Person:Richard Adams (35)

Source

Transcript:Will of Richard Adams, Philadelphia PA, 1747

Transcript:Petition of the inhabitants of Perkiomen Creek Settlement, PA, 1728

Marriage Record for Richard Adams and Elizabeth Wethers, Christ Church, Philadelphia, 22 Dec 1726

Related

Person:Richard Adams (13)

Marriage

The wife of Richard Adams, at the time of his death in 1747, was clearly "Alse", as he records her as such in his will. Alse also left a will, and uses that spelling of her name. Alse has been interpreted as "Alice" and also as "Elsie". That may be true, but it also seems like a bit of forcing is going on, particularly with regard to the "Elsie" as a variant spelling. A 1726 Christ Church record is frequently cited for the marriage of Richard and Asle. That marriage record is given in a 1878 PA archives transcription volume giving the marriages at Christ Church. The marriage is shown in that volume once under the name of the groom, where it shows that Rich'd Adams married "E Withers" in 1726. It also appears in that volume under the brides name, where it shows "Elizabeth Wethers married Rich'd Adams in 1726". Church of Christ, on their website, provides their own transcription of the marriage records, showing that Ricard Adams married Elizabeth Wethers in 1726.

It would seem that there is a transcription error in the 1878 volume of the PA archives, and that the name of the woman who married a Richard Adams in 1726 was Elizabeth Wethers, not "E. Withers", or "Elsie Withers", or "Alice Withers", but "Elizabeth Wethers". This most likely indicates that this marriage record is for a different Richard Adams than the one who identified "Alse" as his wife in his 1747 will.

Christ Church Historical Collections Online Christ Church Register Details

Type of Event: Marriage

Husband: Richard Adams

Wife: Elizabeth Wethers

Date: 22 December 1726

Location: Christ Church

Minister: Rev. Archibald Cummings

Book Year: 1709-1800

Page Number: 4149

Cross Reference: Mr. Cummings's Private Register from Sept.r 9th 1726 to Jan. 31st 1741 A Register of Persons married in Philad.a"

Notes: "B"

Ancestry Public member trees Typically show that the Richard Adams who died in 1747 was married to Gertien op den Graeff. His will, however, identifies his wife as "Alyse", an 18th-century variant of what to day is written "Alice". A number of lineages show Richard Adams who died in 1747 as married to an Alice Withers, with some giving her name as Alice Gertien op den Graeff, and cite a DOM of 22 Dec 1726.

From: Ancestry's Pennsylvania, Marriage Records, 1700-1821 [citing Pennsylvania Marriage Records. Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania Archives Printed Series, 1876. Series 2, Series 6., gives the following entry.

Name: Richd Adams

Marriage Date: 22 Dec 1726

Marriage Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Spouse's Name: E Withers

Source Information:

Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Marriage Records, 1700-1821 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.

The particular source that the Ancestry version was ultimately drawn from is the Marriage Records of Christ Church in Philadelphia, 1709-1806

Christ Church in Philadelphia parish registers show a marriage between a Richard Adams and Elizabeth Weathers on 22 Dec. 1726.

Christ Church Historical Collections Online Christ Church

Type of Event: Marriage

Husband: Richard Adams

Wife: Elizabeth Wethers

Date: 22 December 1726

Location: Christ Church

Minister: Rev. Archibald Cummings

Book Year: 1709-1800

Page Number: 4149

Cross Reference: Mr. Cummings's Private Register from Sept.r 9th 1726 to Jan. 31st 1741 A Register of Persons married in Philad.a"

Notes: "B"

While the name of the bride is different in these two record transcriptions, the name of the groom and the DOM are identical. It would seem that despite the difference in the bride's name, both records are dealing with the same marriage. In the first record, given in the PA archives, the bride's name is simply recorded as "E. Withers". The "E". could stand for "Elice" another variant of "Alice", or any other given name beginning with "E". While the logic is a bit contorted, especially after seeing the Christ Church's transcript of this record, it would seem that genealogists have "blended" the information in the will identify Richards wife as "Alyse" and that in the Ancestry version of the marriage record concluding that the "E" did indeed stand for "Elyse" which they converted to the modern "Alice"---hence his wife's name was "Alice Withers" in this interpretation.

Another possibility is that the Christ Church transcripts are the records in error, though this seems unlikely. If the original really did read "E. Withers", its unlikely that anyone would have expanded that to "Elizabeth Wethers". On the other hand, if the original gave the name as "Elizabeth Wethers", but the handwriting was difficult to read, it might have been transcribed simply as E. Withers".

This makes it difficult to reconcile Richard Adams will identifying his wife as "Alyse", rather than "Elizabeth". So perhaps this is not the marriage record of the Richard who died in 1747, identifying his wife as "Alyse". In that case, the DOM of 22 Dec 1726 has to be discarded.

We are also left without an explanation for the frequently cited name of his wife as "Gertien op den Graef.

Notes

Richard Adams will of 1747 identifies daughter Ann and her husband Jacob Umstadt.

Death

Richard wrote his will 1 February 1747. It entered probate 24 March 1747, indicating that he died between those two dates. While Chester County is commonly given as his POD, the area in which he was living in 1747 was never within Chester County. Rather, the area in which he was living, Perkiomen or Skippack Creek watersheds, lay within Philadelphia County. This is consistent with the will being probated in Philadelphia. This area later (1786) became Montgomery County, which is also commonly cited as his POD.

Note 1

There appear to have been two related Richard Adams in this area; Information about them may have been interchanged.

Note 2

From:GeraldHarp, Ancestry

Citing "Early Pennsylvania Land Records" by Egle, Page 732 Minute Book "L" the following:

The right of Rich'd Adams' purchase, entered in minute book p. 99 is entered to be Jno. Adams his son and Heir, but by the will now produced, Rich'd Adams gives and bequeaths the whole to this Son, Nicholas Adams, who by his Last Will and Testam't bequeaths the same unto his Kinsman, Ric'd Adams, son of his Bro'r, John Adams, to him, his heirs and Assigns forever.

GeraldHarp comments:

(1725?)The Adams family were Anglicans, and early members of St. James Church, Perkiomen. Per above, Richard Adams had inherited from his Uncle Nicholas in 1725 the property his grandfather Richard Adams I bought from William Penn in 1681. It is not clear when Richard came to America, or if his uncle Nicholas was here or in England when he died. Richard was certainly here in 1698 and married to Gertien Op den Graef, as her father Abraham deeded him as his son-in-law 91 acres of land that year. Richard's signature appears on the Petition of the Inhabitants of Colebrookdale of Berks Co. in 1728 for 'relief of suffering at the hands of the Ingians'. The area they lived in was called Falkner's Swamp, near Goschenhoppen. Richard changed the spelling of his last name to Addams to keep his line distinct. Richard and Gertien had nine children, Susanna, Catherine, Mary, Margaret, who married Paul CASTLEBERRY, Ann, Elizabeth, William, Abraham, and Isaac. By his second wife, Alitia (Alse) Withers, he had a daughter Hannah. Among his descendants by his son William are the noted Jane ADDAMS, social reformer of Hull House, and New Yorker cartoonist Charles S. ADDAMS.
Research of Addams McAllister:
"William Lane of Parquaming in the County of Philadelphia, and Providence of PA., Yeoman, to Richard Adams of Parqueming, aforesaid, yeoman", dated Feb. 9, 1722 conveying to him a part of the lane tract of 2,500 acres, namely a 280 acre plot along the Skippack Creek, by the lands of Wm. Lane, Peter Rambo, and John Umstad. This deed was recorded April 6, 1749 (after the death of both Wm. Lane and Richard Addams) in Book G-11 p. 206.

Note 3

From SMatson1021 Ancestry

William Adams (sometimes spelled Addams) was born in 1705 in Cocalico Township, Montgomery County, PA, the child of Richard Adams (<1670-c. 1747) and Gertien Op den Graeff (1680-1770). Inconsistent information is provided about Richard's place and birth and parentage, but he appears to have been the brother of Robert Addams of Ledwell, Oxfordshire. Robert came to America with William Penn on Penn's second voyagel; the family reportedly settling in Pennsylvania on 500 acres granted by Penn in 1681 near Philadelphia. Richard died in Providence Township, PA. Richard's father was Walter Ad(d)ams who also came to Pennsylvania (he was known to be there in 1791). [Surely 1681 was meant] William Adams married Anna (or Ann) Lane in 1729. He was a prosperous landowner, farmer, and mill owner in Lancaster County, PA. Soon after his marriage, it is said, he made a surveying trip with his father-in-law (Edward Lane), presumably in connection with the highway that Lane was going to build to connect Philadelphia with the western settlements, and he fell in love with a little valley in Cocalico Township, which he subsequently purchased (according to Edwin Yeich's article on Jane Addams). This story is suspect, if for no other reason than that Edward Lane died in 1710, when William was just a boy. It is known that in 1749 William bought 246 acres of land in what is now Adamstown and divided it among himself and his sons, in addition to the land that he did indeed acquire in Cocalico Township. He had bought the land from men who had thought the area would yield workable iron ore, which it did not; but Adams' mill was a financial success. Ad(d)ams founded Addamsbury (later Adamstown) in Lancaster County, PA on July 4, 1761, and he (later his sons and other descendants) collected rents on the lots, some an acre, others of a half-acre each, which he laid out for the settlement. At least as late as 1961 some plots of land in Adamstown were still subject to annual ground rents. In addition to their sons, William and Ann had a daughter who married John Witman.

Ancestry Trees

Ancestry Public Member Trees for Richard Adams 1678-1747

Using = TreeExtraction.021

Date: October 17, 2014, 12:12:34

Run:Richard Adams 1678-1747

Related

Person:Richard Adams (35) Probably the same person

The thirteen original settlers of Germantown, PA

The wife of Richard Adams who died in Skippack/Periomen Township, Philadelphia County, PA, in 1747

Death

Richard wrote his will 1 February 1747. It entered probate 24 March 1747, indicating that he died between those two dates. While Chester County is commonly given as his POD, the area in which he was living in 1747 was never within Chester County. Rather, the area in which he was living, Perkiomen or Skippack Creek watersheds, lay within Philadelphia County. This is consistent with the will being probated in Philadelphia. This area later (1786) became Montgomery County, which is also commonly cited as his POD.

Notes

Richard Adams will of 1747 identifies daughter Ann and her husband Jacob Umstadt.

Note 1

There appear to have been two related Richard Adams in this area; Information about them may have been interchanged.

Note 2

From:GeraldHarp, Ancestry

Citing "Early Pennsylvania Land Records" by Egle, Page 732 Minute Book "L" the following:

The right of Rich'd Adams' purchase, entered in minute book p. 99 is entered to be Jno. Adams his son and Heir, but by the will now produced, Rich'd Adams gives and bequeaths the whole to this Son, Nicholas Adams, who by his Last Will and Testam't bequeaths the same unto his Kinsman, Ric'd Adams, son of his Bro'r, John Adams, to him, his heirs and Assigns forever.

GeraldHarp comments:

(1725?)The Adams family were Anglicans, and early members of St. James Church, Perkiomen. Per above, Richard Adams had inherited from his Uncle Nicholas in 1725 the property his grandfather Richard Adams I bought from William Penn in 1681. It is not clear when Richard came to America, or if his uncle Nicholas was here or in England when he died. Richard was certainly here in 1698 and married to Gertien Op den Graef, as her father Abraham deeded him as his son-in-law 91 acres of land that year. Richard's signature appears on the Petition of the Inhabitants of Colebrookdale of Berks Co. in 1728 for 'relief of suffering at the hands of the Ingians'. The area they lived in was called Falkner's Swamp, near Goschenhoppen. Richard changed the spelling of his last name to Addams to keep his line distinct. Richard and Gertien had nine children, Susanna, Catherine, Mary, Margaret, who married Paul CASTLEBERRY, Ann, Elizabeth, William, Abraham, and Isaac. By his second wife, Alitia (Alse) Withers, he had a daughter Hannah. Among his descendants by his son William are the noted Jane ADDAMS, social reformer of Hull House, and New Yorker cartoonist Charles S. ADDAMS.
Research of Addams McAllister:
"William Lane of Parquaming in the County of Philadelphia, and Providence of PA., Yeoman, to Richard Adams of Parqueming, aforesaid, yeoman", dated Feb. 9, 1722 conveying to him a part of the lane tract of 2,500 acres, namely a 280 acre plot along the Skippack Creek, by the lands of Wm. Lane, Peter Rambo, and John Umstad. This deed was recorded April 6, 1749 (after the death of both Wm. Lane and Richard Addams) in Book G-11 p. 206.

Note 3

From SMatson1021 Ancestry

William Adams (sometimes spelled Addams) was born in 1705 in Cocalico Township, Montgomery County, PA, the child of Richard Adams (<1670-c. 1747) and Gertien Op den Graeff (1680-1770). Inconsistent information is provided about Richard's place and birth and parentage, but he appears to have been the brother of Robert Addams of Ledwell, Oxfordshire. Robert came to America with William Penn on Penn's second voyagel; the family reportedly settling in Pennsylvania on 500 acres granted by Penn in 1681 near Philadelphia. Richard died in Providence Township, PA. Richard's father was Walter Ad(d)ams who also came to Pennsylvania (he was known to be there in 1791). [Surely 1681 was meant] William Adams married Anna (or Ann) Lane in 1729. He was a prosperous landowner, farmer, and mill owner in Lancaster County, PA. Soon after his marriage, it is said, he made a surveying trip with his father-in-law (Edward Lane), presumably in connection with the highway that Lane was going to build to connect Philadelphia with the western settlements, and he fell in love with a little valley in Cocalico Township, which he subsequently purchased (according to Edwin Yeich's article on Jane Addams). This story is suspect, if for no other reason than that Edward Lane died in 1710, when William was just a boy. It is known that in 1749 William bought 246 acres of land in what is now Adamstown and divided it among himself and his sons, in addition to the land that he did indeed acquire in Cocalico Township. He had bought the land from men who had thought the area would yield workable iron ore, which it did not; but Adams' mill was a financial success. Ad(d)ams founded Addamsbury (later Adamstown) in Lancaster County, PA on July 4, 1761, and he (later his sons and other descendants) collected rents on the lots, some an acre, others of a half-acre each, which he laid out for the settlement. At least as late as 1961 some plots of land in Adamstown were still subject to annual ground rents. In addition to their sons, William and Ann had a daughter who married John Witman.

Ancestry Trees

Ancestry Public Member Trees for Richard Adams 1678-1747

Using = TreeExtraction.021

Date: October 17, 2014, 12:12:34

Run:Richard Adams 1678-1747

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Ancestry.com. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970. (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.)
   Volume: 221; SAR Membership Number: 44056.
2. ↑ Richard Adams wrote his will 1 February 1747. It entered probate 24 March 1747, showing that he died sometime between these two dates. The month his will was written (February) is probably used more commonly than either exact date.
3. ↑ Will date and probate date