John Adams (1691-1761)
Early New England Settler residing in Braintree, MA. Father of President John Adams Grandfather of President John Quincey Adams
Vital Stats
- Son of Joseph Adams (1654-1737) and Hannah Bass (1667-1705)
- 1691-Feb-08 : Birth in Braintree, Norfolk, MA / Christened 1691-Mar-15
- 1734-Oct-31 : Marriage to Susannah Boylston (1709-1797) in Braintree, Norfolk, MA
- 1761-May-25 : Died and buried in Braintree, Norfolk, MA.
Biography
was born on 8 Feb 1691 in Braintree, Norfolk, MA, United States. He was christened on 15 Mar 1691 in Braintree, Norfolk, MA, United States. He died on 25 May 1761. He was buried in Braintree, Norfolk, MA, United States.
John married Susannah Boylston on 31 Oct 1734 in Braintree, Norfolk, MA, United States. Susannah was born on 16 Mar 1709 in Boston, Suffolk, MA, United States. She died on 17 Apr 1797. She was buried in Quincy, Norfolk, MA, United States.
He was, in turn, a fifth-generation descendant of Henry Adams, who emigrated from Braintree, Essex, in England to Massachusetts Bay Colony in about 1638. He was also descended from John and Priscilla Alden. John Adams, Sr. worked as a farmer and cobbler (also called a cord-wainer or shoemaker) for most of his life.
Adams' descendants include many prominent persons in American history, and his home is a National Park. Not only was he the father and grandfather of presidents; he also was a first cousin of patriot Samuel Adams.
In 1720, Adams purchased a farm in what is now Quincy, Massachusetts (then called the "north precinct" of Braintree, Massachusetts). Adams was primarily a farmer during the growing season, and also worked as a shoemaker, for which he earned "hard money" as a trade during the winters. He was a freeholder, who owned rather than rented, his land.
Adams was also a deacon in his church, a lieutenant in the Massachusetts colonial militia, a tax collector, and a selectman of the Town of Braintree (now Quincy). He was a Congregationalist (that is, Puritan) deacon. The younger John Adams wrote of the religion his father was so passionate for, "[they are] bearers of freedom, a cause that still had holy urgency." The future president was first known by reputation as the "dutiful son of Deacon John".
The John Adams, Sr., family famously "lived plainly." Together they raised a family of three sons, of which John Adams was the oldest; their other sons were Peter and Elihu. Peter Boylston Adams was a farmer and militia captain of Braintree, Massachusetts. Elihu Adams was a company commander in the militia during the American Revolution, who died from a dysentery early in the war in 1775.
Children of John Adams and Susannah Boylston
All Children born in Braintree, Norfolk, MA:
- John Adams (1735-1826) - 2nd President of the United States of America
- Peter Boylston Adams
- Elihu Adams
Famous Ancestors
- John Alden (c1599-1687) - Mayflower Pilgrim