#12 The Franklin and Elizabeth (Parsons) Adams Family

Franklin Adams was the oldest of the children of Alexander and Mary Jane (Porter) Adams. He was born November 3, 1853 on the brand new farm of his parents in Ophir Township, LaSalle County, Illinois.

Franklin grew up on that family farm, attended rural schools in Ophir and Troy Grove Townships in LaSalle County, and assisted with his fathers substantial farming operations.

When he was 24-year-old, he made a trip to Maple Hill Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas. He arrived in late summer and arranged room and board with Mrs. Mary C. Beaubien. The Beaubiens were also from north central Illinois (Kankakee County), but it is not known if they knew the Adams previously. Mrs. Beaubien had recently been widowed but had a new house built on Mill Creek in Maple Hill Township.

Warner Adams, son of Franklin, told me that his father had been sent west by Alexander Adams to investigate the possibility of the family moving west and resettling in Kansas. Although Warner didnt have copies of letters, he said that his fathers descriptions of Maple Hill Township must have been sufficient for Alexander Adams to decide to divest himself of his Illinois property and make the move West. He arranged to have Franklin Adams built a house for the family, over the winter of 1878-1879. Having the house finished made it possible for the family to settle there in the spring of 1879.

Warner Adams said this in New Branches from Old Trees: A New History of Wabaunsee County, page 292.

Mr. (Franklin) Adams came to Maple Hill, bought land and built a house for his father, mother, three brothers and sisters, Alice Emily and Horace G. Adams, who came to occupy their new home in 1879.

When the 1880 US Census was taken, the ages of the children of Alexander and Mary Jane (Porter) Adams were: Franklin 27, Emily 23, Horace G. 18, and Alice 15. All were still single. Both Franklin and Horace G. Adams were assisting with the farm and family business interests.

Alexander Adams had sold a large amount of good, developed farmland in LaSalle County, Illinois when he moved to Maple Hill. In addition, he had served as a private lender to those in LaSalle County, Illinois from 1853 to his departure in 1879. Theres little doubt that he brought with him substantial capital to invest in developing his own farm, and also for use in speculating on the development of other property for re-sale. He also helped his sons begin their farming and ranching careers.

Franklin was nearly 10 years older than his brother Horace G. Adams, so it stands to reason that Franklin was the first to begin to develop his own farm and ranching interests. He also assisted his father in purchasing land, in improving that land through breaking prairie for the planting of crops, and in fencing pasture land for cattle.

Warner Adams, in the book New Branches from Old Trees, again says Mr. [Franklin] Adams started his ranch by buying a farm on the Kansas River west of the mouth of Mill Creek which he farmed and used as a headquarters for his cattle business. This farm was bordered on the north by the Kansas River and on the east by Mill Creek. His near neighbors were the Wilmett and Fauerbach families. The 650-acres owned by his father, Alexander Adams, were just to the south of this farmland.

Franklin married Elizabeth Parsons in 1886 and they added to their farm and ranch land holdings from time to time. Their first purchase was the Ed Holmden Farm, located 2.5 miles east of the present town of Maple Hill. Holmden was an Eastern gentleman farmer who came West on his own private train, parking his private cars on a siding built just below the house. Within a few years, Holmden decided the Kansas prairie was not to his liking and returned East. The Adams also purchased a part of the M. W. Janes farm that adjoined both the Holmden land and their first Adams farm. Melanchton Janes was also a gentleman farmer and the son of a wealthy Cleveland businessman who had made a fortune in the early oil fields. Unlike Holmden, Janes remained until his debts were numerous. He sold and moved to Topeka, where he died. Frank Adams built a private bridge across Mill Creek to join his farms, but it washed out in the flood of 1908 and it was not rebuilt.

In 1882, he bought the stock of the Rossville Ferry Company, and hired John Hurd to operate the ferry across the Kansas River. The Rossville Ferry was in use until the bridge north of Maple Hill was built in 1900. There was considerable farm and commercial trade from the northeast portion of Maple Hill Township, and Rossville was a much larger community. The ferry was profitable until free bridges across the Kaw made it obsolete.

In 1897, Franklin Adams purchased the Stone Farm of 40 acres at the northeast corner of the new town of Maple Hill. He kept a parcel on which to build a new residence for his growing family, and sold the remainder for small farms and home sites. In 1898, he began building the large two-story white frame house on the property and it was completed in 1899. His son, Warner Adams, was the only one of his children to be born in the house.

In 1906, Franklin Adams helped organize the Stockgrowers State Bank, held controlling interest and served as its only president until his death in 1927. Banking was not new to the Adams family, but this was the first public bank that had been organized by the family.

Franklin Adams died on January 17, 1927 and is buried in the Maple Hill (Old Stone Church) Cemetery. After his death, his sons, Arthur, Howard and Warner Adams operated the ranch, which now consisted of 5,000 acres of land in Maple Hill Township and 2,500 acres in Texas, calling it the Franklin Adams Ranch. The family, which included sisters Elizabeth and Emily Adams, also owned and operated the Stockgrowers State Bank.

Their childrens birthdates are:

Franklin Alexander Adams, II October 2, 1889
Arthur Alexander Adams, Sr. August 25, 1892
Howard Adams February 9, 1895
Elizabeth Adams July 20, 1897
Emily Adams October 9, 1899
Warner Adams February 3, 1901

The first four children were born on the Franklin and Elizabeth (Parsons) Adams farm northeast of Maple Hill, Kansas and the last two children were born in the newly completed Adams House at the northeast corner of Maple Hill.

I want to talk more about the Adams children in a future post, but Id now like to turn my attention to Elizabeth (Parsons) Adams, whose family is of English heritage and can be traced back eight generations, to her 8th Great Grandfather, Sir William Parsons, Baronet, Surveyor General and Commission of Plantations for Ireland.

I will end this post here, and begin a new post about the remarkable life and career of Sir William Parsons, who is buried in Westminister Cathedral, London, England.

Photo One: Franklin Alexander Adams, Sr.
Photo Two: Elizabeth (Parsons) Adams
Photo Three: Warner Adams, Elizabeth Adams, Arthur Adams,
Elizabeth (Parsons) Adams, Howard Adams. Not pictured, Emily Adams.
Photo Four: Emily Adams
Photo Five: Arthur Adams, Sr.
Photo Six: Howard Adams
Photo Seven: Emma Jeanne (Flattre) Adams and Warner Adams
in Front of the Franklin and Elizabeth (Parsons) Adams House
Photo Eight: A picture post card of the Franklin and Elizabeth (Parsons) Adams house, between 1900 and 1910.
Photo Nine: L-R: Emily Adams, Emma Jeanne (Flattre) Adams, and Warner Adams in the front parlor of the Adams Home, Maple Hill, Kansas.