Adams of Minories & South Africa

For several years I have been intrigued by a couple entries in my 4x great-grandfather Francis Daniell's journal about his cousin Tom Adams who was of Lisbon, Portugal and died about 1843. I knew he was either the son of James Adams (1757-1841) of Canterbury or George Adams (1753-1831) of 122 John Street, Minories, City of London. I knew from the journal that Francis's grandfather, George Adams died at John Street on 7 April 1802. This was the home of his son George Adams (1753-1831) who was an upholsterer and auctioneer and cabinet maker in the Minories for several decades. George's 1831 will mentions his daughter Emma who also is in her cousin's diary. There are some advertisements in The Times (London) for George Adams's business, including side-by-side ads with my 3x great-grandfather Samuel Barker in 1822 who it is clear from the diary that George Adams was associated with, being the husband of his great-neice Jane Daniell (1800-1833).

From research, I knew the grandfather George Adams (ca. 1713-1802) was an innkeeper in Sittingbourne (from about 1776 at least) before moving in with his son George in the Minories. George Adams married Sarah Powell on 17 April 1748, this being recorded in the Canterbury Marriage Licenses on 9 April 1748. He was a widower and she a spinster and they both were from Lenham or Wychling, Kent. Their six children were born between 1752 and 1759 at St. Mary's Dover, Kent. The eldest daughter Ann Adams (1752-1834) married Francis Daniell (1749-1793) of Canterbury on 22 Dec 1772 at St. Olave Hart Street, London, and they were the parents of the diarist Francis Daniell (1773-1858) who lived at Knowle farm, Bovey Tracey, Devon from about 1797 to about 1825.

I had about given up on finding anything new on this Adams family when a couple weeks ago I typed into google's search engine. One of the hits was a posting by Jennifer Lloyd on 26 Oct 2006 that mentioned a Thomas Price Adams who was born in Hayden Square, Minories, the son of George Adams and Sarah Price. It said he lived in Lisbon and Madeira and was a general merchant. To my great astonishment, it seems that he went to South Africa in 1820. He died there on 30 Oct 1843 in Grahamstown which corresponds with Daniell's diary entry for Tom's death. I especially knew I had the right person when I found the marriage of George Adams and Sarah Price on 11 Oct 1777 at St. George the Martyr, Southwark and one of the witnesses was Francis Daniell (1749-1793)! It said that George was from the parish of Trinity in the Minories.

I am waiting for ancestry.com to transcribe more London christening records, but in additional to Thomas Price "Tom" Adams being born in 1779 at Hayden Square, Minories, there may be three other siblings: Emma Emily Adams (1781-1848), possibly Susan Adams (ca. 1780 to 1849), and for sure Elizabeth Adams (1788/1789 in Hollingbourne, Kent, died 1869) who married the Rev. George Taylor of Ashen, Essex. I also found it interesting that George Taylor officiated at the burial of Emma Adams on 1 Jan. 1849 and at the burial of George Adams on 17 March 1831. George Taylor and his wife Elizabeth are also mentioned in Francis Daniell's diary.

It looks like Thomas Price Adams was married in Madiera to Anuza D'Almeida and they had a son George Domal Adams born 3 March 1810 at Madeira and christened on 4 Nov 1815 at St. Mary's, Islington, Middlesex. Then on 30 Jun 1813 at St. Mary's Islington Thomas Price Adams remarries Mary Barker of Knaresborough, Yorkshire. Their first four children are christened as follows: Mary Price Adams born 26 July 1815 and chr. 4 Nov 1815 at St. Mary's Islington; Rebecca Price Adams born 21 Oct 1816 and chr 21 Jul 1818 at St. Marylebone and died 15 Jul 1819 at Westminister; Sarah Price Adams born 7 Feb 1818 and chr 21 Jul 1818 at St. Marylebone, Westminister; Emma Price Adams born 7 Feb 1818 and chr 21 Jul 1818 at St. Marylebone, Westminister. There were evidently nine children in total, and their descendants seem to have settled in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. I don't know much South African history, but they seem to have been part of a surge of emigration to South African in 1820, and that appears to be historically significant.

For a short while I considered the possibility of a relationship between this Mary Barker of Knaresborough, Yorkshire and my Samuel Barker of Rotherham, Yorkshire and later of South Lambeth, Surrey, but it seems unlikely given that Knaresborough and Rotherham are not even close.

It has been exciting to find the story of Tom Adams. I need to write some of these South African distant cousins, as it seems there are living Adams descendants there. I also really need to make a concerted effort to learn more of George Adams of Lenham, Wychling, Canterbury, Dover, Sittingbourne, and Minories and his wife Sarah Powell. I hope that this Adams line can be traced back further.

Greg Ramstedt, 23 March 2010