southwest quarter equals the western half - see record 13.
William Adams and wife Mary of Wheatfield Township in the County of Hillsdale and Territory of Michigan sold to Thomas H. Johnson of the County of Wayne and Territory of Michigan, 80 acres in Wheatland Township, Hillsdale County, being the west half of the northwest quarter of Section 11; witnesses Aaron VanVleet and J. M. Adams; dated 23 Aug 1836 and recorded 14 Oct 1839 [Hillsdale County, Michigan, Deed Book E, pages 495-496] [record]

William Adams appeared as head of household in the 1840 Census of Hillsdale County, Michigan [record]:

[1840 Census of Hillsdale County, Michigan, Township of Wheatland, Series M704, Roll 205, page 66]

1840 Census	Under 5	5- 9	10- 14	15- 19	20- 29	30- 39	40- 49	50- 59	60- 69
Males	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	0
Females	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	0

John Adams also resided in Wheatland (page 65). James Adams (Roll 212, page 288) and Alanson Adams (page 286) resided in Canton, Wayne County, Michigan.

Mary Adams died 25 Dec 1846 [Bible record of Sally Ann Adams Cook (her daughter)]
Note: Published cemetery records say that Mary Adams, wife of William, died 25 Dec 1848, and that she was buried in Wheatland Center (aka Dibble) cemetery [Moore, Deaths, Hillsdale County, Michigan, 1829-1867, page 1 (at DAR)]. Dibble Cemetery is on N. Adams Road, Wheatland Township, Hillsdale County.
William Adams of the Township of Wheatland and County of Hillsdale and State of Michigan sold to Simon Gilson of the Township of Adams and county and state aforesaid, 80 acres in Wheatland Township being the west half of the southeast quarter of Section 2; witnesses William Mercer and Seth Aldrich; dated 7 Aug 1849 and recorded 18 Aug 1849 [Hillsdale County, Michigan, Deed Book Q, pages 330-331] [record]

William Adams appeared as head of household in the 1850 Census of Rollins Township, Lenawee County, Michigan [record]

[1850 Census of Lenawee County, Michigan, Rollins Township, Series M432, Roll 355, Page 257]

Names	Age	Sex	Occupation	Value - Real Estate	Birthplace
William Adams	62	M	Farmer	1000	NJ
Lodusky Adams	45	F			CT
Charles L. Post	13	M			NY
Clarissa A. ditto	11	F			NY
Jane A. ditto	7	F			NY

William and Lodusky Adams married within the year.

I'm not sure this is the William Adams of interest, but he's the right age, born in New Jersey, and Rollins Twp, Lenawee County, is next to (east of) Wheatland Twp, Hillsdale County.

William Adams died 21 Nov 1864 [Bible record of Sally Ann Adams Cook (his daughter)]
Note: Published cemetery records say that William Adams died 21 Nov 1861, and that he was buried in Wheatland Center (aka Dibble) cemetery [Moore, Deaths, Hillsdale County, Michigan, 1829-1867, page 1 (at DAR)]
Lodoaska Adams of the Town of Rollins, Lenawee County, Michigan, sold to Daniel V. Rogers of Wheatland, Hillsdale County, Michigan, 14 acres more or less in Section 6 of Rollins Township; witnesses L. J. Smith and C. H. Smith; dated 27 Apr 1864 and recorded 21 May 1864 [Lenawee County, Michigan, Deed Book 66, pages 650-651] Note: the Deed Index has Lodoiska.

Click on a link to see an abstract or copy of the record.

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Discussion of Records

What can one learn from these records?

Birth

William Adams was born in 1787 (record 1). He was born in New Jersey (1850 Census). The 1900 Census says that Sally Cook's father was born in New Jersey.

Family

His parents probably were James Adams and Anny Dunn Adams or Sarah Dunn Adams. The evidence is circumstantial.

In the 1820 Census James Adams, James Adams Jr. and William Adams resided in Lyons, New York.
In the 1830 Census James Adams, Alanson Adams and William Adams resided in Arcadia, New York.
James Adams Jr. patented land in Wayne County, Michigan in 1835, as did William Adams (record 8).
In the 1840 Census James Adams and Alanson Adams resided in Canton Township, Wayne County, Michigan. (James Adams Sr. died in 1838.)
James Adams appeared in the 1850 Census of Wayne County, Michigan, born in New Jersey about 1796, with children born in New York [M432, Roll 366, Page 320]; Alanson R. Adams appeared in the 1850 Census of Montcalm County, Michigan, born in New York about 1812, with children born in Michigan [M432, Roll 358, Page 442].
Alanson R. Adams died 16 Aug 1896 in Montcalm County, Michigan; age 85, born in New York, parents (unfortunately) unknown [record].

James Adams Sr. married (1) Anny Dunn in 1782 and (2) Sarah Dunn on 3 Jan 1787; William was born 6 Jan 1787 (record 1). William Adams named his first daughter Sally Ann (Sally is a nickname for Sarah). More information on James Adams Sr. is given here.

Sarah's brother Samuel Dunn and nephew Samuel Dunn Jr. (William's cousin) moved to Plymouth, Wayne County, Michigan in the 1830s. Samuel Sr. transferred his pension payment to the Detroit pension office in 1835 [record]. Samuel Dunn Jr. appeared in the 1840 and later Censuses of Plymouth [M704, Roll 212, Page 317]. This Dunn connection is another link between New York and Michigan.

Marriages

William Adams and Mary Stansell married by 1814, based on the birth of their first child (record 4). William Adams seems to have served with Nicholas Stansell Jr. in the war of 1812 (record 3); perhaps he met Mary through her brother.

The 1850 Census shows Lodusky Adams in the household of William Adams, married within the last year. I haven't found a record of their marriage. She probably was a widow; there were children of the Post family with her in 1850.

Wives' Families

Mary Adams nee Stansell was born in 1787 (record 2). Her parents were Nicholas and Margaret Stansell [http://genforum.genealogy.com/stansell/messages/65.html]. She was an heir of Nicholas Stansell (record 5). William and Mary named a son Nicholas S. Adams.

I haven't identified Lodusky Adams' family.

Children

The children of William and Mary Adams are listed in record 4.

Residences

William Adams lived in Sussex County, New Jersey, Ontario (later Wayne) County, New York, and in Wayne, Hillsdale and Lenawee counties in Michigan. Mary Adams lived in Ontario (later Wayne) County, New York, and in Wayne and Hillsdale counties in Michigan.