William Anderson Adams, sheep rancher. Son of Robert Adams, Sr. and Sarah (Anderson) Adams. Brother to Robert Adams, Jr.

For sixteen years William Adams was County Commissioner of Nueces County. He became president of the Alice State Bank & Trust Co., president of the Alice Cotton Oil Company and vice president of the South Texas Cattle Loan Company and the Alice Broom Corn Drying Company. He Helped organize Jim Wells County in 1912 and served as ex officio County Judge for a while. When Jim Wells County was created by the legislature on February 2, 1911, William Adams was appointed Chairman of the Commissioners to Organize Jim Wells County. Essentially, he was Judge of Unorganized Jim Wells County, which would designate him as Jim Wells County's first judge. There have been published claims that a majority of citizens, would rather have the county named Adams instead of Jim Wells. He married Sarah B. Dodson in January 1867, whose mother was credited for making the first Lone Star Flag for Texas. And after her death in 1894, a widowed William Adams re-married in 1896 to Nina O. Young. He was the father of seven children. In 1930, the Alice School Board contracted to build a school containing thirteen classrooms and a library. Classes in this facility first commenced in January of 1931 as the new Alice High School located along 3rd Street, which is presently William Adams Middle School. When William Adams celebrated his 88th birthday on January 3, 1933, a public announcement, based on unanimous vote of the school board paid homage by renaming the school after the Alice pioneer. He died on January 12, 1939, at his home in Alice and was survived by two daughters and three sons. According to The Alice Echo, "Masses of flowers overflowed the front of the church auditorium, indicative of the esteem in which the grand old character was held. So large was the crowd that a majority were unable to obtain seats in the church." William Adams now lies at the Alice Fraternal Cemetery. Which is known for as Alice Cemetery.

Occupation: Stockman, Ranch owner.