Notes: On 1 November 1863,
Elizabeth's brother William wrote a letter to her from his POW prison
in
Camp Douglas, Illinois. The letter, transcribed in full at Wartime
Letters of William Henry Adams, reads in part: "Elisa Adams Dearest Sister,
Your most welcome letter of the 20th and maws of the 24th have come to hand. I recieved the socks and
gave two pair away. The net caps
were very acceptible. Mon Merritt says if you have another you must send it to him."
Buried: Greenwood
Cemetery,
984 Greenwood Avenue, Clarksville, Montgomery
county, Tennessee,
United States Notes:
In June 1861, Frank Adams enlisted in
the Confederate Army with three of his brothers George, John and
William, in the 1st Kentucky Infantry (Company K). The brothers served
well under Captain Jim Childress and when their company disbanded, they
all re-enlisted, this time in Morgans 3rd Kentucky Cavalry (Company G).
Along with his brothers George and William, Frank was captured on 19
July 1863 while crossing the Ohio River at the Battle
of Buffington Island, with Col.
Basil Duke in command. The three brothers were imprisoned at
Camp Morton, Indiana, where Frank became ill and died.
In
a letter home from Camp Morton dated August 13 1863, Frank's brother
William wrote of Frank's illness. The complete letter is transcribed at
Wartime
Letters of William Henry Adams. "Father, I
seat myself for the purpose of letting you know how we are getting
along. George and myself are both well but Frank is tolerable sick,
he has got the flux. I think that you had better come to see him
and get im out of prison. "
Within a month, Frank was
dead. His remains were sent back to Clarksville, Tennessee for burial.
Occupation: Merchant
(1850); Farmer (1880) and "Farmer Merchant" in 1870; Postmaster
Death: 7 March
1894, in Cedar
Hill, Robertson county, Tennessee, United States, aged 92
Buried: 8 March 1894 in
Greenwood Cemetery,
984 Greenwood Avenue, Clarksville, Montgomery
county, Tennessee,
United States
Notes: George,
Matilda, their children and George's father, John, emigrated from
Ireland to
the United States in 1844. John died shortly before the ship's arrival
in New Orleans, Louisiana, and he was buried there on arrival. An elder
brother
of George's had previously traveled to the United States and purchased
property for the family in Tennessee and Kentucky. The Adams family
travelled to Kentucky where they purchased a farm (later known as the
Joe Gill farm) near
Keysburg where they lived until 1857 when they moved to Port Royal,
Tennessee. George lists the value of his real estate at $1000 in 1850
and at $12000 in 1870. George bought a 636 acre farm in Port Royal from
Felix
Northington, paying $20 an acre. In addition to farming and merchant
activities, George was appointed US Postmaster in Port Royal on 2 June
1876, and served until 8 December 1879.
Buried:
near the hospital,
Camp Douglas, Illinois, United States Notes:
George was
a twin brother of John Adams. In June 1861, George Adams enlisted in
the Confederate Army with three of his brothers John, William and
Frank, in the 1st Kentucky Infantry (Company K). The brothers served
well under Captain Jim Childress and when their company disbanded, they
all re-enlisted, this time in Morgans 3rd Kentucky Cavalry (Company G).
Along with his brothers William and Frank, George was captured on 19
July 1863 while crossing the Ohio River at the Battle
of Buffington Island, with Col.
Basil Duke in command. William, George and Frank were first sent to
Camp Morton, Indiana. It was here that Frank became very ill and died.
George and William were later transferred to Camp Douglas,
Illinois, where George fell seriously ill. He was nursed at the camp
hospital by his brother, William, who wrote of George's deteriorating
condition in a series of letters home transcribed at Wartime
Letters of William Henry Adams.
The
transcriptions include a letter from George himself, dated 7 April
1864, about three months before his death. He writes about his
admission to the camp hospital: "My
health has not been so good lately owing to the cold I caught during
the past winter in the delicate state of my health so I reluctunlly
obtained my consent to come to the Hospital one week ago where I have
been much pleased with my change...Think I've improved wonderfully;
beyond my most sanquine expectations. My bowels are checked, my
digestion improving rapidly, sufer no pain, only (principal) complain
is debility; feel my strength increasing everyday in fact I've never
been so week as to be confined to my bed. Hope I will not
be long ere I recover my former vigor & health."
George's
brother was less sanguine in a letter home dated 19 June 1864: "he is sinking slowly. he
dont seem to suffer mutch but is very weak. It seems very hard for such
a boy as George to be compelled to suffer so long."
George
Forbes Adams died
about July 1864. He was buried near the hospital at Camp Douglas.
Notes: The WorldConnect
entry
on Willis
Rosson simply has him married to an Ida S. Adams born about 1857 in
Kentucky.
However, in Heritage
in Quilts (Daughters of the American Revolution
Tennessee Society p.37), mention is made of a coverlet
owned by Sadie Mimms Rosson "passed down from the owner's father's
family, Matilda Moore and George Adams who emigrated to America from
Ireland".
Occupation:
Merchant.
John started working as a clerk in his father's store in June 1854. In
1857 he moved to a wholesale house in Nashville and the next year to
Clarksville where he joined R.D. Dunning & Co. After the Civil War,
John returned to Port Royal and worked in George F. Adams & son
until 1870 when he moved to Allensville, Kentucky. John lists his
personal property as worth $3000 in the 1970 census. In 1886 John moved
back to Clarksville and organized the tobacco firm Adams, Gill &
Co. The 1895 Clarksville City Directory lists: ADAMS, John; partner at Adams & Neblett
Grocers; resides 903 Franklin St.; wife, Mattie In 1900,
John is listed as a Dry Goods Merchant in Mount Pleasant, Maury county,
Tennessee.
Death: August 1923,
aged 84 Notes:
John was a
twin brother of George Forbes Adams. John Adams
enlisted in the Confederate Army on 15 April 1861 with three of his
brothers George,
William and Frank, in Col. Tom Taylor's 1st
Kentucky Infantry (Company K). The brothers served well under Captain
Jim Childress and when their company disbanded, they all re-enlisted,
this time in Morgan's 3rd Kentucky Cavalry (Company G). John was
promoted to Brevet Second Lieutenant. All three of his
brothers were captured on 19 July 1863 at the Battle
of Buffington Island. John was captured in July 1864
at the Battle
of Cynthiana
and imprisoned at Johnsons
Island POW camp on Lake
Erie. He was released in June 1865.
Birth:
1850 census; exact date from Wartime
Letters of William Henry Adams (though possibly confused here with
the baptism date); Historical
Notes of Montgomery County has John born in county Cork, but
this seems unlikely to me as all other references to the family are in
the north in counties Cavan and Fermanagh.
Baptism: Montgomery
County, TN claims that Joseph was baptised at sea on 10 January
1843. The date is clearly wrong, although it has the same day and month
as the actual birthdate, and it may well have been true that the
baptism occurred at sea, during the emigration
voyage, which was in the April-June 1844 timeframe when Joseph was just
a few months old.
Married: Martha C. Patrick in 1876/7.
Martha, known as
Mattie, was born
on 11 February 1853, in Tennessee, the
daughter of James Henderson Patrick and Angeline McCauley. Mattie died
20 October 1936,
and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Clarksville, Tennessee. 1920:
Robertson county, Tennessee
Married: George M. Potter
on 7 November 1911. George was born in December 1884, in Tennessee, the
son of Robert S. Potter and Ova M. _____. In 1900, George's occupation
was listed as farm labourer. 1900: Warren county, Tennessee 1920:
Davidson county, Tennessee
Occupation:
Merchant. In 1870, William lists his personal property as worth $2000.
Notes:
William Adams
enlisted in the Confederate Army on 17 June 1861 with three of his
brothers George, John and Frank, in the 1st
Kentucky Infantry (Company K). The brothers served well under Captain
Jim Childress and when their company disbanded, they all re-enlisted,
this time in Morgan's 3rd Kentucky Cavalry (Company G). Wiliam was
promoted to the rank of Corporal. Along with his brothers George and
Frank, William was captured on 19
July 1863 while crossing the Ohio River at the Battle
of Buffington Island, with Col.
Basil Duke in command. William, George and Frank were first sent to
Camp Morton, Indiana. It was here that Frank became very ill and died.
George and William were later transferred to Camp Douglas,
Illinois, where George fell ill and died. William wrote a series of
letters home from Camp Morton and Camp Douglas that have been
transcribed at Wartime
Letters of William Henry Adams. He was released in 1865.
Death: 21 April 1921, in Nashville,
Tennessee, United States
Buried:
Belmont cemetery, Allensville, Kentucky, United States
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