William Adams (Dedham)
William Adams (May 27, 1650 – August 17, 1685) was minister of the First Church and Parish in Dedham.[1]
Early life
[edit]He was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts on May 27, 1650, and graduated from Harvard College in 1671.[1][2] His parents, William Adams Jr., and his wife, whose maiden name was likely Star, both died by the time Adams was nine years old.[2] After that, he was raised by two uncles.[2] He began a diary by writing that he was "born a sinner into an evil world," a notion that demonstrated a Calvanistic religious philosophy as well as a suspicion that God was punishing him.[3] After being denied entrance into Harvard in August 1667, he returned a month later with his uncle and was accepted.[3] He was graduated in August 1671.[4]
Ministry
[edit]Two weeks after graduating from Harvard, John Allin, the minister in Dedham, died.[3] Adams was asked to preach on several occasions following Allin's death, having been somewhat acquainted with the community beforehand.[4]
After three calls, he finally accepted to be ordained as minister in Dedham on December 3, 1673.[5][6][7][1] As there was no official parsonage, he rented the house of his predecessor.[1] Two of his sermons survive, including one given before the Great and General Court and another given in Dedham on November 21, 1678.[1] His tenure in Dedham was mostly calm, save for some complaints about seating arrangements in the meetinghouse and delays in paying his salary.[8]
He died August 17, 1685.[1][9][6][10] Prayers at funerals were not customary in that day but one was offered at his, one of the first ever recorded in New England.[1] He is buried in the Old Village Cemetery in the tomb of Timothy Dwight.[11]
Family
[edit]On October 21, 1674, Adams married Mary Manning of Cambridge.[12] They had three children, Mary, Eliphalet, and William.[12] Mary died on June 24, 1679.[12] On March 29, 1680, he married Alice Bradford of Plymouth.[12] They had four more children: Elizabeth, Alice, William, and Abiel, who was born after Adams' death.[12] The first son named William died before his first birthday, as did daughter Mary.[12] Eliphalet Adams served as a minister in New London, Connecticut.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Smith 1936, pp. 71–72.
- ^ a b c Caulkins 1849, p. 6.
- ^ a b c Hanson 1976, p. 83.
- ^ a b Hanson 1976, p. 84.
- ^ Hanson 1976, p. 84-85.
- ^ a b c Caulkins 1849, p. 7.
- ^ Worthington 1827, p. 104.
- ^ Hanson 1976, p. 101.
- ^ Worthington 1827, p. 105.
- ^ Hanson 1976, p. 100.
- ^ Smith 1936, p. 147.
- ^ a b c d e f Caulkins 1849, p. 22.
Works cited
[edit]- Smith, Frank (1936). A History of Dedham, Massachusetts. Transcript Press, Incorporated. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
- Worthington, Erastus (1827). The history of Dedham: from the beginning of its settlement, in September 1635, to May 1827. Dutton and Wentworth. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- Caulkins, Frances Manwaring (1849). Memoir of the Rev. William Adams, of Dedham, Mass: and of the Rev. Eliphalet Adams, of New London, Conn. Metcalf and Company. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
- Hanson, Robert Brand (1976). Dedham, Massachusetts, 1635-1890. Dedham Historical Society.
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