Emma Elizabeth Beck, born the 3rd of November 1869 in Sangamon, Illinois, was the oldest child of Frederick William Beck (1847 to 1911) and Lucy Jane Fields (1849 to 1927). Her father had immigrated from Germany. Both of her parents were orphans.

Emma married Owen Spencer Adams on the 19th of January in 1887 in Christian County, Illinois. Owen was twenty-five years old, Emma seventeen. They had a total of nine children.

Children of Owen Spencer Adams and Emma Elizabeth Beck:

1. Cyrus Edgar Adams (1887 to 1953) married Sarah McClusky and had two children.

2. Essie Elnora Adams (1889 to 1966) married Walter Rehorn and had three boys.

3. Charles Manford Adams (1890 to 1956) married Ethel McFeeters.

4. James Frankliln Adams (1895 to 1948) never married.
James Franklin Adams

5. Freda Fern Adams (1897 to 1936) married Albert Heuzel and had three children.

6. Laura Ethel Adams (1899 to 1969) married David Voyles and had five children.
Laura Ethel Adams Voyles

7. Lela Muriel Adams (1902 to 1993) married Calvin Dewey.

8. Clarence Everett Adams Sr. (1904 to 1967) married Lillie Fondon and had two children.

9. Cora Jane Adams (1909 to 1974) married Walter Paulson.

After Owen and Emma were married, the family moved to Black Creek, Missouri before relocating to Arkansas by the 1910 census. Owen was a farmer and they moved next door to the McClusky family, the future in-laws of their oldest son. After the death of her husband in 1922, her son, James Franklin Adams, ran the farm for his mother until her death.

Emma was a very religious individual. She often held meetings for the children of her church at her home. She even posed for a picture with her Sunday School class while holding her Bible.

At the age of sixty-five, Emma passed away on the 19th of June 1935 in Pleasant Plains, Independence, Arkansas. She and Owen had been married for thirty-five years and are both buried at the Pleasant Plains Cemetery.