Elizabeth Sparks Adams (December 12, 1911 – 2007) was an American historian. She served for 54 years on the

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Historical Commission, making her the longest-serving public official in Michigan history, and the first woman president of the Commission.

Biography

Adams was born on December 12, 1911 in

Romeo, Michigan Romeo is a village in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,596 at the 2010 census. The village is situated at the southeast corner of Bruce Township, with a portion extending south into Washington Township. Arma ...

. She later graduated from Pontiac High School at 19, and four years later graduated from

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

. She graduated with an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

the following year. She was the first curator of the Michigan Historical Collections from 1938 to 1939. In 1936, she married Donald E. Adams. Adams was elected a Justice of the Peace in

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

seven years after marrying Donald Adams, and in 1954 was elected to the Waterford Township Board of Education for two terms, later serving as president of the board for two years. She served on the Michigan Historical Commission for 54 years after her appointment by

Murray Van Wagoner Murray Delos Van Wagoner (March 18, 1898June 12, 1986) was an American politician. He served as the 38th governor of Michigan from 1941 to 1943. Early life Van Wagoner was born near Kingston, Michigan in Tuscola County. In 1921, he received ...

on March 20, 1941. During her service there, she was president for fourteen years and vice president for two years, serving until stepping down in 1995. Adams was president of Historical Society of Michigan and the Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society.

Publications

* ''Out of Small Beginnings, a Bicentennial Historical Sketch of Oakland County, MI, 1815-1976'' ;Contributed to * ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' * ''Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States'' * ''The University of Michigan, an Encyclopedic Survey.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Elizabeth Sparks 1911 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American historians Eastern Michigan University alumni University of Michigan alumni American women historians 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers History of Michigan People from Romeo, Michigan Historians from Michigan 21st-century American women writers