William Zimry Adam was named after his

maternal grandfather, Zimiriah "Zimry" Haun, b. Apr. 10, 1822 in MO. and d. 1889 in Los Baños, Merced County, CA. - who was married to:

Elizabeth Amy Whisman, b. Aug. 19, 1824 in Jackson County, MO. and d. Feb. 13, 1889 in Los Banos, Merced County, CA.

William Zimry "Bill/Will" Adam's paternal grandparents were:

William Thom Adam, b. in Lanarkshire, Scotland (from the McDonald clan) &

his 2nd wife, Margaret Thomson, b. 1821 in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, Scotland and d. 1900.

William Zimry 'Bill'/'Will' Adam's parents were:

John Thomson Adam, b. Nov. 1853 in Salt Lake City, UT. (or Hooper, Weber, UT.) and d. Apr. 7, 1905 (or 1923) in Imperial county, CA. &

Mahala Jane Haun, b. Apr. 1860 in Santa Clara county, CA. and d. Feb. 20, 1916 in Imperial county, CA. (*Mahala marr. second, Thomas J. O'Neill in 1906.)

Bill was born in Yubas Creek, near Gilroy.

William 'Bill' Adam marr. first, Rosetta 'Rosie' Grace Doty.

San Luis Obispo Tribune (San Luis Obispo, CA.), P. 3, Col. 3

Thu., Dec. 21, 1899

Marriage licenses have been issued to Wm. Z. Adam and Rosetta Grace Doty.

Billy & Rosetta's children were:

1. Velma Adam, b. Sep. 1, 1901 in Monterey county, CA. and d. Jul. 18, 1987 in Monterey county - or San Luis Obispo county, CA. In 1918, Velma Adam married Clyde Dayton, a neighbor boy. They farmed, built a home, boosted their community and raised two sons, Newell C. (who was residing in King City at the time of her death) and William P. Dayton of Hesperia. Clyde passed away in 1972 and Velma married Frank Roberson in 1979.

2. Donald Adam, b. 1905 in Monterey county, CA. and d. 1916 at age 11 in Monterey county, CA.

Born June 26, 1879 in Gilroy, Bill moved to southern Monterey Co., Ca., near Hesperia when he was seven, on a ranch his father homesteaded in 1886.

His father, the late John Adam, a farmer, was of Scottish descent - the McDonald clan. "It's Adam, not Adams. Adams is English," he said disdainfully.

As the road goes, his ranch is located over 42 miles south of King City. It is at Bryson, in Hesperia country.

"We came over the old San Juan grade, and we passed through the old village of Natividad where we joined the road south, now 101. A four-horse wagon brought us to this land," he said. In addition to Buckskin, riding in that wagon were his father, mother, brother, uncle and grandmother.

"Between Gonzales and Soledad the wild mustard was as high as the wagon seat in many places. There was just a lane for the road through a sea of yellow," he siad.

The railroad then ended at Soledad. When they got to the Salinas river they had to ferry it. There was no Greenfield or King City at that time.

He remembered Jolon, near the Hunter Liggett Military reservation as a thriving community of three stores, two saloons, a dance hall, livery stable and two hotels. This was the gateway to the Los Burros Mining District and the merchants were doing a thriving business with the miners. It also was a stage stop.

Buckskin remembers that in 1899 he dated Mrs. Margaret Krenkel, the matriarch of the mountains. That was before she married Jim Krenkel and moved up into the mining district, where she's lived over 50 years. She's 85 and now lives at Jolon.

He attended school at Hesperia. His daughter and his grandson attended the same school.

On Christmas Day, 1899, when he was nineteen years old, Buckskin Bill married Rosetta 'Rosie' Doty. They settled down and had two children, Mrs. Clyde (Velma) Dayton in 1901, who still lives at Hesperia, and Donald in 1904.

It was a hard time to maintain a subsistence living as a vegetable farmer in the early 1900's. Bill and his dad, John, peddled their food, but their takings were meager. Velma can remember the first day they received a bean harvest from down south. The family stayed up cooking 'til midnight, they were so excited. Another residue of his early poverty was Bill's dislike of turkey. He wouldn't eat it, in fact. Too often in his younger days, he had to eat rabbit just to stay alive and turkey tasted too much like rabbit for Bill's palate and memory.

One event happened when Bill was recruiting men to work on a road crew. One man asked what he would get paid and on hearing the sum, answered, 'I can get more than that and stay home'. This sampling of the new 'welfare' system convinced Bill that it would be the ruination of the country.

Bill Adam was a man who worked hard. He was not afraid of a rough life and was often found in situations which demonstrated his tough spirit and his liking of the outdoor life. He got his nickname when he was 19 or 20. He was sawing wood when his boss asked him if he was getting tired and wanted to eat lunch. 'I'm not tired and I'm not hungry', he said. The boss quipped, 'You are as tough as buckskin.' They called him Buckskin Bill ever since.

Bill Adam worked hard, both physically, for his livelihood and artistically. Both he and his cousin, Bill A., played their fiddles together at many a family gathering. Buckskin Bill and Fancy Bill would arrive together, then tune up their instruments in preparation for giving their audience what would be a delightful cultural experience.

Buckskin spent a good many years as a teamster, driving four, six and eight horse teams. For a time, he drove the stage coach from Pleyto to Bryson, a nine mile haul.

From 1902 to 1904, he drove a four-horse wagon from the Pine Mountain Quicksilver Mine to San Simeon, a distance of some twenty miles. During WWI, the neighboring Oceanic mine produced 100 flasks of quicksilver a month, most of which was sold to the Chinese who converted it to vermilion, using it to paint vases and other objects of art. Quicksilver was then selling for $360 a flask.

Buckskin was also a construction boss for the county highway department for 10 years.

Bill Adam was a strong, civic-minded citizen and he was also a strong family man. This was clearly demonstrated by his devotion to his grandmother, Margaret. He spent a lot of his time visiting with her and helping her. It is a fact that one Sunday morning, he walked past the Baptist Church on his way to visiting Grandmother, carrying a shotgun. The Church ousted him from their rolls for this irregularity and from then on, Bill referred to this church group as 'Hard Shell Baptists'.

His visits with Margaret resulted in one very valuable result - She passed on many irreplaceable stories about her life. These stories he later passed on to his daughter, Velma, who remembered a few of them in her writings.

One great tragedy occurred in 1916 when Bill and Rosie's son, Donald, died at age twelve. He had been sickly for some time, but still his loss was keenly felt. Twelve years later, Rosetta died of cancer and in 1942, Bill married again. The second Mrs. Adam was Ebeth (Easton) White, a distant cousin and the widow of Edward White. Her son was Robert White, an employe at the Pacific Grove Post Office. This marriage was very successful in many ways. Both Bill and Ebeth loved music. He played the violin and she played the piano. Ebeth once again was able to live in the country and often went horseback riding with Bill's daughter, Velma.

In the early 60's, when Bill was in his early 80's, his home burned down, destroying a lifetime's collection of objects and family papers. Of irreplaceable value was a book he was writing about his family.

For many years, Bill served as a Justice of the Peace. He was appointed on Nov. 1, 1955, and was elected for a six-year term three years ago. "This is kind of out of my line and I don't intend to run for re-election," he said. Bill was well known for his sense of fairness and commitment to justice. He is remembered as having said that 'he didn't care whose toes he stepped on - he would do the right thing'. One sampling of this sort of innovative sentencing was when a man had to clean up a whole block for punishment. His sense of fairness and integrity made him very well thought of.

At the age of 82, he was as alert as most men fifty years his junior. He had twinkling eyes and a full head of dark brown hair. Only his mustache was graying and his memory was sharp. He didn't plan on running for re-election when his term expired, because justices of the peace have to be too nosy to suit him. "I have lived on the same ranch for 75 years. In most of that time," he said, "I have stayed home and minded my own business. But since I have been Justice of the Peace, I have been sticking my nose into everybody's business, and I don't like it."

When asked about his health, at age 82, he said, "I don't even know that I've got a body. I never have an ache or a pain." However, Bill developed a heart condition which deteriorated to the point that he was forced to leave his home in Hesperia, which was next to his daughter Velma's, and was placed in a rest home in King City. There, he died in 1964 and is buried in the Pleyto Cemetery.

In the 1880 U.S. census, 11 month old William 'Adams', b. in June in CA., was living in Gilroy, Santa Clara, CA. with his

27 yr. old father, John T. 'Adams', a farmer, b. in UT.

19 yr. old mother, Mahaley J. 'Adams', b. in CA.

24 yr. old uncle, James R. 'Adams', a farmer, b. in CA.

57 yr. old paternal grandmother, Margaret 'Adams', b. in Scotland.

John and Margaret's parents were all born in Scotland.

Mahaley's parents were both b. in MO.

In the 1900 U.S. census, 20 yr. old William G. (Z.) Adam, b. Jun. 1879 in CA., was living in San Antonio twp., Monterey, CA. with his

22 yr. old wife, Rosetta Adam, b. Oct. 1877 in CA.

William and Rosetta had been married less than a year.

William's father was b. in UT. and his mother in CA.

Living next door were his:

46 yr. old father, John T. Adam, a farmer, b. Nov. 1853 in UT.

40 yr. old mother, Mahala Adam, b. Apr. 1860 in CA.

17 yr. old brother, John R. Adam, b. Oct. 1882 in CA.

10 yr. old sister, Ruby P. Adam, b. Mar. 1890 in CA.

William's uncle, James R. Adam, a farmer, b. Jul. 1855 in CA., was living on the other side of William.

John T. Adam's parents were both b. in Scotland.

Mahala's parents were both b. in MO.

John T. and Mahala Adam had been married for 22 years. She was the mother of 4 children, 3 still alive by this census.

Salinas Daily Index (Salinas, CA.), P. 4, Col. 4

Wed., Nov. 9, 1904

Item from: BRYSON PERSONALS

W. Z. Adams, who spent last summer on the great Colorado Delta, near imperial, San Diego County, has returned to his father's fruit ranch near Bryson, apparently perfectly satisfied, He says: "Give me the mountains and scenery of my childhood."

In the 1910 U.S. census, 30 yr. old William B. (Z.) Adam, a farmer on a truck farm and employer, b. in CA., was living in a mortgaged farm he owned at Sanmiguel and Pleys (Pleyto) Road in San Antonio, Monterey, CA. with his

32 yr. old wife, Rosette G Adam, b. in CA.

8 yr. old daughter, Velma A. Adam, b. in CA.

5 yr. old son, Donald R. Adam, b. in CA.

William's parents were both b. in CA.

Rosette's father was b. in CA. and her mother in IN.

This was a first marriage for William and Rosette. They had been marr. for 10 years. Rosette was the mother of two children, both still alive by this census.

In his Sept. 12, 1918 WWI Draft Registration card, 39 yr. old William Zimry Adam, a self-employed farmer, b. Jun. 26, 1879, was married to Rosette Grace Adam, living and working in Pleyto, Monterey county, CA.

He was described as tall and slender, with gray eyes and brown hair.

In the 1920 U.S. census, 40 yr. old (head of household) William Z. Adams, a self-employed farmer engaged in general farming, was living on a farm he owned free and clear in Pleyto, Monterey, CA. with his

42 yr. old wife, Rosette G. Adams, b. in IA.

68 yr. old mother-in-law, Theresa A. Doty, b. in IN.

72 yr. old father-in-law, Charles G. Doty, a general farm laborer, b. in IA.

William's father was b. in UT. and his mother in CA.

On Feb. 6, 1928, William's wife, Rosetta, died.

In the 1930 U.S. census, 50 yr. old widower, (head of household) William Z. Adam, a foreman in the road construction industry, b. in CA., was living in a home (not a farm) in owned in San Antonio, Monterey, CA. with his

52 yr. old unmarried cousin, William A. Adam, a laborer in the road construction business, b. in CA.

William Z. Adam's father was b. in UT. and his mother in CA.

William A. Adam's father was b. in Scotland and his mother in England.

In the 1940 U.S. census, 60 yr. old widower, William 'L.' (Z.) Adam,

a self-employed poultryman, b. in CA., was living on a farm he owned in San Antonio, Monterey, CA. with his

57 yr. old brother, John Adam, a mail carrier on a route, b. in CA.

57 yr. old sister-in-law, Mary Adam, b. in MN.

All three were living on a farm in a rural area of CA. in 1935.

The highest grade William and John had completed was 7th. Mary has gone as far as 9th grade.

William worked 50 hours in the week prior to the census and 52 weeks in 1939. Because he was self-employed, his income was listed as 0 - and he had no income from other sources.

According to his 1942 WWII Draft Registration card, 62 yr. old William Zimry Adam, b. Jun. 26, 1879 in Gilroy, CA., was living and working in Bradley, Monterey, CA.

The person who would always know where he lived was his daughter, Velma Dayton of Bradley, CA.

On Dec. 31, 1942, Bill marr. a distant cousin, Jemima Elizabeth "Ebeth" (Easton) White, the widow of Edward White.

The Salinas Californian (Salinas, CA.). P. 5, Col. 6

Tue., Jan. 12, 1943

Couple Takes Vows At Ceremony in Pacific Grove

Since Thursday afternoon, December 31, Mrs. J. Beth White has been Mrs. William Z. Adam. She and Mr. Adam were married at 3 o'clock that afternoon in the bride's home in Pacific Grove by Rev. Primus Bennett. Only a small gathering was present for the ceremony.

Miss Josephine Gardner was at the piano during the service and Mrs. Primus Bennett sang. A reception for Mr. and Mrs. Adam was held immediately following the ceremony.

The birds is a member of the faculty of the Pacific Grove elementary school and she will continue on the staff. Mr. Adam, whose home is in Bradley, holds a government position at the Monterey airport. Both are life-time residents of Monterey county.

San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, CA.), P. 37, Col. 2

Sun., Aug. 30, 1964

JUDGE ADAM

KING CITY - Retired Justice Court Judge William Z. Adam died yesterday at a rest home here. He was 85.

Adam, who was born in a wagon between Gilroy and San Martin, spent most of his life as a working rancher-cowboy.

He retired in 1955 and took the Justice Court position "because nobody else wanted (it)."

He leaves his wife, Mrs. Ebeth Adam, and a daughter, Mrs. Clyde Dayton of Hesperia.

The Californian (Salinas, CA.), P. 24, Col. 1-5

Sat., Oct. 3, 1964

History and Heritage - by Dorothy H. Vera

'Buckskin' Adam Now Rests In His Beloved Hill Country

William Zimbray Adam… affectionately known as "Buckskin" Bill during his long and colorful life in Southern Monterey County… is gone. He passed away there a few weeks ago, but folks talk about him every day, because he added so much as patriarch of the community.

His daughter, Mrs. C. S. Dayton of Bradley, has paid a worthwhile tribute to this old-timer in a letter to History and Heritage. We reproduce most of it here, then add some facts about this pioneer.

"In memory of my father… I write this. He came to this area when he was seven years old from Gilroy with his father, John Adam. His father had heard about this land being thrown open for homesteads. The railroads retained government land for homesteads. The railroads retained government land for roads, .. later it was given back to the government for homesteads.

"This caused a rush for land… the Bryson Valley already had been settled. Father said he remembered his father climbing a tree where to build, as most of the land was covered with brush at that time.

"He grew up in this area, and even though he worked in many different places, his home was never more than a quarter of a mile from where the family first settled.

" 'Buckskin' Adam enjoyed his work, no matter what he was doing, and he had few vacations. Ever since the family home burned on Jan. 2, Dad's health seemed to fail. He was 85 on June 26, and seemed to feel so much improved that he spent a great deal of time playing his violin.

"We all tried to get him to retire from his job of justice of the peace in San Ardo sometime back, but he said 'I never quit a job in my life.'

"It was due to ill health that he finally resigned his job, to become effective Sept. 1. On Aug. 5, he was so ill we took him to King City hospital.. he was there, then in a rest home, where he passed away Aug. 29.

"Dad lived almost a week longer than the doctor thought possible, leading the latter to remark, 'He was one of the toughest men I ever saw.'

"Perhaps that was the reason he was nicknamed 'Buckskin', although he told me when he was a baby he was so little and puny people said they never thought he would live to grow up.

"Dad loved his home and enjoyed people. He once said that when he left the hills, they would take him out 'feet first.' He was buried in the old Pleyto cemetery… resting in the hills he loved so well."

Of the many things Mrs. Dayton did not mention about her father was the fact that he was one of the best informed amateur historians in the old Bryson country. He often told how people settled there.

Born in Gilroy in 1879, he regaled friends with the story of his coming to the "lower country" with his family in April of 1886. The trip was made in a four-horse wagon over the old San Juan grade and through the town of Natividad. Between Gonzales fields and Soledad the mustard was as high as the wagon seat, with just a lane through the field of yellow wide enough for the wagon. Soledad was the end of the railroad. The family ferried across the Salinas river… this before the days of Greenfield and King City.

Stage Coach Days

After leaving Soledad, the Butterfield coach passed them every 24 hours, making eight to 10 miles an hour. The first time he saw Jolon it was a "city" of three stores, two saloons, a dance hall, livery stable and two hotels… the Dutton and the Tidball. The wagon continued on the old El Camino Real, down the San Antonio River, passed the Los Ojitos rancho and traveled up Copperhead canyon before stopping at Pleyto.

Adam reminisced that Copperhead canyon was named after a '49er who squatted near the creek. In passing, he told others he had a metal plate in his head, hence the name.

After continuing on, the family pitched camp under a couple of big oak trees… one of them still there… on the sailor place. Saylor, who was land agent, provided the senior Adam and Buckskin's uncle James, as well as his grandmother, with adjoining claims.

Lockwood, then known as "Hungry Flats," gave the senior Adam his first job… in the harvest. The family, snug under shelter (little more than a corral with a roof), was "home."

This, then was 'Buckskin' Adam's childhood introduction to the hills he called home for 78 years… a place he vowed he'd never leave.. and he hasn't.