Person:William Adams (202)

William Adams was one of the Early Settlers of Augusta County, Virginia

Contents 1 Early Land Acquisition in Augusta County, VA 2 Records in Augusta County, VA 3 Information on William Adams 4 Sources		Welcome to Old Augusta Early Settlers Beverley Manor Borden's Grant Register Data Maps Places Library History Index
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Early Land Acquisition in Augusta County, VA

William Adams's land (Borden Tract NE, 336 acres, 1757) as shown on the map meticulously drawn by J.R. Hildebrand, cartographer. This map is copyrighted©, used by permission of John Hildebrand, son of J.R. Hildebrand, April, 2009.

Acquisition of Land from Chalkley's:

• Page 27.--14th November. 1757. Borden's executors to William Adams, £4, 336 acres, part of 92,100, on Moffets Creek; David Hays' line (ivery sapline?); Jas. Trimble's line. Teste: James Simpson.

Disposition of Land from Chalkley's:

• Page 620.--17th November, 1763. William Adims (Adams) to George Jemison, £50, 336 acres in Borden's tract on Moffet's Creek; David Hays' line. James Trimble's'line. Teste: Wm. McCutchan, Wm. Kennedy. Samuel Steel. Jno. Handly, Andrew Kennady, Wm. Edmiston. Delivered: George Jamison, 17th January, 1787.

Records in Augusta County, VA

From Chalkley’s Augusta County Records:

• Page 244.--19th May, 1761. William Kennedy and Martha to William Clarke, £120, 402 acres of Borden's large tract, on Moffet's Creek; cor. William Fulton (except two acres sold to William Adams). Teste: Hugh Wardlaw, Ro. Lusk. Delivered: Robert Clarke, March, 1763.

• Vol. 1 - AUGUST 22, 1764. - (70) Commission for examination of Mary Adams, wife of William Adams in deed William to George Jameson.

Information on William Adams

William was born in Ulster, Antrim County, Ireland, ca. 1717 (abt. 1723?). He came to VA. in 1742 at the age of 25, landing at Norfork in the company of another young man by the name of James McCoun. They engaged themselves for some time "working at the loom" and farming. It is said that James McCoun procured enough money to buy himself a small package of goods and with these he went peddling the back and frontier settlements. In 1744 William Adams married Mary Walker, and this same year James McCoun married her older sister, Margaret. Mary and Margaret Walker had come from Ireland with their brother, Samuel, and an uncle by the name of Thomas Cl ark, who had married their mother's sister. They landed at Charleston, S.C., moving on to VA . and settling in Roanoke. William Adams purchased 145 acres on Catawba Creek from John and Priscilla Armstrong in Feb 1770. selling the same property to William McClellan in Aug of 1779 . This and other records firmly establish William Adams and Mary his wife, as residents of Botetourt County, VA. before moving to Lincoln, later Mercer, County KY. These records also es tablish that Mary was living in July of 1786, although she had passed away by the time Willia m made his will on 9 July 1789. William and Mary Walker had seven surviving children. All of them were born in Botetourt County, VA. and all of them lived a portion of their lives in Mercer County, KY. William died in 1795 at the age of 83 and is said to be buried in the "old Adams Family Cemetery" located 1/2 mile southwest of the "old Brewer home". That his wife died sometime prior to 1789 is evidenced by the fact that she is not mentioned in her husband' s will dated 29 Aug 1789. This will distributes his estate between his sons Samuel and William, and his daughter, Jennet. It states that David, Anne Adams Adams, Margaret Curry, and Mary Adams Wilson had been provided for before this date. [Source: information from from the KY. Historical Society; Frankfort, KY; Adams file, compiled records of Alma Ray Ison; Harrodsburg Historical Society; Harrodsburg, KY].

Sources

Chalkley's Augusta County Records

Find-A-Grave; http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=26409850\

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=mison&id=I1642

http://www.adamsfamilyhistory.com/theadamsname.htm

One of the first of the line seems to have been a William I. Adams, born in Antrim County, Ireland circa 1717-1723. He came to America, landing at Norfolk, Virginia, in 1742. He married Mary Walker in 1744. She, too, had been born in Ireland. They later settled on the Catawba River in Bedford County, Virginia. After that they moved to Augusta County, which was divided in 1770, and the part they lived on was part of Botetourt County, and that is where all their children were born. William died in Mercer County in 1795. Mary is presumed to have died prior to 1789.

Their son, Samuel Clark Adams, born March 27, 1752, was an adventurer and explorer by the time he was eighteen. He was part of a group of ten men known as the McAfee Company that surveyed Kentucky in 1773.

This same Samuel Clark Adams fought beside Virginia militiamen at the Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774, at which the Shawnee Indians were defeated. He married Anne Curry circa 1776, and moved with other Adamses, McAfees and Nevins to what is now Vigo and Parke Counties, Indiana, between 1811 and 1814.

From Genforum.com post:

Answers on Samuel Adams (Scotch-Irish) Posted by: Ed Adams Date: May 08, 2000 at 22:39:35 In Reply to: Re: Samuel Adams born 1745 in Ireland by Julie Baxter of 22513

Ok ... I think there may be some confusion as to which Samuel we are talking about .... which is very understandable because there is more than one and two Samuels have wives by the same name!

William I. Adams was born in Antrim County, Ireland (though he, and the others I describe, were not Irish, but were Scottish - see my earlier postings on the history of the "Scotch-Irish") circa 1717-1723. He came to America in 1742 landing in Norfolk, VA with a fellow farmer and loomer, James McCoun. William married Mary Walker in 1744. Mary came to America from Ireland with her sister Margaret (who married James McCoun), her brother Samuel and her uncle, Thomas Clark - who was a relative of George Rogers Clark.

William and Mary settled along the Catawba River in Bedford County, VA, but later moved to Augusta County - though the county was divided in 1770 and the area they lived in became Botetourt County - where all their children were born. From there they moved to Mercer County, KY in the late 1770s. William died in Mercer County in 1795. We don't know when Mary died, though we presume she died prior to 1789 since William did not mention her in his Will which was signed in 1789.

William and Mary had a son Samuel Clark Adams, born March 27, 1752. This Samuel was an adventurer and explorer at the age of 18. He was part of a group of 10 men known as the McAfee Company that surveyed Kentucky in 1773. The men established claims in the area but did not settle there until the Shawnee Indians were defeated by Virginia militiamen at the Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774 - which Samuel Clark Adams fought in. This Samuel married Anne Curry circa 1776 and moved with other Adamses, McAfees and Nevins to what is now Vigo and Parke Countys, IN between 1811 and 1814.

There is another Samuel Adams. My paternal ancestor is believed to have been born in Ireland circa 1745. But little else is known of his heritage. Clay County (Indiana) History records that he was of "Scotch-Irish" descent. This Samuel married Anne Adams - the daughter of William and Mary.

To add to the confusion, William Greer Adams, the son of "mystery" Samuel Adams and Anne Adams married Mary Adams, the daughter of Samuel Clark Adams and Anne Curry.

I would be happy to share any information I have with you.