'Aleck' was the youngest child of:
William Thom Adam, b. May 7 (or 26), 1793 in Old Monkland, Lanarkshire, Scotland (or Kilsyth, Stirlingshire, Scotland) and d. Jan. 5, 1875 at the ranch in Gilroy, Santa Clara county, CA. &
first wife, Isabel (Laird) Adam, b. Dec. 15, 1794 or 1795 in Muir of Lownie, Dunnichen, Angus, Scotland and d. 1844.
William Thom Adam's children by his first wife, Isobel (Laird) Adam were:
1. Margaret Adam, b. Aug. 12, 1816 in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland and d. Aug. 12, 1900 in San Bernardino, San Bernardino county, CA. Margaret marr. first, David Henderson and after David died, was briefly the plural wife of her brother-in-law, James Easton.
2. Janet Adam, b. Dec. 27, 1817 in Scotland, and d. 1843. Janet marr. John Flood on May 19, 1837 in Old Monkland, Lanarkshire, Scotland.
3. Isobel(la) Adam, b. 1820 and d. 1848. Isobella marr. Robert Grant on Nov. 27, 1836. (They had one son, John W. Grant, who Margaret raised after he was orphaned.
4. Agnes Adam, b. Sep. 13, 1821 in Bothwell Parish, South Lanarkshire, Scotland and d. May 2, 1894. Buried in Dufur, Wasco County, OR. Agnes marr. James Laird Easton (b. 1823) on Jan. 7, 1844.
5. Catherine/Katherine "Katie" Adam, b. Jul. 29, 1823. Katie marr. James Patrick on Aug. 13, 1841 and remained in Scotland.
6. Mary Adam, b. Jun. 20, 1825 and d. in Scotland. Mary marr. James (or William) Hamilton.
7. Dr. Charles Adam, b. Jun. 19, 1827 and d. Jun. 25, 1881. Charles became a doctor in 1850 and owned an apothecary shop in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. He remained in Scotland. Charles marr. first, Margaret Bailie and second, Mary McCreath
8. William Adam, b. Apr. 12, 1829 and died as an infant.
9. Jemima Laird Adam, b. Oct. 10, 1831 in South Lanarkshire and d. Dec. 6, 1879 in Gilroy, Santa Clara county, CA. On May 12, 1852, Jemima marr. George Easton (1829-1903).
10. Robina Adam, b. Feb. 11, 1836 and died as an infant.
11. William Laird Adam, b. Aug. 9 (or 7), 1836 in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, Scotland and d. Dec. 14, 1903 in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara county, CA.. William marr. Elizabeth "Bessie" O'Connor (1838-1898).
12. Alexander 'Aleck' Adam, b. Jun. 7 (or Jul. 6), 1838/1839 in South Lanarkshire, Scotland and d. 1928 in Monterey County, CA.. Aleck marr. Esther Bradley sometime before 1877. (Esther was b. in London, England).
Neither Margaret's brother, Charles nor her sister, Mrs. Patrick, ever went to America.
Aleck had two stepbrothers by his father's second marriage to Margaret Thomson:
1. John Robert Adam, b. 1851 or 1852 and d. 1923. John Robert Adam marr. Mahalia Haun.
2. James Adam, b. abt. 1853 and d. 1923.
Aleck was only eleven years old when he left Scotland, the same age as his nephew, John W. Grant, traveling with his family to the American lands.
11-yr.-old Alexander "Aleck" Adam and his family (54 yr. old father William Thom Adam, an Iron Stone Contractor; 29 yr. old stepmother, Margaret Thompson Adam; 18 yr. old sister, Jemima Adam; 14 yr. old brother, William Laird Adam, 22 yr. old stepbrother, John Thompson, a Carpenter; 17 yr. old William Henderson; 16 yr. old Isabella Henderson ) left Liverpool, England aboard the ship 'North Atlantic' and on Nov. 1, 1850, they arrived at the Port of New Orleans with intention to continue on to St. Louis, MO. Their luggage included: 11 boxes of apparel, 2 boxes of tools, 1 provision chest, 2 beds, 1 mattress and 1 gun.
He worked a great deal alongside his brother, William, while the family was in Salt Lake City, Utah, and left with them in 1854 when he was fifteen. After his stepmother, Margaret, reconsidered and decided to stay with the Adam family, it was Aleck who went back to Fillmore City, Millard Co., Utah to fetch her.
Eventually, Aleck settled in Monterey County, Ca. He traveled about quite a bit throughout his life, but Bryson Valley was his most permanent residence. During the years 1881-1888, he raised cows and made cheese. He then took this cheese, traveling weekly up to Moss Landing and sold it.
On Feb. 11, 1877, (34 yr. old) Alex (Aleck) Adams (Adam) (b. in Scotland) &
(16 yr. old) Esther Spencer (Bradley), (b. in England)
were married in (Guadalupe), Santa Barbara county, CA., according to the western States Marriage Index for 1809-2011. (*Esther was b. Jul. 1863 in England.)
Aleck & Esther Adam's children were:
1. * William Alexander "Fancy Bill" Adam, b. Nov. 11, 1877 in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County, CA. and d. Apr. 15, 1973 in Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County, CA.
William A., also known as 'Fancy Bill' in reference to his dapper way of dressing, never married and it was he who cared for his dad in his old age. He claimed that his father didn't want him to marry and blamed him for 'ruining his life'.
2. * Ronald McDonald Adam, b. Sep. 8, 1884 in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County, CA. and d. Apr. 6, 1953 in Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA. Aleck's younger son was named Ronald McDonald Adam (in honor of his Scottish ancestors who were of the McDonald clan).
Ronald married Malinda Jane Hardenbrook in Nov., 1905 and had three children, Kathryn, John Donald and Kenneth Laird. Ronald owned and published the Lompoc Record and was quite well known and respected in newspaper circles. When he got older, he gave the newspaper to his two sons. Donald sold out his share and moved to the Sacramento area and Kenneth remained in Lompoc while Kathryn settled in Palo Alto, Santa Clara Co., CA.
In the 1880 U. S. census, 39 yr. old Alexander Adam, a Farmer, b. in Scotland, was living in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara county, CA. with his
17 yr. old wife, Esther Adam, keeping house, b. in England
2 yr. old son, William Adam, b. in CA.
Aleck's parents were both b. in Scotland.
Esther's parents were both b. in England.
Aleck and Esther separated while the boys were still living at home. William A. stayed with his father and Ronald went to live with his mother, who moved to Lompoc, Santa Barbara Co., CA. *Esther married second, John Stickney Graham, in about 1898, and they were living together in the 1900 U. S. census.
Somewhat of a hermit, Alexander lived a hard, poor life, a struggle which left him somewhat embittered. Although he once worked as a comrade with his brother, William Laird Adam, Aleck ended up a bit envious of his brother's prosperity and family life. The story goes that when William lay dying, he sent for his younger brother and wanted to leave him some money, but Aleck refused to go see him.
When he was in his eighties, Aleck was placed in a Salinas rest home. His son, Bill, worried about his dad's care, went there with Clyde Dayton and brought him home. Bill then cared for him in his little cabin until Alexander's death in 1928 at age 90.
The following poem. written by Alexander Adam in 1914, demonstrates the romantic side of his personality and his strong love for the wilderness and its freedom:
Some call me Willie, Some call me Joe
I now leave the valley to the mountains
Where the clear streamlets flow
Away up the Salinas where the
Sweat (sweet) laurel grow,
I build me a castel (castle) in some dark revien (ravine)
Where the footprints of man there never was seen
I will tame the wild grizzly
With the lions I will play
And the wilde cat shall be my fire all the day
The scream of the egale (eagle) and the owl
Will solist (solace) my slumber in dreams of delight
Yea, garden of roses and lilacs so fair
With the flowers on the mountains can't compare
Hurry, give the wild horse the wind
Keeping time to spur bell as he
Bounds on the plains to the mountains
And away goes Wild Joe.
The Lompoc Record (Lompoc, CA.), P. 5, Col. 2
Feb. 17, 1928
COVERED WAGON PIONEER CALLED BY GRIM REAPER
The funeral of Alexander Adam was held yesterday afternoon at Pleyto, Monterey county, and among the relatives who attended from this section were his son, Ronald M. Adam of Lompoc, and his nephew, W. C. Adam of Santa Maria. The deceased passed away Wednesday morning at his ranch home in the northern county, death being due to old age.
Alexander Adam was a native of Scotland where he was born almost ninety years ago. His father was a proselyte (a new convert) for the Mormon church in the old country and helped organize a large company of Scotch and Welsh people who came to America in 1849. They chartered a ship that landed them in New Orleans and they then journeyed up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Mo., where they spent the winter. They outfitted early the next spring and crossed the plains to Utah in 1850 and their first work there was to help build the Mormon temple. Not being in sympathy with the polygamist practices of the Mormons, the Adam family moved west, finally arriving at San Bernardino where they worked for a time in the mountains and got out lumber with whip saws which they hauled to Los Angeles and sold.
Some were satisfied there and located in San Bernardino, and their descendants, the Hendersons and Nish families, are well-known in that section of the state. Other members of the family located near Watsonville, but Alexander Adam and his brother, William Laird Adam became homesteaders in the Santa Maria valley. Alec Adam located a claim about one and one half miles northwest of the present city of Santa Maria, and W. L. Adam's home place was on the road leading to Guadalupe, one mile west of Santa Maria. According to a survey of the pioneers just made by S. J. Jones of Santa Maria, the Adam brothers located in that valley in 1869, being among the second set of homesteaders. Paul Bradley, grandfather of R. M. Adam of Lompoc, is credited with being the first Santa Maria pioneer, he having located here in 1867, and grazed sheep over the territory where the Santa Maria oil fields are now located. W. L. Adam was Santa Maria's first merchant and conducted a general store at his ranch on the Guadalupe road and the town of Santa Maria was started under the name of Central City.
Alexander Adam was a pioneer in every sense of the word and always lived that sort of life. In 1892, he disposed of his Santa Maria farm and afterwards owned ranches in San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties. When the Palo Verde valley opened up he went there with his son, William, and again became a homesteader. After about twenty years in the desert country he returned to Monterey county where he spent his last days.
He is survived by two sons, William A. Adam of Plenty and Ronald M. Adam of Lompoc.
The funeral services yesterday were conducted by the Christian Science Society of King City.
'Aleck' was the youngest child of:
William Thom Adam, b. May 7 (or 26), 1793 in Old Monkland, Lanarkshire, Scotland (or Kilsyth, Stirlingshire, Scotland) and d. Jan. 5, 1875 at the ranch in Gilroy, Santa Clara county, CA. &
first wife, Isabel (Laird) Adam, b. Dec. 15, 1794 or 1795 in Muir of Lownie, Dunnichen, Angus, Scotland and d. 1844.
William Thom Adam's children by his first wife, Isobel (Laird) Adam were:
1. Margaret Adam, b. Aug. 12, 1816 in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland and d. Aug. 12, 1900 in San Bernardino, San Bernardino county, CA. Margaret marr. first, David Henderson and after David died, was briefly the plural wife of her brother-in-law, James Easton.
2. Janet Adam, b. Dec. 27, 1817 in Scotland, and d. 1843. Janet marr. John Flood on May 19, 1837 in Old Monkland, Lanarkshire, Scotland.
3. Isobel(la) Adam, b. 1820 and d. 1848. Isobella marr. Robert Grant on Nov. 27, 1836. (They had one son, John W. Grant, who Margaret raised after he was orphaned.
4. Agnes Adam, b. Sep. 13, 1821 in Bothwell Parish, South Lanarkshire, Scotland and d. May 2, 1894. Buried in Dufur, Wasco County, OR. Agnes marr. James Laird Easton (b. 1823) on Jan. 7, 1844.
5. Catherine/Katherine "Katie" Adam, b. Jul. 29, 1823. Katie marr. James Patrick on Aug. 13, 1841 and remained in Scotland.
6. Mary Adam, b. Jun. 20, 1825 and d. in Scotland. Mary marr. James (or William) Hamilton.
7. Dr. Charles Adam, b. Jun. 19, 1827 and d. Jun. 25, 1881. Charles became a doctor in 1850 and owned an apothecary shop in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. He remained in Scotland. Charles marr. first, Margaret Bailie and second, Mary McCreath
8. William Adam, b. Apr. 12, 1829 and died as an infant.
9. Jemima Laird Adam, b. Oct. 10, 1831 in South Lanarkshire and d. Dec. 6, 1879 in Gilroy, Santa Clara county, CA. On May 12, 1852, Jemima marr. George Easton (1829-1903).
10. Robina Adam, b. Feb. 11, 1836 and died as an infant.
11. William Laird Adam, b. Aug. 9 (or 7), 1836 in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, Scotland and d. Dec. 14, 1903 in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara county, CA.. William marr. Elizabeth "Bessie" O'Connor (1838-1898).
12. Alexander 'Aleck' Adam, b. Jun. 7 (or Jul. 6), 1838/1839 in South Lanarkshire, Scotland and d. 1928 in Monterey County, CA.. Aleck marr. Esther Bradley sometime before 1877. (Esther was b. in London, England).
Neither Margaret's brother, Charles nor her sister, Mrs. Patrick, ever went to America.
Aleck had two stepbrothers by his father's second marriage to Margaret Thomson:
1. John Robert Adam, b. 1851 or 1852 and d. 1923. John Robert Adam marr. Mahalia Haun.
2. James Adam, b. abt. 1853 and d. 1923.
Aleck was only eleven years old when he left Scotland, the same age as his nephew, John W. Grant, traveling with his family to the American lands.
11-yr.-old Alexander "Aleck" Adam and his family (54 yr. old father William Thom Adam, an Iron Stone Contractor; 29 yr. old stepmother, Margaret Thompson Adam; 18 yr. old sister, Jemima Adam; 14 yr. old brother, William Laird Adam, 22 yr. old stepbrother, John Thompson, a Carpenter; 17 yr. old William Henderson; 16 yr. old Isabella Henderson ) left Liverpool, England aboard the ship 'North Atlantic' and on Nov. 1, 1850, they arrived at the Port of New Orleans with intention to continue on to St. Louis, MO. Their luggage included: 11 boxes of apparel, 2 boxes of tools, 1 provision chest, 2 beds, 1 mattress and 1 gun.
He worked a great deal alongside his brother, William, while the family was in Salt Lake City, Utah, and left with them in 1854 when he was fifteen. After his stepmother, Margaret, reconsidered and decided to stay with the Adam family, it was Aleck who went back to Fillmore City, Millard Co., Utah to fetch her.
Eventually, Aleck settled in Monterey County, Ca. He traveled about quite a bit throughout his life, but Bryson Valley was his most permanent residence. During the years 1881-1888, he raised cows and made cheese. He then took this cheese, traveling weekly up to Moss Landing and sold it.
On Feb. 11, 1877, (34 yr. old) Alex (Aleck) Adams (Adam) (b. in Scotland) &
(16 yr. old) Esther Spencer (Bradley), (b. in England)
were married in (Guadalupe), Santa Barbara county, CA., according to the western States Marriage Index for 1809-2011. (*Esther was b. Jul. 1863 in England.)
Aleck & Esther Adam's children were:
1. * William Alexander "Fancy Bill" Adam, b. Nov. 11, 1877 in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County, CA. and d. Apr. 15, 1973 in Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County, CA.
William A., also known as 'Fancy Bill' in reference to his dapper way of dressing, never married and it was he who cared for his dad in his old age. He claimed that his father didn't want him to marry and blamed him for 'ruining his life'.
2. * Ronald McDonald Adam, b. Sep. 8, 1884 in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County, CA. and d. Apr. 6, 1953 in Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA. Aleck's younger son was named Ronald McDonald Adam (in honor of his Scottish ancestors who were of the McDonald clan).
Ronald married Malinda Jane Hardenbrook in Nov., 1905 and had three children, Kathryn, John Donald and Kenneth Laird. Ronald owned and published the Lompoc Record and was quite well known and respected in newspaper circles. When he got older, he gave the newspaper to his two sons. Donald sold out his share and moved to the Sacramento area and Kenneth remained in Lompoc while Kathryn settled in Palo Alto, Santa Clara Co., CA.
In the 1880 U. S. census, 39 yr. old Alexander Adam, a Farmer, b. in Scotland, was living in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara county, CA. with his
17 yr. old wife, Esther Adam, keeping house, b. in England
2 yr. old son, William Adam, b. in CA.
Aleck's parents were both b. in Scotland.
Esther's parents were both b. in England.
Aleck and Esther separated while the boys were still living at home. William A. stayed with his father and Ronald went to live with his mother, who moved to Lompoc, Santa Barbara Co., CA. *Esther married second, John Stickney Graham, in about 1898, and they were living together in the 1900 U. S. census.
Somewhat of a hermit, Alexander lived a hard, poor life, a struggle which left him somewhat embittered. Although he once worked as a comrade with his brother, William Laird Adam, Aleck ended up a bit envious of his brother's prosperity and family life. The story goes that when William lay dying, he sent for his younger brother and wanted to leave him some money, but Aleck refused to go see him.
When he was in his eighties, Aleck was placed in a Salinas rest home. His son, Bill, worried about his dad's care, went there with Clyde Dayton and brought him home. Bill then cared for him in his little cabin until Alexander's death in 1928 at age 90.
The following poem. written by Alexander Adam in 1914, demonstrates the romantic side of his personality and his strong love for the wilderness and its freedom:
Some call me Willie, Some call me Joe
I now leave the valley to the mountains
Where the clear streamlets flow
Away up the Salinas where the
Sweat (sweet) laurel grow,
I build me a castel (castle) in some dark revien (ravine)
Where the footprints of man there never was seen
I will tame the wild grizzly
With the lions I will play
And the wilde cat shall be my fire all the day
The scream of the egale (eagle) and the owl
Will solist (solace) my slumber in dreams of delight
Yea, garden of roses and lilacs so fair
With the flowers on the mountains can't compare
Hurry, give the wild horse the wind
Keeping time to spur bell as he
Bounds on the plains to the mountains
And away goes Wild Joe.
The Lompoc Record (Lompoc, CA.), P. 5, Col. 2
Feb. 17, 1928
COVERED WAGON PIONEER CALLED BY GRIM REAPER
The funeral of Alexander Adam was held yesterday afternoon at Pleyto, Monterey county, and among the relatives who attended from this section were his son, Ronald M. Adam of Lompoc, and his nephew, W. C. Adam of Santa Maria. The deceased passed away Wednesday morning at his ranch home in the northern county, death being due to old age.
Alexander Adam was a native of Scotland where he was born almost ninety years ago. His father was a proselyte (a new convert) for the Mormon church in the old country and helped organize a large company of Scotch and Welsh people who came to America in 1849. They chartered a ship that landed them in New Orleans and they then journeyed up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Mo., where they spent the winter. They outfitted early the next spring and crossed the plains to Utah in 1850 and their first work there was to help build the Mormon temple. Not being in sympathy with the polygamist practices of the Mormons, the Adam family moved west, finally arriving at San Bernardino where they worked for a time in the mountains and got out lumber with whip saws which they hauled to Los Angeles and sold.
Some were satisfied there and located in San Bernardino, and their descendants, the Hendersons and Nish families, are well-known in that section of the state. Other members of the family located near Watsonville, but Alexander Adam and his brother, William Laird Adam became homesteaders in the Santa Maria valley. Alec Adam located a claim about one and one half miles northwest of the present city of Santa Maria, and W. L. Adam's home place was on the road leading to Guadalupe, one mile west of Santa Maria. According to a survey of the pioneers just made by S. J. Jones of Santa Maria, the Adam brothers located in that valley in 1869, being among the second set of homesteaders. Paul Bradley, grandfather of R. M. Adam of Lompoc, is credited with being the first Santa Maria pioneer, he having located here in 1867, and grazed sheep over the territory where the Santa Maria oil fields are now located. W. L. Adam was Santa Maria's first merchant and conducted a general store at his ranch on the Guadalupe road and the town of Santa Maria was started under the name of Central City.
Alexander Adam was a pioneer in every sense of the word and always lived that sort of life. In 1892, he disposed of his Santa Maria farm and afterwards owned ranches in San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties. When the Palo Verde valley opened up he went there with his son, William, and again became a homesteader. After about twenty years in the desert country he returned to Monterey county where he spent his last days.
He is survived by two sons, William A. Adam of Plenty and Ronald M. Adam of Lompoc.
The funeral services yesterday were conducted by the Christian Science Society of King City.
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