ELISHA JASON ADAMS. Sixty-six years have passed since this now venerable gentleman, then a youth of fifteen, came to Marion County, since which time he has not only witnessed its growth and upbuilding, but has aided materially in its welfare and progress. He well deserves mention in this volume among the honored early settlers and men of prominence. Though now (1894) incapacitated for active work by his advancing years and a severe attack of la grippe, he still says he will outlive many of his neighbors who are his juniors in years.
The Adams homestead is pleasantly situated on section 18 of Raccoon Township, and is one of the finest farms in the locality. Two hundred acres of finely improved land pay an annual tribute to the care and cultivation of the owner. The place has been subdivided into fields of convenient size for the raising of grain and pasturage of stock, while all the buildings necessary for the farm work are to be here found. The family residence is a commodious two-story frame structure, while the barns are large and substantial. Altogether the farm is one of the best and most desirable in the county, being complete in all its appointments, and supplied with all modern conveniences. The fields are well tilled, and the improvements stand as monuments to the thrift and enterprise of the owner.
The Adams family is of English origin, but has been represented in this country for several generations.
Our subject's parents, John and Nancy (Burton) Adams, were natives respectively of Kentucky and Virginia, and coming to Marion County in 1828, entered a tract of forty acres from the Government. To this the father subsequently added until he became the owner of one hundred acres of highly cultivated land. He was a man of energetic disposition, and in his death, which occurred in 1854, at the age of seventy-one years, the community sustained a severe loss. His widow survived him many years and passed away in 1873, at the advanced age of ninety-seven.
The subject of this biographical notice was born in Logan County, Ky., April 4, 1813, and was one of eight children, two sons and six daughters. His only brother, Jacob, died more than a half-century ago. His sisters are: Susanna, the wife of J. N. Adams; Mary, who married M. S. Randall; Rebecca, who became the wife of S. Fyke; Elizabeth, Mrs. H. G. Burrow; Nancy, the wife of William Burge; and Lucy, who died unmarried.
The father of this family was well known among the early settlers of Marion County, and was a prominent factor in the development of Raccoon Township during the first half of this century. He was, however, not active in politics, and never held any official position, though had he desired such, his fellow-citizens would undoubtedly have chosen him for local places of trust and honor.
The boyhood years of our subject were uneventfully passed upon the home farm. He was for a short time a pupil in the subscription schools, but his education has been mainly self-acquired.
In 1875 he married Miss Elizabeth Jane Williams, who is a native of Missouri. Her father, John W. Williams, emigrated from Kentucky to Missouri, and came to Marion County, ILL., in an early period of its history. There were three children in his family,
Unto the union of our subject and his estimable wife there were born two children,
In politics, Mr. Adams was first a Democrat, then an Abolitionist, and is at present a stanch Republican, but has never been active in local affairs, preferring to devote his attention exclusively to agricultural pursuits. In religious belief the family is identified with the Methodist denomination.
To Mr. Adams belongs the distinction of being one of the oldest surviving settlers of Marion County, and none of the pioneers are more widely known or more highly honored than he is. His life furnishes a lesson well worthy the emulation of the young. Beginning in life with no capital, he was for a time in the employ of neighboring farmers, and saved his earnings until he accumulated a sufficient amount for the purchase of his present property. By hard work and shrewdness, he has gained valuable possessions, and in the declining years of his life is surrounded by every comfort. A pleasant conversationalist, many an interesting anecdote can he relate concerning the earlier days when St. Louis was the nearest trading point for the residents of Marion County, when settlers were few, money scarce and hardships many. To such as he does the present generation owe a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid, and in the annals of this county the name of E. J. Adams will ever hold a prominent place.
Source: "Portrait and Biographical Record Clinton, Washington, Marion and Jefferson Counties, Illinois"
Chapman Publishing Co, Chicago, 1894
Pages 323-324
Submitted by Sandy (Whalen) Bauer