The probate records for Adonijah and Darius Adams confirm that they were the sons of John Adams and Esther Cady. The administrator of both estates was their brother-in-law, Zachariah Harvey. He married their sister, Amy, in 1734 in Pomfret.
John Adams
Born: 26 OCT 1686 in Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA
Father: Richard Adams (1651 to 1728)
Mother: Rebecca Davis (1658 to Unknown)
Spouse: Esther Cady (1686 to Unknown)
Married: 27 MAR 1711 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA
Children:
Johannah Adams (25 APR 1712 to Unknown)
John Adams (1 OCT 1713 to 8 OCT 1782)
Amy Adams (12 AUG 1715 to 6 DEC 1803)
Abigail Adams (13 DEC 1716 to Unknown)
Jonathan Adams (2 AUG 1718 to Unknown)
Benajah Adams (25 JUN 1720 to 23 APR 1753)
Sybil Adams (10 APR 1722 to Unknown)
Adonijah Adams (10 AUG 1723 to 1747)
Darius Adams (3 APR 1727 to 1746)
Died: 19 APR 1734 in Sheffield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA
Timeline: no documentation available
Occupation: Doctor (unknown field of study)
Records:
Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988
Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988
Variations of Surname: none
Weeding Out Fact from Fiction:
When I am researching my ancestors, I like to look at other family trees. They can be useful and provide information that might not be available elsewhere.
In John’s case, I discovered that many of these family trees had a confusing mixture of information. For example, they had different marriage dates for the same two people. The same death dates for multiple people. They had women married to women. You get the gist.
These family trees had no documentation to back up their claims. For that reason, I could not trust them to be 100% accurate.
A Little History:
John married Esther on 27 MAR 1711 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. This is documented in Ancestry.com’s “Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870, Barbour Collection.”
If the family trees are correct, Esther was born in 1686 in Groton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. Her parents were John Cady and Joanna Whitney. No one has found a birth record to confirm this data.
I also could find no death record for Esther. She would have been 47 years old when John died. Did she remarry? Did she move from the area? These questions remain unanswered.
I did find birth records for John and Esther’s nine children. This information can be found in the Barbour Collection for the state of Connecticut.
Johannah Adams:
Johannah was born on 25 APR 1712 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. I do not know when she died.
The second entry shows that Johannah married a man with the surname of Baldwin. She gave birth to a son, Ebenezer Baldwin. He was born on 6 APR 1745 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.
What I found interesting was that the father’s name was not included in this entry. Did he die shortly before Ebenezer was born?
I could find no marriage record for Johannah and a man named Baldwin. They may have married as early as 1727.
If her husband died, Johannah may have remarried. She would have been 33 years old when her son was born.
John Adams:
John was born on 1 OCT 1713 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. He died on 8 OCT 1782 in Alford, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA.
John married Mary Parke on 29 OCT 1735 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. One known child was born to this marriage:
John Adams (1736)
Mary Parke was born on 24 FEB 1715 in Preston, New London County, Connecticut, USA. She died on 22 OCT 1771 in Alford, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA.
John, Mary, and their son have memorials on the Find A Grave website.
Amy Adams:
Amy was born on 12 AUG 1715 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. She died on 6 DEC 1803 in Chesterfield, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, USA.
Amy married Zachariah Harvey on 27 AUG 1734 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. Eight known children were born into this marriage. The oldest child was born in Pomfret. The other children were born in Worcester County, Massachusetts.
John Harvey (1736 Pomfret)
Sarah Harvey (1738 Worcester)
Amy Harvey (1740 Lancaster)
Zachariah Harvey (1743 Worcester)
Solomon Harvey (1745 Worcester)
Daniel Harvey (1747 Worcester)
Rachel Harvey (1750 Shrewsbury)
Darius Harvey (1754 Shrewsbury)
Zachariah Harvey was born on 21 MAY 1711 in Norton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, USA. He died on 15 FEB 1801 in Chesterfield, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, USA.
Amy, Zachariah, and their daughter, Amy, have memorials on the Find A Grave website.
Abigail Adams:
Abigail was born on 13 DEC 1716 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. I do not know when she died.
The second entry shows that Abigail married a man named James Bennett.
Several family trees have tied Abigail to a man named James Bennett. He was born in 1724 in Stratford or Stratfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA.
These family trees indicate that Abigail died in 1786 and James died in 1780. I could find no death records to confirm these dates.
I am not positive that this was the man that Abigail married.
Jonathan Adams:
Jonathan was born on 2 AUG 1718 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. I do not know when he died.
Jonathan’s name appears on probate records for two of his brothers. The documents were dated 1746 and 1747.
Benajah Adams:
Benajah was born on 25 JUN 1720 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. He died on 23 APR 1753 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.
Benajah married a woman named Hannah Clough on 15 DEC 1741 in Thompson, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. Four known children were born to this marriage:
Esther Adams (1743)
Hannah Adams (1745)
Darius Adams (1747)
Molly Adams (1751)
I could find no information on Hannah Clough.
Sybil Adams:
Sybil was born on 10 APR 1722 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. I do not know when she died.
Adonijah Adams:
Adonijah was born on 10 AUG 1723 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. He died in 1747 in Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA.
I found a probate record that confirms that Adonijah died in 1747. His brother-in-law, Zachariah Harvey, was the administrator of his estate. Jonathan and Benajah, his brothers, were witnesses to this document.
You can view this document on the Family Search website under “Massachusetts, Worcester County, Probate Files”. You will have to register for a free account to gain access to this document.
To view this record, scroll down to “View the Images” and click on “Collection Browse Page”. Click on the word, Worcester. You will see that Adonijah’s probate record is listed under “Case no 94-161, Adams, Adonijah-Adams, Daniel, 1731-1881”.
Darius Adams:
Darius was born on 3 APR 1727 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. He died in 1746 in Woodstock, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.
I found a probate record that confirms that Darius died in 1746. His brother-in-law, Zachariah Harvey, was the administrator of his estate. Jonathan and Benajah, his brothers, were witnesses to this document.
My Thoughts:
I could not complete the profiles for Esther and four of their children. This was due to the lack of records available on the internet.
I will be revisiting these profiles soon. By then, there may be more documents available that will help me complete these profiles.
Notes:
John Adams (1595 to 1633) was the first person with that English surname to immigrate to North America from England. In 1621, John boarded the Fortune. This was the second ship, after the Mayflower, to bring puritans to North America. In late November of that year, the Fortune arrived at Plymouth Colony. John was the progenitor of all the Adams descendants listed in these posts.
Creating Your Family Tree
Interested in building a great family tree? Remember these important steps:
Look in your photo albums. You may have old pictures that your parents or grandparents gave you. Or, ask them for copies of photos that they have in their possession. Many people will write names and dates on the backs of photographs. Letters, diaries, and family bibles are also excellent sources for births, marriages, and deaths.
Talk to your older relatives to find out about your ancestry. They may relate stories about an ancestor that you can add to your family tree. Family history is usually not found in newspapers. It is more of a verbal memory that is passed down from generation to generation.
Find the right family tree builder that suits your needs. You can choose one that has a paid subscription like Ancestry.com. There are also free sites like FamilySearch.org.
When you start building your family tree, add documentation to your ancestor’s profile. The records can include birth, marriage, death, census, military, city, and county directory listings. Any information that you can find will help create a life story about your ancestor.
If you have a unique surname, like Wakenight, you may find databases on the internet that are useful in your search. I use SurnameDB.com for my English surnames. There are many others on the internet for other countries like Ireland, Italy, and Germany.
Genealogy is the study of a person’s “line of descent.” As you create your family tree, you would typically start with one individual and go “back into time.” You would add their parents, grandparents, and so on. There are also family trees that go “forward into time.” Many of these family trees start with a famous person, such as a president or royalty, and move forward into the present time. The purpose of this type of pedigree is to establish a person’s bloodline with that famous person.
There is no limit on how big your family tree can grow. The blank canvas is there for you to use. Cherish your family history, and it will be there for generations to come!
Leave a Reply