Family oral tradition says that our Adams family is related to the presidential Adams family by being uncles and cousins. So far I have not tied into which of the many uncles and cousins. I recently heard that the connection may actually be through the Davis line rather than the Adams line!

I have not verified this information, but I have been told that the ancestor of our John Adams was Stephen Adams born about 1772, died May 27, 1845 Dodson Township, Highland Co., OH This Stephen was married to Andasiah Hudson born about 1774, died about 1829. Andasiah was the daughter of Dennis Hudson and Sarah Selby.

Born: April 1, 1806 (1850 census age 44), Worchester Co., MD (Note: his birth place was incorrectly reported by some descendants as Westmoreland Co, MD. There is no Westmoreland Co., MD.) In the 1880 census he lists his parents as having both been born in MD.
Died: March 4, 1884, age 77 years, 11 months, 3 days (Tombstone)
Buried: Ellis Cemetery, Dallas Co, Iowa
Married July 11 or 24, 1825 Azubia/Azubah or Zubia Arabella Davis
(1850 census 48, PA-July 5, 1868, age 60y 11m, 24d) in Warren Co., Ohio. (LDS call #384263 says 25 July 1825.)
Children: (12, 10 lived to adulthood)

Ruth Adams married in Ohio and never came to Iowa.

Stephen Adams (April 15, 1826, OH-March 9, 1912, ID) married on May 13, 1847 Matilda Walker (1829-1907)

Sadie Adams never married lived with brother George Adams

Elsie/Elsey/Elcy Adams (1825/6, OH-Nov. 6, 1883, OH) married Feb. 24, 1848 Joshua Lear (June 16, 1826, OH). He was the son of Andrew and Catherine Lear and a miller. (Westboro, St. Martins and Williamsburg, OH) (MM-140)
A. John Lear (1849)
B. Kathy Lear (1850) married ? Perrin (Denver, CO)
C. Jesse Lear (1857)
D. Susan "Dolly" Lear (1858) married ? Brown
E. Zimri Lear (1860)
F. Winnie/Minnie Lear (1863)
G. Elbridge Lear (1867)
H. Louisa/Louise Lear (1866)

Ephraim M. Adams 20 blacksmith per Brown Co., OH census 1850

James Adams 18 farmer per Brown Co., OH census 1850, married Laura, went to Sacramento, CA and never returned.

George M. Adams 17 farmer per Brown Co., OH census 1850

(March 10, 1834-Nov. 9, 1900) (TS-Ellis, also shows GAR) married Dec. 24, 1856 Orpha Victoria Coe (1838- Jan. 31, 1912) in OH. He served in the K 15 IA Infantry. They lived 2 m. W. DeSoto, IA. He died of "Brights Disease" and was buried in the Ellis cemetery.
A. John Adams (Oct. 1, 1857), Vinton, IA.
B. Henry C. Adams (July 9, 1859) Salt Lake City, Utah
C. Joshua R. Adams (died March 19, 1861, 12d)
D. May "Ida" Adams (1863-Nov. 1886, 23y 5m 15d)
E. Ada Adams (5/12 in 1870 census, died prior to July 1898)
F. Ola Adams (Jan., 18, 1871) Adams Twp & Adel married ? Andrews
(see probate records Dallas Co, Box A-3. #1414)(U-397)

Susan Adams 14 per Brown Co., OH census 1850
(Dec. 20, 1835-Jan. 24, 1864/74) married Cary Hodson (Sept. 22, 1832-April 25, 1884). They lived in Earlham, IA and were buried in Ellis Cemetery. Cary remarried after Susan's death to Mary Garett (Miller). (U-398)
A. George A. Hodson (1856)
B. Kate Hodson married ? Bilderback (1858)
C. Belle Hodson (died prior to 1884)
D. Bill Hodson (1860)
E. Cora Z. Hodson (1863)
F. Hattie Hodson (1866)

Huldy/Hulda A. Adams 12
(April 1838) married Sept. 16, 1858 Alexander "Alaac" M. Logan (1832), a civil war veteran, C 39 IA Infantry. In 1895 his occupation is carpenter. They lived at Van Meter, IA and were "untiring workers in the Master's vinyard" having been "active in the organization of several Methodist churches." (Record of Iowa-519)
A. Milton Logan (1860)
B. Edgar U. Logan (23 Sept 1870, IA) married in 1892 Mary Bailey of Van Meter.. He was principal of College of Commerce, Wetern College, Toledo, IA.
1. Bessie Logan

Joshua R. William "Dott" Adams 10 per Brown Co., OH census 1850, died 1865 "on way home from Civil War" according to oral history.

Timothy D. Adams 6 per Brown Co., OH census 1850 and 17 teacher per Brown Co., OH census 1860
(Aug. 25, 1844-April 6, 1894) married May 22, 1870 Leah Brown (May 5, 1834, OH-Feb. 22, 1908). He was a minister in the United Bretheran church. (Record of Iowa-519) They lived in Cedar Rapids, IA & Toledo and are buried in the Ellis Cemetery.

Sarah Arilla Adams 4 per Brown Co., OH census 1850
(April 14, 1846, OH-Sept. 6, 1916) John married on April 29, 1864 Elsie Girton. In 1880 the census lists his wife as Ancy, 53 of Ohio, parents born in New Jersey. His will in 1884 lists Elcie G. or Elsie as a wife. A John Adams is listed in Andres Historical Atlas of Iowa, 1875 (G-475) as an early settler of Dallas Co, Iowa, arriving in Union township (SW corner of the county) in 1847 or shortly thereafter. However, he is listed with his family in Brown Co, Ohio, Perry Twp, family 633, on 1850 census as a farmer, 1,050. They are listed in Adel, Iowa for the 1860 census.

A Joshua Adams also born in Maryland, age 48 was listed as a farmer in the same area of Ohio in 1850, and was a brother. Joshua was a civil war veteran, and spent time as a prisoner at Andersonville. From notes by Lois Miller Stageberg a brother, Timothy Adams was a famous preacher and another brother George Adams served in the 15th Iowa Infantry and marched through Georgia with Sherman. There were Adams in Brown Co, Perry Twp, OH in 1820 and 1830, but only the head of household name is given.

The following account of John Adams was written by a great- great-grand daughter. "In 1813, during the war with Great britain, his family emigrated to Highland County, Ohio. An incident occurred soon after leaving their Maryland home that produced a great deal of excitement....They were in a boat on Chesapeake Bay, which was pursued some distance by a British frigate. John Adams, with the others, was put in the hold of the vessel. He spoke of this incident many times later in his life.... He joined the Methodist church in 1827. Shortly after moving to Dallas County, Iowa, his wife died and he remarried....He was a man of decided character on all subjects, whether religious or political. At an early age he became identified with the Abolition movement and this brought him severe criticism. He was also an earnest temperance advocate. His part in the church was that of a devoted worker....He was well educated, loved flowers, and had as his hobbies, books and gardens. In the absence of regular clergy, he often acted as minister and had considerable talent along this line."

It should be noted as a lead that there were a number of Adams families in Maryland who had connections with the Massachusetts Adams.

See Dallas County News, March 12, 1884 for report of death. Probated records list property to be sold as 2/3 of SE NW, S27, T78 R28, Adams Twp. Dallas Co., IA.

Card of Stephen Adams

Taken at Mathilda's funeral, from left to right: Stephen Adams, daughters Ann Eliza Wilson, Florence Grallapp, Mary Luella Gano, and Ann's husband John Wilson.

STEPHEN ADAMS

Born: April 14/15, 1826/1828 in Brown Co, Ohio
Died: March 9, 1912 in Rathdrum, Idaho
Buried: Pine Grove Cemetery, Rathdrum, ID
Married May 13, 1847 Mathilda Walker (April 3, 1829-June 1907) by a Justice of the Peace, in Brown Co, Ohio (book G, Probate Court, Georgetown, p.100)

Children:        census of 1850 - 1860 - 1880 - birth place (year)
	Ann E. Adams         2     13          Ohio (1847/48) 
*	Zubia A. Adams       1                 Ohio (1849)
*	Arabell R. Adams            9          Ohio (1851) 
	Elizabeth Adams             8     27   Ohio (1852/53) 		
	John Quincy Adams           7          Ohio (1853)
	James A. Adams              6          Ohio (1854)
	Florence S. Adams           4     24   Ohio (1856)
	Mary L. Adams               1          Iowa (1859) 
	Joshua R. Adams                   13   Iowa (1867)
	Stephen Moiston Adams              7   Iowa (1873)

Stephen Adams was born in Ohio. Lois Miller Stageberg believes he graduated from Miami College at Oxford, OH. The family moved to moved to Dallas Co, Iowa in the fall of 1856, evidently after Florence was born. Lois Stageberg believes they came to Iowa in a covered wagon with the McKibbens. He is listed as the teacher for 1856-57 of the "first school south of the South Raccoon River". In 1857 he became a justice of the peace. On the 1850 census for Brown Co, OH, Perry Twp, family 634, he is listed as a wagon maker. The township of Adams was named in his honor for his leadership in getting the township separated from Adel to avoid a railroad tax that was about to be voted upon. Per an 1879 history of Dallas Co, he had also been assessor for 76 years and secretary of the school board 7 years. (U-350) Per his obituary, he moved to Washington state in 1891, and to Rathdrun, Idaho in 1895. He was a member of the IOOF for 60 odd years, joining at Fayetteville, OH in 1850. He was elected "grand patriarch of the Grand Encampment of Idaho and was sent as a delegate to the 1910 meeting in Atlanta, GA." (L M Stageberg) (Idaho Tribune, ? 15, 1914) Also see Dallas County News, March 20, 1912, 6-6) He was postmaster at Chattanooga for 11 years. He was also listed as farming in Section 16 of Adams township. He served as sheriff for three or four years, 1881 to 1884. Past and Present Dallas County gives this account of one "adventure" as sheriff. (L-107-108)

Steve was a good honest citizen, somewhat unsophisticated and careless of dress, but withal a very worthy man. It seems that his first important official duty after being inducted into office was to convey to the penitentiary a smooth, polished criminal named Bumpus, who had been convicted for defrauding the farmers by selling them bug powder, getting their notes under false representations and selling them to innocent purchasers. As Bumpus was a very docile prisoner, Sheriff Adams did not handcuff him, and when they arrived at Fort Madison, Bumpus attempted to turn the sheriff over to the penitentiary authorities, and as he was a pretty smooth fellow and gifted with a persuasive tongue, he came pretty near succeeding. The fact that Mr. Adams had the handcuffs in his pocket was a presumption in the favor of the truth of his claims and after some other corroborating facts and considerable parley, the real criminal was incarcerated and Adams allowed to return. This story has been told and retold many times at Mr. Adams' expense, and while it seemed rather laughable to him in after years, it came very near being anything but a joke to him at the time.

This is the description written by Lois Miller Stageberg. He..."taught the first school in that section of Iowa...it was a rustic place. He received the stipend of five dollars a month for the work. He had an excellent disposition, jovial, good- hearted, and fond of wit and humor. He told many family stories and liked to amuse people. He was very fond of children, made them toys, and often invited them to his house for treats, especially when his wife was away. He liked to fuss in the kitchen and made the children special dishes for a treat. By trade he was a cabinet and wagon maker, and made coffins...His family was well educated for the time. The children were very musically inclined; the boys were quite capable in brass instrumentation and on the organ. They all liked to sing although they were never taught how. His son Joshua could play several band instruments and led the Spokane, WA band in later years. He was very untidy about his clothes and his shoes were always untied. He was Sheriff in Dallas County, IA for several terms and had noticeable executive ability. In 18-- he and his family moved to Rathburn, Idaho where he was Justice of the Peace."

Children of Stephen Adams & Matilda Walker:
Ann Eliza Adams (1847/48-1930) married April 8, 1869 John R. Wilson (1838-1913)
Zubia Arabella Adams (1849-1908)married Harvey Stewart McKibben (1846-1920)
Elizabeth Adams (1852/53) first White, married second on Dec. 20, 1868 Daniel Lance
John Quincy Adams (1853-1912) married Aug 4, 1881 Diana M. Warden (1845)
James Allison Adams (1854) married May 28, 1885 Laura Ella Hasty (1858/59). She was the daughter of William Hasty and Syrena Thompson.
Florence Susanna Adams (1856-1929) married Edward C. Grallapp (1857)
Mary Luella Adams (1859-1931) married Aug 17, 1878 Joseph L. Gano
Joshua Rufus Adams (1867-1928) married Ida Maude Reinhart (1881-1958)
Stephen Moiston Adams (1873-1931) married Nellie Cooke

AZUBA ARABELLA "BELLE" ADAMS

Born: about 1849 in Brown Co., Ohio (Other sources say 1852, but she was already 1 in the 1850 census, unless Zubia died and Arabella is a second, different child.)
Died: Feb. 9, 1908
Married Harvey Stuart McKibben

Lois M. Stageberg described her as "a natural homemaker...with a natural talent for nursing and served as a mid-wife for the surrounding neighboring parts. She was tall, fleshy and had dark hair and blue eyes; she was a devoted mother, a practical person...She was religious and very optimistic." Lois believed that it was only through Arabelle's efficiency that the family survived as Harvey S. McKibben was impractical and not particularly interested in farming.