Adamson, James H.

ADAMSON

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 13:02:29

JAMES H. ADAMSON
James H. Adamson deserves mention among the honored citizens of Iowa, for he belongs to that class of men whose devotion to public and private duty make them important factors in the development and upbuilding of any locality. It is, therefore, with pleasure that we present the record of his life to is our readers, knowing that it will prove of interest to many. He was born in Ohio, July 21, 1839, the third in a family of five children, whose parents were John and Sarah (Erwin) Adamson. The former is of English descent, and from the “Merrie Isle” crossed the Atlantic to the New World. He was married in Ohio, and throughout the greater part of his life carried on agricultural pursuits. He reached his seventy-fourth year, dying in Cass county, Michigan, in 1853. Prior to the war he was a stanch abolitionist, and on the formation of the Republican party joined its ranks. His religious belief was that of the Society of Friends, with which his wife was also connected. She was a native of Ohio, and passed away in 1876, at the age of seventy years, being laid to rest by the side of her husband. Their children are William, a farmer and stock-raiser of Cass county, Michigan; Susan, wife of Morris Richardson, a resident of Cassopolis, Michigan, and the Treasurer of Cass county, being elected on the Republican ticket; J. H., of this sketch; Sarah Cowgill, who is in an abstract office in Cassopolis, Michigan; Erwin, a popular farmer of Kansas. The gentleman whose name begins this review acquired a good education in the coinmon schools, also attended select schools and academies. At the age of nineteen he began teaching district schools, and for several winter seasons followed that profession, while in the summer months he devoted his time and energies to farming. He also dealt in stock, buying, feeding and shipping to the city markets. His residence in Iowa dates from 1867, at which time he located in Marion county, where he made his home until the spring of 1893. On the 26th day of August, 1870, was celebrated the marriage which united the destinies of J. H. Adamson and Miss Mary Etta Adamson, a native of Columbiana county, Ohio, and a daughter of Samuel and Libby Ann (Cobbs) Adamson, whose family numbered two sons and two daughters, all yet living. The mother is a native of Columbiana county, and makes her home with her daughter Mary. The father died in Hardin county, Iowa, October 4, 1875. Our subject and his wife now have three children: Sarah J., who was born August 13, 1871, and died on the 29th of December of the same year, being buried in Waveland cemetery; Nora D., who was born April 19, 1875, and is the wife of G. W. Hukill, of Marion county; and Isabel L., who was born December 21, 1881. Mr. Adamson was one of the organizers of the Citizens’ Bank of Milo, and is an able financier and representative business man.
Source: A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1896, vol.1, p.220