George A. Adams Papers, 1846-1925
| Oberlin College Archives
Administrative/Biographical History
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 later 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. His abolitionist leanings are clear from his writing.
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, which letters reveal was more romantic than business-like. The couple married in 1852. Their ten years of marriage produced six children. We know very little of Emily M. Higgins' early life.
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William E. Bigglestone's unpublished "[preliminary] Guide to the Oberlin College Archives," which was prepared as individual entry sheets in a three-ring binder during the early 1980s.
Author: Emily K. Rebmann Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative Information
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 also document the reading habits of a young lady or the development of her mental culture as well as her socio-religious views. One letter (Nov. 27, 1851) makes reference to her decision not to join the Antislavery Society in Rochester, and several others offer glimpses into her attitudes towards black Americans. A second letter (March 19, 1852) addressed "To my Sabbath School Class" in Rockville, Indiana, reveals Emily's deep-seated religious commitment. In the file "Letters from Classmates and Professors" are to be found letters from Lucy Stone and Almon Mack.
INVENTORY
Series 1. Correspondence
Box 1
George Adams to Emily Higgins [Adams],
1846-57, undated (2f)
Emily Higgins [Adams] to George Adams,
1846, 1848-51, 1855, undated (2f)
General -- Letters received, 1846, 1848-52,
1854, 1857-58, 1860-63, 1865, 1874,
1883, 1894, 1903, undated (2f)
Letters by Emily Higgins Adams, 1851-52,
1855, 1858
Fragments, undated
Letters from Classmates and Professors
March 20, 1848 O.W. White
January 1, 1849 P.C. Safford
January 30, 1849 Charles Gifford
February 9, 1849 Lucy Stone
February 19, 1849 T.S. Allen
March 18, 1849 R.C. Kedzie
March 19, 1849 P. Power
April 12, 1849 T.S. Allen
April 27, 1849 S.S. Hugheson
May 19, 1849 D. Burt
July 28, 1849 Almon Mack
July 31, 1849 Prof. Henry Whipple
November 1851 Charles Gifford
undated Elvira Mack
Julia Adams to Joseph Adams, 1876
William J. Roose to Emily J. Adams, 1890
Series 2. Oberlin Memorabilia and Miscellany
Box 1 (cont.)
"In Memoriam: Rev. George Athearn
Adams, December 21, 1821 to
December 25, 1903"
[Hendrick County?] Bible Society,
Constitution, undated
Miscellany, undated
Oberlin Memorabilia, 1875-78
Series 3. Writings by George Adams
Box 1 (cont.)
Writings by George A. Adams,
1907, undated
Series 4. Materials Relating to George Adams Roose
Box 2
Materials Relating to George Adams
Roose, 1917, 1925
Series 5. Photographs
Box 2 (cont.)
Photographs, undated