Adams Family History and Genealogy Continued:
James Adams, Jr. 1798 – ??

It is often interesting and also frustrating, that parts of one persons genealogy and related information is saved with careful attention to detail and other parts are not. Such is certainly the case with James Adams, Jr., the son of Rev. James Adams and his wife Margaret (Munn) Adams.

Apparently, much of the factual information and many dates are from the Munn Family Bible that still exists within the family. However, there are other aspects that are not listed in the Bible and have not been found by myself or other Adams Family genealogists.

James Adams, Jr. was born January 13, 1798 in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. I have not been able to find his parents, Rev. James and Margaret (Munn) Adams on the 1800 US Census either in Pennsylvania or in Ohio. At that early period in time, lots of people were missed by census takers.

I was able to find some information written in the History of Wayne County, Ohio about both the Adams and Goudy Families and when they settled in Sugar Creek Township, Wayne County. I only wish I could find census information to collaborate that information. I will keep looking and report any information found.

What I did find was a Marriage License issued to James Adams, Jr. and Hannah Goudy, on August 2, 1816. There is no name of the officiating pastor on the license, but since Rev. James Adams, Sr. was pastor of the local church, which both the Adams and Goudy families attended, it is likely that he officiated at their wedding. The Adams and Goudy Farms were adjoining in Sugar Creek Township.

Hannah Goudy was the daughter of James and Mary (Cook) Goudy. She was born in July 1795 in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Washington County was the western most in Pennsylvania and bordered the State of Ohio. The following is information about her family from The Wayne County History:

James Goudy and his wife Mary (Cook) Goudy came to Sugar Creek Township in 1809 and settled near the present-day town of Dalton. He bought 80 acres of land from his brother John Goudy, and paid $4 per acre because it had already been cleared of timber.
James Goudy was a private in St. Clair’s Defeat, a horrendous battle in what became Greenville, Ohio. Allied Indian Tribal forces under the leadership of Miami War Chief Little Turtle defeated General St. Clair and his army. The battle occurred on November 4, 1791. James Goudy was wounded in the battle, shot in the groin, but was able to struggle a distance of 18 miles to obtain medical assistance. The survivors were so desperate that they ate the meat of dead horses they found along the way. James Goudy survived the battle and the trip home, but was never in good health again. He died several years later.
[It is thought that James and Mary (Cook) Goudy were married in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, but the date is not known. The first seven of their nine children were born in Pennsylvania, including Hannah Goudy, who was their sixth child. Other Adams Family Genealogists have not been able to find James and Mary (Cook) Adams and their families in Pennsylvania. However, they are listed on the 1810 US Census of Sugar Creek Township, Wayne County, Ohio. Mary (Cook) Goudy died in 1810 and James Goudy died on September 26, 1823, both in Sugar Creek Township.]
John Goudy, his son, was twice married: first to Mary Cook and second to Eliza A. Bailey. Through hard work and business acumen, he was able to amass considerable land and monies.
James Adams, Jr. and Hanna (Goudy) Adams are known to have returned to Pennsylvania after their marriage in 1816, but the exact time of their return is not known. The first three of their children, William born in 1818, William in 1820 and Alexander born in 1822, were all born in Pennsylvania. All three of these men claimed birth in Pennsylvania on US Census forms through out their life. The last six of their nine children list their state of birth as Ohio on US Census forms. Therefore, we know that James and Hannah Adams lived in Ohio from at least 1818 through 1822, returning to Sugar Creek Towship, Wayne County, Ohio by the time of his fathers death in 1826.
On his tombstone in the Old Stone Church Cemetery, Maple Hill, Kansas, Alexander Adams lists his birth location as Uniontown, Fayette, Pennsylvania. On the 1820 US Census, there is a James Adams living in Dunbar Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. In the household are one male under 10 years of age, one male 16-25 years of age, and one female 16-25 years of age. If the US Census was taken before the birth of their second son, this could certainly be James and Hannah (Goudy) Adams and their first child, William G. Adams.
The children of James Adams, Jr. and Hannah (Goudy) Adams are:
William G. Adams 1818-1868
John M. Adams 1820
Alexander Adams 1822 – 1904
Mary Adams 1824 – 1828
Thomas J. Adams 1825 – 1908
Caroline Carrie Adams 1826 – 1880
Charles L. Adams 1830 – 1912
Cyrus Adams 1834 – 1854
The James and Hanna Adams Family are listed on the 1830 and 1840 US Census living in Sugar Creek Township, Wayne County, Ohio. James Adams died sometime before the 1850 US Census was taken but his death date and burial place are unknown. I have spent considerable time trying to find them but to no avail.
On the 1850 Census, Hannah (Goudy) Adams is shown living on their farm and is listed as the head of household. Living with her are her two sons, Alexander Adams and Cyrus Adams. All of the other Adams children have married and are living on their own properties. The value of the Hannah Adams farm on the US Census is reported at $3,500, indicating that it is still 80-acres in size.
William G. and his wife Catherine were the parents of six children and left Wayne County, Ohio before the 1850 US Census, where they are located in Copley, Summit County, Ohio. William died there in 1868 and Catherine in 1897. William G. Adams enlisted in and served with the Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. They are both buried in the Copley, Ohio cemetery.
John M. Adams was born on Decmeber 20, 1820 and married Rosetta Randall. They were the parents of four children. They had also relocated and were living in Riverton, Floyd County, Iowa when the 1850 US Census was taken. John at 80 years of age and Rebecca Adams at 76, were living in Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Ohio when the 1900 US Census was taken. Their dates date and location is unknown at this time.
Alexander Adams, 1822 1904 will be the subject of the next post and is the fourth child of James and Hannah (Goudy) Adams.
Mary Adams was born on December 3, 1824 in Sugar Creek Township, Wayne County, Indiana and died there as a four-year-old child in January 1828. I have not been able to find the location of her burial.
The fifth Adams child was Thomas J. Adams, who was born in August 1825 and died on November 10, 1908 at Easton, Wayne County, Ohio. He was married to Elisann Cleckner on January 7, 1847 in Wayne County, Ohio. He and his wife were the parents of six children and lived in Chippewa Township, Wayne County, Ohio all their lives. They were farmers. Elisann (Cleckner) Adams died in 1891 and Thomas Adams in 1908. Both are buried in the Easton Cemetery, Easton, Wayne County, Ohio.
James Adams, III was born in Sugar Creek Township, Wayne County, Ohio on April 2, 1826. He was married to Mary Elizabeth Thompson, and they were the parents of nine children. They moved to LaSalle County, Illinois in the 1850s when there was a large migration of family members there. They farmed near Troy Grove, LaSalle County, Illinois their entire life. James died in August 1880 and Elizabeth Adams in 1897. Both are buried in Restland Cemetery, Mendota, LaSalle County, Illinois. There is a large tombstone spire in the cemetery where the parents and several of their children, sons- and daughter-in-laws are buried.
Charles L. Adams was born on January 13, 1831 in Sugar Creek Township, Wayne County, Ohio and married Eliza Graham who was born in 1838 in Sugar Creek Township, Wayne County, Ohio. They were the parents of two daughters: Ada Melinda Adams and Lalo Adams. Eliza Graham was the daughter of James R. and Margaret (Porter) Graham, a sister to the future Mrs. Alexander (Mary Jane Porter) Adams. Charles Adams moved to Mendota, LaSalle County, Illinois during the mid-1850s when other family members migrated. Charles Adams was a prairie entrepreneur, and purchased fat from local butcher and packing plants and began a soap manufacturing business. The business prospered and he eventually moved his family to Chicago, nearly much larger supplies of animal fat from cattle and hog packing businesses. Again the business prospered. He and his wife took grand European tours during the 1890s. Charles and Eliza Adams both died in 1901 and they are buried in the Grand Mausoleum, Rose Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois.
Cyrus Adams was born February 26, 1834 in Sugar Creek Township, Wayne County, Michigan. So far as is known, he never married. He is shown on the 1850 US Census living with his mother, Hannah (Goudy) Adams, on the family farm along with his bachelor brother Alexander Adams. Alexander was 27 at the time. There are conflicting reports about where the death of Cyrus Adams occurred. Some say that he died and was buried in Wayne County, Ohio. Others report that he died after the family migrated to LaSalle County, Illinois. In any case, neither Adams family genealogists or me have found his burial location.
Sometime in 1853 or 1854, several members of their James and Hannah (Goudy) Family sold their properties in Wayne County, Ohio and moved as a group to the rich prairie farmland of Ophir Township, LaSalle County, Illinois. Alexander and Mary Jane (Porter) Adams were married in 1853 in Wayne County, Ohio. They are thought to have moved there soon after they were married and before 1855. There is no doubt that Hannah (Goudy) Adams accompanied her family to LaSalle County, Illinois, where she died on October 18, 1867. I have not been able to find the place of her burial.
I will end the James Adams, Jr. family at this point. I hope if you have comments or questions, you will comment on this post and ask them.
I will continue with the family of Alexander and Mary Jane (Porter) Adams family in the next post.

Photo one is of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, showing Springhill Township.

Photo two and three are of Wayne County, Ohio and three shows Sugar Creek Township where James and Hannah (Goudy) and their family lived.

Photo four shows the location of LaSalle County, Illinois.

Photo five shows the location of Ophir Township within LaSalle County, Illinois.

Photo six shows the James Adams, III family tombstone in the Resthaven Cemetery, Mendota, Illinois. There are smaller stones with the names of he, his wife, children, etc. behind the larger stone.

Photo seven is the large masoleum at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago where Charles L. and Eliza (Graham) Adams are buried.

Photo eight is a map of Sugar Creek Township, Wayne County, Ohio showing the James Goudy farm. Hannah (Goudy) Adams, Mrs. James Adams, Jr., was the daughter of James Goudy. The Adams farm adjoined that of the Goudys.