Adams, George W. and Jane (Nance)
Pg.
384
Adams, Isaac and Sarah (Garrison)
Pg.
390
Adams, James Franklin and Mattie (Crain)
Pg.
619
Adams, Leroy and Mary Ann (Cummings)
Pg.
620
One
of the prominent and well-to-do agriculturists and stockraisers of Marion
Township, Christian County, Mo., was born in Letcher County, Ky., in 1841, to
the union of George and Sarah (Frazier) Adams, both natives of Kentucky, it is
thought. This worthy couple married in
Letcher County, Ky., and made their home there until 1854, when they came by
wagon, to Taney, now Christian County, Mo., being two months on the road. Locating on a small farm, they at once began
making improvements, and as the years passed by became the owners of an
excellent farm. For one year, in 1859
and 1860, Mr. Adams resided in Arkansas and then returned to Missouri, where
his death occurred December 15, 1869.
Mrs. Adams died eight days later.
Mr. Adams has been twice married and reared a family by his first
wife. Our subject was second in order
of birth of five children born to his father’s second union. The others were named as follows: Jane, wife
of Thomas Nicholl, of Colorado; Margaret, wife of D. C. Walker, of Douglas
County; Ezekiel resides in the county, and Isaac, also of this county. During his youthful days our subject was
trained to the duties of the farm and received his education in the common
schools. In the year 1863, he was
married to Miss Jane Nance, a native of Lawrence County, and the daughter of
Samuel and Susannah (Adams) Nance. Mr.
Nance was reared in what is now Christian County and died in Lawrence County
before the war.
To
Mr. and Mrs. Adams were born eleven children as follows: Alfred G., Sarah (who
died young), Robert, Newton, George, Melvina (who died when a child), John,
Bergin, Margaret, Carrie and Harrison.
In the fall of 1864 Mr. Adams joined Company M, Missouri State Militia,
as corporal of the Seventy-third Regiment, and operated in southwest Missouri
and Arkansas until the close of the war.
He was in almost every skirmish.
Previous to entering the service, January 7, 1863, he was captured at
his home, but was released soon after being taken to Sparta. After the war he settled near his present
residence and improved a good farm, but for the past ten years he has been on
his present farm near Garrison Post Office, eight miles south of Chadwick. He has 350 acres of fine land and his house
and out buildings are in first-class condition. By industry and close attention to his own affairs, Mr. Adams has
reached his present enviable position, and although he started in life with a
horse and cow, he now has a good property.
For a number of years he has dealt largely in livestock, cattle, hogs,
etc., and has been unusually successful in that pursuit. A stanch Republican in his political views,
he voted for Abraham Lincoln in 1864.
He has never aspired for political positions, but attends strictly to
his farming and stockraising interests and perhaps that accounts in a large measure
for his success. He is a Mason, a
member of Rome Lodge No. 314, Douglas County, now of Ava, and a member of
Corporal Doke Post No. 306, at Garrison.
Although not a politician he earnestly supports his party and is
public-spirited and enterprising. He is acknowledged by all to be one of the
leading farmers of his township.
Among the prominent business men of Christian County Mo.,
stands the name of Isaac Adams, who is a practical, experienced man thoroughly conversant
with merchandising in all its branches and a most reliable one with whom to
enter into commercial relations. He was born in Letcher County, Ky., in 1850,
the youngest in order of birth of five children born to George and Sarah
(Frazier) Adams. He was but four years of age when he was brought by his
parents to Taney, now Christian County, Mo., but owing to the breaking out of
the Civil War his educational advances were limited. When about nineteen years
of age he started out for himself as a farmer and when was no older was married
to Miss Sarah Garrison, a native of Christian County, Mo., the daughter of
William and Malinda Garrison, who came from Tennessee to what is now Christian
County at an early date. Here both died since the war. Mr. Garrison was a
farmer and followed that occupation for the most part during life, but he also
followed the blacksmith’s trade in connection with agricultural pursuits. He
and wife were among the pioneers of Christian County. The fruits of our
subject’s union have been ten children: George, deceased; Jane; William; Mary
Belle, wife of Robert Luthco; Emma; Margaret; Ella; Charley; Frederick and
Alfred. After marriage Mr. Adams located in the eastern part of Christian
County and there tilled the soil until January 1893, when he located at
Garrison Postoffice, where he has since been engaged in merchandising. He is
doing a good business and has the confidence and respect of all who know or
have dealings with him. He is also postmaster of that place. Mr. Adams still owns
his fine farm, consisting of 201 acres, on which considerable lead has been
found, and is a representative man of the county.
James F.
Adams, clerk of Christian County, Mo., and a young man of much intelligence,
force of character and determination, was born near Sparta, this county, April
21, 1861. He is the youngest child born
to Leroy and Mary A. (Cummins) Adams (pioneer settlers of this region), the
family coming from middle Tennessee to this county as early as 1833. Of the nine children born to Mr. and Mrs.
Adams, only three are now living: John N., who resides on the old homestead;
Thomas D., also on the old homestead, and our subject. It was a good thing for the latter, as it is
for thousands of our best citizens at present, to have been reared on a farm in
the country, away from the contaminating influences of the city. It thus came to pass that he attended the
district school until nineteen years of age and then went to Ava, where he was
in school for some time. Later he entered
the Academy at Henderson, Webster County, and there remained until twenty years
of age, when he entered upon his career as a teacher in the home school. This he followed until 1886, when he was
elected county clerk by the Republican party with a good majority. He has always identified himself with the
Republican party and has been active in all public matters. He is a well-posted young man and fills the
position he now holds with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his
friends. He is purely a self-made,
self-educated man, and all that he has accumulated in the way of this world’s
goods is the result of his own honest work.
His nomination to the office he now holds was rather unexpected to him,
but he was successful in winning the nomination over one of the most popular
men of Christian County, and has held that position up to the present
time. Fraternally he is a member of the
Odd Fellow Lodge, at Sparta, No. 244, and was secretary of that lodge for a
number of years. He is also a Mason,
Friend Lodge No. 352 at Ozark. Mr.
Adams took up his residence in Ozark in January, 1887, and has made that city
his home. He selected his wife in the
person of Miss Mattie A. Crain, a native of Christian County and the daughter
of A. C. Crain, of Sparta. Two children
have blessed this union: Clell and Arlie W.
The family attends the Christian Church of which Mrs. Adams is a
member. In a business way Mr. Adams was
quite successful, for at one time he engaged in merchandising on the old home
place. He is well known in educational
circles, has been an active worker for the good of his section and is ever
ready to assist in the advancement of the best interests of his State and
county. He is a director and stockholder
in the Christian County Bank. For one
year Mr. Adams was city collector and he was also elected by the First Ward to
a seat in the council chamber of the city government. He is a lover of all kinds of sports, and assisted in organizing
the Ozark Baseball Club which became famous in southwest Missouri.
This
gentleman is regarded as one of the most enterprising pioneers of his district,
and it is a pleasure to chronicle here the events that mark his life as one of
usefulness. Material wealth must not
exclude the riches of character and ability in recounting the virtues which
have been brought to this country by its citizens and among its most precious
treasures must be estimated the lives of those citizens who have by their
intelligence and their eminence in the higher walks of life assisted in raising
the standard of life and thought in the communities in which they have
settled. Mr. Adams was born in Wilson
County, middle Tenn., about 1812 or 1814 to the union of William and Ovidia Adams,
and is a branch of the old Adams family.
He was left fatherless when quite young, and of a family of seven
children, he is the only one now living.
In 1833, when a lad of about seventeen years, he took the advice of his
father, who had told him before dying to go to new country and get a home, and
he, his mother and two younger sisters made their way to what is now Polk
County, then Greene County, Mo., and settling on a tract of land, remained
there until 1838 or 1839. At that date
they moved to a farm near Ozark, and this was a wilderness of woods inhabited
by the red man and hosts of wild animals.
This was before the Government had bought the land. On this farm Mr. Adams resided until 1849,
and then bought the farm where he is now living and entered land. He was quite a hunter in his day and killed
deer, bears and other wild animals, but at the same time the work of clearing
and improving his farm went on, and by his own untiring efforts and that of his
excellent wife it became a valuable piece of property. He was married to Mary Ann Cummings and
reared a family of six children: John N., who is on the old home place; Leonard
L. died in 1873; Thomas D., also living at home; James F., county clerk;
Roxanna, deceased, was the wife of James Farmer, and Josephine, who was the
wife of A. Farmer. The mother of these
children was a native of Warren County, Tenn., and came to this county with her
father, Benjamin Cummings. She was an
excellent woman and a true helpmate to her husband in pioneer days. Her death occurred in May, 1891, on the farm
where she had spent many years of her life.
The family attends the Baptist Church.
Mr. Adams was formerly a Whig, but later he espoused the principles of
the Republican party and has remained with it ever since. Aside from his farming industry he has been
engaged in other occupations, and for some time he ran a store in Ozark during
the war in partnership with Messrs. Robertson and Yoakum. He was also engaged in business at Linden
and Sparta, being in partnership with ex-Sheriff Crain in the latter place. He is one of the highly esteemed citizens of
the county and a man who has ever taken a deep interest in all worthy
movements. He has ten grandchildren.