David Adams 1780-1862 (War of 1812)
Believe his full name was David Quincy Adams Sr
Very large monument with David's son William Dickson and his wife (William's) Mary Adams on one side and David Adams on the other side.
Note: David was initially buried in the family cemetery on his farm. After the farm was sold, his body was exhumed and reburied in the Walnut Grove Cemetery, Boonville.
Notes for DAVID ADAMS:
Much of the information concerning the descendants of David Adams comes form Marlin Buelow, Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
----------------------------------------------
The following article was written in Oct. , 1980, by William Adams Harriman, great grandson of David and Margaret Adams.
David Adams, seventh child of Samuel and Anne Adams, was born in Mercer Co., Kentucky, on March 25, 1780. Here he grew to manhood and served as an ensign Captain in Robert B. McAfee's Kentucky Mounted Infantry in the War of 1812. His name appears on the muster roll of the company on November 24, 1813. He also served as a soldier in the war of 1817, and was a lieutenant in the Kentucky Infantry in the Tecumseh War. Before this, on Dec. 15, 1807, at the age of 27, he married Margaret Dickson, age 19, and continued to live in Mercer County. Here they had six children.
Later in 1818 or early 1819, David with his wife and six children moved to Parke county, Indiana, and lived for a short time with his brothers, John, William, and James. David had visited this wild, Indian infested, country with his brothers in 1814. Now he came back with his family. in Indiana, talk was big about the great western frontier and the new State of Missouri which was being organized. In the early spring of 1819, David and his family were on the move again. They
moved across Illinois and then by boat ascended the mighty Missouri River to a point about six miles below Boonville in Cooper County, Missouri. There, on the south back of the river, he bought 400 scres of sandy loam and started building his house. Maps showed that he also owned an island in the middle of the river, but history does not include it as his property.
Slaves, whom he brought with him from Kentucky, made the soft red clay bricks. The house was two and one-half stories high and stood not far from the bank of the river. Hard Maple trees were planted in the yard (one stands at the site today) and an orchard was established. David and Peggy had seven more children after moving to Cooper County. They lived happily in their red brick home for nearly forty years. The 1860 census for Boonville Twp. shows that all the other children had either died or married and moved from home. David Quincy, the eleventh child, had moved to California.
Then the War Between the States affected their lives. In 1861, General Lyon, with a large Union Army moved by boat up the Missouri River in hot pursuit of General Sterling Price, Governor Claiborne Jackson, and the rebellious State Militia. On June 15 he captured Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri. Two days later he and his army moved up the river and landed near the Adams home east of Boonville. He then marched overland to confront the reported large Confederate Army massed at Boonville. History tells that after a short fight he occupied the town. This, the First Battle of Boonville, resulted in two killed and four wounded. This period of time was not pleasant for the Adams family. After landing on the south back of the river, the Union artillerymen used the Adams house for gunnery practice which resulted in severe damage. For many years thereafter, the house bore scars from this battle, including a cannonball lodged high upon one of the end walls. David and Peggy, along with their sixth child, William Dickson Adams, continued to live on the farm and started to rebuild their home. In the summer of 1862, David, now 82 years of age, became sick and died on August 8. He was buried on the farm in a small family cemetery. David was a man of medium stature, with dark eyes and hair, wore a beard, was resolute and determined. He was kind, honorable, just, and reverent in his attitudes and dealings with his fellow men. He was a farmer, lumberman, and slave owner.
The problems of the Adams family did not end here. On October 9, 1864, Boonville was again attacked. Union troops had marched along the south bank of the river from Jefferson City, a distance of about 40 miles. The Adams home this time was ransacked and burned, and the slaves freed. Several assumed the name of Adams and their descendants still live in Boonville. Peggy, as reflected by the census of 1870, continued to live on the farm with her son William Dickson. Later though, it is known that she moved to California to live with her youngest son, David Quincy. She died January 9, 1879, at the age of ninety-one and is buried in the Cottonwood Cemetery, Madison, Yolo Co., California.
William Dickson grew to manhood on the old Adams farm. On November 17, 1863, at the age of forty-five, he married Mary Pendelton Tompkins (age 25). She was the daughter of Dr. Hiram A. and Susan Estes Tompkins, who lived in Boonville. William and Mary had four children. Arthur Tompkins, the first born, married Laura Stearns and moved to Tipton, Missouri. They had seven children, three are still living. Arthur and his wife are buried at Tipton. William Dickson and Mary's seond child lived only thirty-nine days. The third child, a boy, was named William Dickson, Jr. He married Mary Mabel Crawford and lived in St. Louis, later moving to Dallas, Texas.
The fourth child was Mariah Hortense. In 1900, she married Albert Clifford Harriman and they live in Pilot Grove, Cooper County, Missouri. they had five children. The first died in infancy and is buried beside his mother and father in Mount Vernon Cemetery, one mile south of Pilot Grove. The remaining four children are still living.
Hortense told many times how she and her cousin, Bertha Blakey (who lived with her as a sister) one spring day in 1884 went with friends for a picnic lunch on the banks of the river. They had just spread their linen lunch cloth and her mother's sterling silver on a big rock high up on the bank and opened their lunch basket when they heard voices. Looking up the river, they saw many small boats loaded with men, coming down the river. They left everything, their food and sterling silver, and ran for the house. Some of the men saw the girls run so they landed and came up the bank to the big rock. After looking around they went back to their boats without taking a thing and departed. Later it was learned that this was the first contingent of Coxey's Army going to Washington, D. C., to petition the Congress for money for unemployed men to build roads in the new frontier.
William Dickson Sr. and Mary continued to live on the old Adams farm until their deaths. Mary died on December 16, 1902, and William died the next year on August 3, 1903. Shortly after his death, the farm was sold. The remains of David and the others, buried on the farm, were moved to the Adams burial plot in Walnut Grove Cemetery, Boonville. William Dickson Sr. and Mary are also buried there.
I (William Harriman) visited the old homesite on the river in the early 1960s. All that remained was a pile of soft red brick and a big beautiful Hard Maple tree. The old house had been bulldozed into the basement, leveled, and the whole area planted to apple and peach trees. You too can visit the old home site on the banks of the mighty Missouri. Just follow the road east from Boonville. It is interesting to stop and reflect on the great steps this ambitious family took toward settling this great country.
William Adams came to America from Ireland in 1742. What an adventure that must have been. Samuel and Anne moved to Mercer Co., Kentucky, in 1779 and stayed there to rear their family and help develop that frontier. Then David and Peggy, in 1819, made another great move to another new frontier, the third for the family. There for 80 years or so the family helped develop another part of this great nation.
Stop a moment and reflect on their problems and their accomplishment, on their heartaches, and their happy moments. They must have had a strong faith in God and a great desire to live and be free.
Information in William Harriman's notes indicate that the Adams belong to the "Gordon Clan" of Scotland.
--------------------------------------------
1860 census of Boonville Twp., Cooper Co., Missouri:
David Adams is 80 years old, born in Virginia, farmer with $70,000+20,000.
Margaret Adams is 72 years old, born in KY.
Son William Adams is 42 years old, born in MO, assets of $24,000.
Daughter Mariah is is 26 years old, born in MO.
Also living in the home are Mary E. Tucker, age 20, born in MO; and Margaret A. Tucker, age 16, born in MO. These are probably granddaughters, children of their daughter Margaret Ann.
Believe his full name was David Quincy Adams Sr
Very large monument with David's son William Dickson and his wife (William's) Mary Adams on one side and David Adams on the other side.
Note: David was initially buried in the family cemetery on his farm. After the farm was sold, his body was exhumed and reburied in the Walnut Grove Cemetery, Boonville.
Notes for DAVID ADAMS:
Much of the information concerning the descendants of David Adams comes form Marlin Buelow, Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
----------------------------------------------
The following article was written in Oct. , 1980, by William Adams Harriman, great grandson of David and Margaret Adams.
David Adams, seventh child of Samuel and Anne Adams, was born in Mercer Co., Kentucky, on March 25, 1780. Here he grew to manhood and served as an ensign Captain in Robert B. McAfee's Kentucky Mounted Infantry in the War of 1812. His name appears on the muster roll of the company on November 24, 1813. He also served as a soldier in the war of 1817, and was a lieutenant in the Kentucky Infantry in the Tecumseh War. Before this, on Dec. 15, 1807, at the age of 27, he married Margaret Dickson, age 19, and continued to live in Mercer County. Here they had six children.
Later in 1818 or early 1819, David with his wife and six children moved to Parke county, Indiana, and lived for a short time with his brothers, John, William, and James. David had visited this wild, Indian infested, country with his brothers in 1814. Now he came back with his family. in Indiana, talk was big about the great western frontier and the new State of Missouri which was being organized. In the early spring of 1819, David and his family were on the move again. They
moved across Illinois and then by boat ascended the mighty Missouri River to a point about six miles below Boonville in Cooper County, Missouri. There, on the south back of the river, he bought 400 scres of sandy loam and started building his house. Maps showed that he also owned an island in the middle of the river, but history does not include it as his property.
Slaves, whom he brought with him from Kentucky, made the soft red clay bricks. The house was two and one-half stories high and stood not far from the bank of the river. Hard Maple trees were planted in the yard (one stands at the site today) and an orchard was established. David and Peggy had seven more children after moving to Cooper County. They lived happily in their red brick home for nearly forty years. The 1860 census for Boonville Twp. shows that all the other children had either died or married and moved from home. David Quincy, the eleventh child, had moved to California.
Then the War Between the States affected their lives. In 1861, General Lyon, with a large Union Army moved by boat up the Missouri River in hot pursuit of General Sterling Price, Governor Claiborne Jackson, and the rebellious State Militia. On June 15 he captured Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri. Two days later he and his army moved up the river and landed near the Adams home east of Boonville. He then marched overland to confront the reported large Confederate Army massed at Boonville. History tells that after a short fight he occupied the town. This, the First Battle of Boonville, resulted in two killed and four wounded. This period of time was not pleasant for the Adams family. After landing on the south back of the river, the Union artillerymen used the Adams house for gunnery practice which resulted in severe damage. For many years thereafter, the house bore scars from this battle, including a cannonball lodged high upon one of the end walls. David and Peggy, along with their sixth child, William Dickson Adams, continued to live on the farm and started to rebuild their home. In the summer of 1862, David, now 82 years of age, became sick and died on August 8. He was buried on the farm in a small family cemetery. David was a man of medium stature, with dark eyes and hair, wore a beard, was resolute and determined. He was kind, honorable, just, and reverent in his attitudes and dealings with his fellow men. He was a farmer, lumberman, and slave owner.
The problems of the Adams family did not end here. On October 9, 1864, Boonville was again attacked. Union troops had marched along the south bank of the river from Jefferson City, a distance of about 40 miles. The Adams home this time was ransacked and burned, and the slaves freed. Several assumed the name of Adams and their descendants still live in Boonville. Peggy, as reflected by the census of 1870, continued to live on the farm with her son William Dickson. Later though, it is known that she moved to California to live with her youngest son, David Quincy. She died January 9, 1879, at the age of ninety-one and is buried in the Cottonwood Cemetery, Madison, Yolo Co., California.
William Dickson grew to manhood on the old Adams farm. On November 17, 1863, at the age of forty-five, he married Mary Pendelton Tompkins (age 25). She was the daughter of Dr. Hiram A. and Susan Estes Tompkins, who lived in Boonville. William and Mary had four children. Arthur Tompkins, the first born, married Laura Stearns and moved to Tipton, Missouri. They had seven children, three are still living. Arthur and his wife are buried at Tipton. William Dickson and Mary's seond child lived only thirty-nine days. The third child, a boy, was named William Dickson, Jr. He married Mary Mabel Crawford and lived in St. Louis, later moving to Dallas, Texas.
The fourth child was Mariah Hortense. In 1900, she married Albert Clifford Harriman and they live in Pilot Grove, Cooper County, Missouri. they had five children. The first died in infancy and is buried beside his mother and father in Mount Vernon Cemetery, one mile south of Pilot Grove. The remaining four children are still living.
Hortense told many times how she and her cousin, Bertha Blakey (who lived with her as a sister) one spring day in 1884 went with friends for a picnic lunch on the banks of the river. They had just spread their linen lunch cloth and her mother's sterling silver on a big rock high up on the bank and opened their lunch basket when they heard voices. Looking up the river, they saw many small boats loaded with men, coming down the river. They left everything, their food and sterling silver, and ran for the house. Some of the men saw the girls run so they landed and came up the bank to the big rock. After looking around they went back to their boats without taking a thing and departed. Later it was learned that this was the first contingent of Coxey's Army going to Washington, D. C., to petition the Congress for money for unemployed men to build roads in the new frontier.
William Dickson Sr. and Mary continued to live on the old Adams farm until their deaths. Mary died on December 16, 1902, and William died the next year on August 3, 1903. Shortly after his death, the farm was sold. The remains of David and the others, buried on the farm, were moved to the Adams burial plot in Walnut Grove Cemetery, Boonville. William Dickson Sr. and Mary are also buried there.
I (William Harriman) visited the old homesite on the river in the early 1960s. All that remained was a pile of soft red brick and a big beautiful Hard Maple tree. The old house had been bulldozed into the basement, leveled, and the whole area planted to apple and peach trees. You too can visit the old home site on the banks of the mighty Missouri. Just follow the road east from Boonville. It is interesting to stop and reflect on the great steps this ambitious family took toward settling this great country.
William Adams came to America from Ireland in 1742. What an adventure that must have been. Samuel and Anne moved to Mercer Co., Kentucky, in 1779 and stayed there to rear their family and help develop that frontier. Then David and Peggy, in 1819, made another great move to another new frontier, the third for the family. There for 80 years or so the family helped develop another part of this great nation.
Stop a moment and reflect on their problems and their accomplishment, on their heartaches, and their happy moments. They must have had a strong faith in God and a great desire to live and be free.
Information in William Harriman's notes indicate that the Adams belong to the "Gordon Clan" of Scotland.
--------------------------------------------
1860 census of Boonville Twp., Cooper Co., Missouri:
David Adams is 80 years old, born in Virginia, farmer with $70,000+20,000.
Margaret Adams is 72 years old, born in KY.
Son William Adams is 42 years old, born in MO, assets of $24,000.
Daughter Mariah is is 26 years old, born in MO.
Also living in the home are Mary E. Tucker, age 20, born in MO; and Margaret A. Tucker, age 16, born in MO. These are probably granddaughters, children of their daughter Margaret Ann.
David Adams 1780-1862 (War of 1812)
Believe his full name was David Quincy Adams Sr
Very large monument with David's son William Dickson and his wife (William's) Mary Adams on one side and David Adams on the other side.
Note: David was initially buried in the family cemetery on his farm. After the farm was sold, his body was exhumed and reburied in the Walnut Grove Cemetery, Boonville.
Notes for DAVID ADAMS:
Much of the information concerning the descendants of David Adams comes form Marlin Buelow, Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
----------------------------------------------
The following article was written in Oct. , 1980, by William Adams Harriman, great grandson of David and Margaret Adams.
David Adams, seventh child of Samuel and Anne Adams, was born in Mercer Co., Kentucky, on March 25, 1780. Here he grew to manhood and served as an ensign Captain in Robert B. McAfee's Kentucky Mounted Infantry in the War of 1812. His name appears on the muster roll of the company on November 24, 1813. He also served as a soldier in the war of 1817, and was a lieutenant in the Kentucky Infantry in the Tecumseh War. Before this, on Dec. 15, 1807, at the age of 27, he married Margaret Dickson, age 19, and continued to live in Mercer County. Here they had six children.
Later in 1818 or early 1819, David with his wife and six children moved to Parke county, Indiana, and lived for a short time with his brothers, John, William, and James. David had visited this wild, Indian infested, country with his brothers in 1814. Now he came back with his family. in Indiana, talk was big about the great western frontier and the new State of Missouri which was being organized. In the early spring of 1819, David and his family were on the move again. They
moved across Illinois and then by boat ascended the mighty Missouri River to a point about six miles below Boonville in Cooper County, Missouri. There, on the south back of the river, he bought 400 scres of sandy loam and started building his house. Maps showed that he also owned an island in the middle of the river, but history does not include it as his property.
Slaves, whom he brought with him from Kentucky, made the soft red clay bricks. The house was two and one-half stories high and stood not far from the bank of the river. Hard Maple trees were planted in the yard (one stands at the site today) and an orchard was established. David and Peggy had seven more children after moving to Cooper County. They lived happily in their red brick home for nearly forty years. The 1860 census for Boonville Twp. shows that all the other children had either died or married and moved from home. David Quincy, the eleventh child, had moved to California.
Then the War Between the States affected their lives. In 1861, General Lyon, with a large Union Army moved by boat up the Missouri River in hot pursuit of General Sterling Price, Governor Claiborne Jackson, and the rebellious State Militia. On June 15 he captured Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri. Two days later he and his army moved up the river and landed near the Adams home east of Boonville. He then marched overland to confront the reported large Confederate Army massed at Boonville. History tells that after a short fight he occupied the town. This, the First Battle of Boonville, resulted in two killed and four wounded. This period of time was not pleasant for the Adams family. After landing on the south back of the river, the Union artillerymen used the Adams house for gunnery practice which resulted in severe damage. For many years thereafter, the house bore scars from this battle, including a cannonball lodged high upon one of the end walls. David and Peggy, along with their sixth child, William Dickson Adams, continued to live on the farm and started to rebuild their home. In the summer of 1862, David, now 82 years of age, became sick and died on August 8. He was buried on the farm in a small family cemetery. David was a man of medium stature, with dark eyes and hair, wore a beard, was resolute and determined. He was kind, honorable, just, and reverent in his attitudes and dealings with his fellow men. He was a farmer, lumberman, and slave owner.
The problems of the Adams family did not end here. On October 9, 1864, Boonville was again attacked. Union troops had marched along the south bank of the river from Jefferson City, a distance of about 40 miles. The Adams home this time was ransacked and burned, and the slaves freed. Several assumed the name of Adams and their descendants still live in Boonville. Peggy, as reflected by the census of 1870, continued to live on the farm with her son William Dickson. Later though, it is known that she moved to California to live with her youngest son, David Quincy. She died January 9, 1879, at the age of ninety-one and is buried in the Cottonwood Cemetery, Madison, Yolo Co., California.
William Dickson grew to manhood on the old Adams farm. On November 17, 1863, at the age of forty-five, he married Mary Pendelton Tompkins (age 25). She was the daughter of Dr. Hiram A. and Susan Estes Tompkins, who lived in Boonville. William and Mary had four children. Arthur Tompkins, the first born, married Laura Stearns and moved to Tipton, Missouri. They had seven children, three are still living. Arthur and his wife are buried at Tipton. William Dickson and Mary's seond child lived only thirty-nine days. The third child, a boy, was named William Dickson, Jr. He married Mary Mabel Crawford and lived in St. Louis, later moving to Dallas, Texas.
The fourth child was Mariah Hortense. In 1900, she married Albert Clifford Harriman and they live in Pilot Grove, Cooper County, Missouri. they had five children. The first died in infancy and is buried beside his mother and father in Mount Vernon Cemetery, one mile south of Pilot Grove. The remaining four children are still living.
Hortense told many times how she and her cousin, Bertha Blakey (who lived with her as a sister) one spring day in 1884 went with friends for a picnic lunch on the banks of the river. They had just spread their linen lunch cloth and her mother's sterling silver on a big rock high up on the bank and opened their lunch basket when they heard voices. Looking up the river, they saw many small boats loaded with men, coming down the river. They left everything, their food and sterling silver, and ran for the house. Some of the men saw the girls run so they landed and came up the bank to the big rock. After looking around they went back to their boats without taking a thing and departed. Later it was learned that this was the first contingent of Coxey's Army going to Washington, D. C., to petition the Congress for money for unemployed men to build roads in the new frontier.
William Dickson Sr. and Mary continued to live on the old Adams farm until their deaths. Mary died on December 16, 1902, and William died the next year on August 3, 1903. Shortly after his death, the farm was sold. The remains of David and the others, buried on the farm, were moved to the Adams burial plot in Walnut Grove Cemetery, Boonville. William Dickson Sr. and Mary are also buried there.
I (William Harriman) visited the old homesite on the river in the early 1960s. All that remained was a pile of soft red brick and a big beautiful Hard Maple tree. The old house had been bulldozed into the basement, leveled, and the whole area planted to apple and peach trees. You too can visit the old home site on the banks of the mighty Missouri. Just follow the road east from Boonville. It is interesting to stop and reflect on the great steps this ambitious family took toward settling this great country.
William Adams came to America from Ireland in 1742. What an adventure that must have been. Samuel and Anne moved to Mercer Co., Kentucky, in 1779 and stayed there to rear their family and help develop that frontier. Then David and Peggy, in 1819, made another great move to another new frontier, the third for the family. There for 80 years or so the family helped develop another part of this great nation.
Stop a moment and reflect on their problems and their accomplishment, on their heartaches, and their happy moments. They must have had a strong faith in God and a great desire to live and be free.
Information in William Harriman's notes indicate that the Adams belong to the "Gordon Clan" of Scotland.
--------------------------------------------
1860 census of Boonville Twp., Cooper Co., Missouri:
David Adams is 80 years old, born in Virginia, farmer with $70,000+20,000.
Margaret Adams is 72 years old, born in KY.
Son William Adams is 42 years old, born in MO, assets of $24,000.
Daughter Mariah is is 26 years old, born in MO.
Also living in the home are Mary E. Tucker, age 20, born in MO; and Margaret A. Tucker, age 16, born in MO. These are probably granddaughters, children of their daughter Margaret Ann.
Believe his full name was David Quincy Adams Sr
Very large monument with David's son William Dickson and his wife (William's) Mary Adams on one side and David Adams on the other side.
Note: David was initially buried in the family cemetery on his farm. After the farm was sold, his body was exhumed and reburied in the Walnut Grove Cemetery, Boonville.
Notes for DAVID ADAMS:
Much of the information concerning the descendants of David Adams comes form Marlin Buelow, Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
----------------------------------------------
The following article was written in Oct. , 1980, by William Adams Harriman, great grandson of David and Margaret Adams.
David Adams, seventh child of Samuel and Anne Adams, was born in Mercer Co., Kentucky, on March 25, 1780. Here he grew to manhood and served as an ensign Captain in Robert B. McAfee's Kentucky Mounted Infantry in the War of 1812. His name appears on the muster roll of the company on November 24, 1813. He also served as a soldier in the war of 1817, and was a lieutenant in the Kentucky Infantry in the Tecumseh War. Before this, on Dec. 15, 1807, at the age of 27, he married Margaret Dickson, age 19, and continued to live in Mercer County. Here they had six children.
Later in 1818 or early 1819, David with his wife and six children moved to Parke county, Indiana, and lived for a short time with his brothers, John, William, and James. David had visited this wild, Indian infested, country with his brothers in 1814. Now he came back with his family. in Indiana, talk was big about the great western frontier and the new State of Missouri which was being organized. In the early spring of 1819, David and his family were on the move again. They
moved across Illinois and then by boat ascended the mighty Missouri River to a point about six miles below Boonville in Cooper County, Missouri. There, on the south back of the river, he bought 400 scres of sandy loam and started building his house. Maps showed that he also owned an island in the middle of the river, but history does not include it as his property.
Slaves, whom he brought with him from Kentucky, made the soft red clay bricks. The house was two and one-half stories high and stood not far from the bank of the river. Hard Maple trees were planted in the yard (one stands at the site today) and an orchard was established. David and Peggy had seven more children after moving to Cooper County. They lived happily in their red brick home for nearly forty years. The 1860 census for Boonville Twp. shows that all the other children had either died or married and moved from home. David Quincy, the eleventh child, had moved to California.
Then the War Between the States affected their lives. In 1861, General Lyon, with a large Union Army moved by boat up the Missouri River in hot pursuit of General Sterling Price, Governor Claiborne Jackson, and the rebellious State Militia. On June 15 he captured Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri. Two days later he and his army moved up the river and landed near the Adams home east of Boonville. He then marched overland to confront the reported large Confederate Army massed at Boonville. History tells that after a short fight he occupied the town. This, the First Battle of Boonville, resulted in two killed and four wounded. This period of time was not pleasant for the Adams family. After landing on the south back of the river, the Union artillerymen used the Adams house for gunnery practice which resulted in severe damage. For many years thereafter, the house bore scars from this battle, including a cannonball lodged high upon one of the end walls. David and Peggy, along with their sixth child, William Dickson Adams, continued to live on the farm and started to rebuild their home. In the summer of 1862, David, now 82 years of age, became sick and died on August 8. He was buried on the farm in a small family cemetery. David was a man of medium stature, with dark eyes and hair, wore a beard, was resolute and determined. He was kind, honorable, just, and reverent in his attitudes and dealings with his fellow men. He was a farmer, lumberman, and slave owner.
The problems of the Adams family did not end here. On October 9, 1864, Boonville was again attacked. Union troops had marched along the south bank of the river from Jefferson City, a distance of about 40 miles. The Adams home this time was ransacked and burned, and the slaves freed. Several assumed the name of Adams and their descendants still live in Boonville. Peggy, as reflected by the census of 1870, continued to live on the farm with her son William Dickson. Later though, it is known that she moved to California to live with her youngest son, David Quincy. She died January 9, 1879, at the age of ninety-one and is buried in the Cottonwood Cemetery, Madison, Yolo Co., California.
William Dickson grew to manhood on the old Adams farm. On November 17, 1863, at the age of forty-five, he married Mary Pendelton Tompkins (age 25). She was the daughter of Dr. Hiram A. and Susan Estes Tompkins, who lived in Boonville. William and Mary had four children. Arthur Tompkins, the first born, married Laura Stearns and moved to Tipton, Missouri. They had seven children, three are still living. Arthur and his wife are buried at Tipton. William Dickson and Mary's seond child lived only thirty-nine days. The third child, a boy, was named William Dickson, Jr. He married Mary Mabel Crawford and lived in St. Louis, later moving to Dallas, Texas.
The fourth child was Mariah Hortense. In 1900, she married Albert Clifford Harriman and they live in Pilot Grove, Cooper County, Missouri. they had five children. The first died in infancy and is buried beside his mother and father in Mount Vernon Cemetery, one mile south of Pilot Grove. The remaining four children are still living.
Hortense told many times how she and her cousin, Bertha Blakey (who lived with her as a sister) one spring day in 1884 went with friends for a picnic lunch on the banks of the river. They had just spread their linen lunch cloth and her mother's sterling silver on a big rock high up on the bank and opened their lunch basket when they heard voices. Looking up the river, they saw many small boats loaded with men, coming down the river. They left everything, their food and sterling silver, and ran for the house. Some of the men saw the girls run so they landed and came up the bank to the big rock. After looking around they went back to their boats without taking a thing and departed. Later it was learned that this was the first contingent of Coxey's Army going to Washington, D. C., to petition the Congress for money for unemployed men to build roads in the new frontier.
William Dickson Sr. and Mary continued to live on the old Adams farm until their deaths. Mary died on December 16, 1902, and William died the next year on August 3, 1903. Shortly after his death, the farm was sold. The remains of David and the others, buried on the farm, were moved to the Adams burial plot in Walnut Grove Cemetery, Boonville. William Dickson Sr. and Mary are also buried there.
I (William Harriman) visited the old homesite on the river in the early 1960s. All that remained was a pile of soft red brick and a big beautiful Hard Maple tree. The old house had been bulldozed into the basement, leveled, and the whole area planted to apple and peach trees. You too can visit the old home site on the banks of the mighty Missouri. Just follow the road east from Boonville. It is interesting to stop and reflect on the great steps this ambitious family took toward settling this great country.
William Adams came to America from Ireland in 1742. What an adventure that must have been. Samuel and Anne moved to Mercer Co., Kentucky, in 1779 and stayed there to rear their family and help develop that frontier. Then David and Peggy, in 1819, made another great move to another new frontier, the third for the family. There for 80 years or so the family helped develop another part of this great nation.
Stop a moment and reflect on their problems and their accomplishment, on their heartaches, and their happy moments. They must have had a strong faith in God and a great desire to live and be free.
Information in William Harriman's notes indicate that the Adams belong to the "Gordon Clan" of Scotland.
--------------------------------------------
1860 census of Boonville Twp., Cooper Co., Missouri:
David Adams is 80 years old, born in Virginia, farmer with $70,000+20,000.
Margaret Adams is 72 years old, born in KY.
Son William Adams is 42 years old, born in MO, assets of $24,000.
Daughter Mariah is is 26 years old, born in MO.
Also living in the home are Mary E. Tucker, age 20, born in MO; and Margaret A. Tucker, age 16, born in MO. These are probably granddaughters, children of their daughter Margaret Ann.
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