George A. Adams Papers

Collection

Identifier: RG 30-202

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The 13 folders primarily consist of the correspondence between George A. Adams and Emily M. (Higgins) Adams, dating from 1846 to 1858. These letters document their courtship. Letters written by Emily provide evidence related to her life in the 1840s and 1850s. One letter (Nov. 27, 1851) makes reference to her decision not to join the Antislavery Society in Rochester. A second letter (March 19, 1852) addressed "To my Sabbath School Class" in Rockville, Indiana, reveals some of Emily's religious views. In the file "Letters from Classmates and Professors" are letters from Lucy Stone and Almon Mack.

Dates

Creation: 1846 - 1925
Other: Date acquired: 1989 August 17

Creator

Adams, George A. (Adams, George Athearn) (Person)
Adams, Emily M. Higgins (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Unrestricted.

Biographical or Historical Information

Rev. George Athearn Adams (1821-1903) was born in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, on December 21, 1821. He was an 1847 graduate of Oberlin College. George attended Andover Theological Seminary, graduating in 1851, and was ordained to the Presbyterian ministry at Bowling Green, Ohio, in 1852. George and his first wife, Emily Higgins Adams, had six children: Charles (1852-1915), Joseph Higgins (1854-1876), George (1855-1873), Ellen (1856-1955), Julia (1857-1935), and Lucy (1860-1943). In 1856, he and his family moved to Perrysburg, Ohio. After Emily's death, George married his second wife, Ellen J. Dustin. George and Ellen had two daughters, Emily (1867-1955) and Frances Adams (1874-1958). George was a chaplain in the 11th Ohio Cavalry during the Civil War (enlisted: 1863). He served as the minister of the Perrsyburg Presbyterian Church for 47 years. George was a member of the Maumee Valley Pioneer Association and served as the chaplain of the Phoenix Lodge in Perrysburg. George was an abolitionist, as shown by his writings.

Emily M. Higgins Adams (1829-1862) was born to Joseph and Emily Conant Higgins and was raised in Rochester, New York. She and George Athearn Adams had a four-year courtship before marrying in 1852. They had six children before Emily's 1862 death.

Sources Consulted

Andover Theological Seminary. Triennial Catalogue of the Theological Seminary, Andover, Mass., 1870. Andover: Warren F. Draper, 1870.

"Rev. George Adams." The Daily Sentinel-Tribune. December 26, 1903.

U.S. Federal Census, 1850-1900.

William E. Bigglestone's unpublished "[preliminary] Guide to the Oberlin College Archives," which was prepared as individual entry sheets in a three-ring binder during the early 1980s.

Note revised by Emily K. Rebmann.