Samuel Adams Sr. (1689–1748) was an American brewer, father of American Founding Father

Samuel Adams Samuel Adams (, 1722 – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, Political philosophy, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts, a le ...

, and first cousin once removed of

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

Biography

He was born in Boston, on May 16, 1689 to Captain John Adams (1661–1702) and Hannah Adams (nee Webb). He was a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in the

Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

. He was a Boston Caucus member with Elisha Cooke. Advertisements from Boston suggest that Adams Sr. owned and sold at least one "Carolina Indian" slave in 1716. In 1740, he helped create a Land Bank, in

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

, using paper money to promote commerce, with a scarcity of gold and silver coins. In July 1741, the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

passed a bill destroying the land bank, by making shareholders liable for the bank's debts.

Family

In 1713, he married Mary Fifield (1694–1748). They had twelvew children. Three survived into adulthood, including

. Adams Sr. died in 1748. In the marriage of Samuel Adams Sr. and Mary Fifield, twelve children were born, three of whom survived: * Aaron Adams (1713–1740) * Richard Adams (1715–1716) * Mary Adams (1717–1767) – married James Allen (1708–1755) * Hannah Adams (1720–1721) *

(1722–1803) – founding father of the United States, governor of Massachusetts from 1793 to 1797. * John Adams (1724–1726) * John Adams (1727–1738) * Joseph Adams (1728-1762) * Thomas Adams (1731–1732) * Sarah Adams (1733–1734) * Abigail Adams (1735–1736) * Mehitable Adams (1740–1741)

References

{{Samuel Adams, state=collapsed 1689 births 1748 deaths People from colonial Massachusetts Adams family American brewers American Congregationalists American Puritans Businesspeople from Boston 18th-century American businesspeople