History of Franklin County, Pennsylvania, 1887
James
Adams Biography
James Adams, engineer, Chambersburg, was born in Adams County, Penn., October 10, 1810; a son of Ignatius and Mary (Hoffman) Adams. He was reared on a farm until eighteen years of age, and received such an education as was generally given to farmers' sons. He then commenced an apprenticeship at the cooper' s trade, which he completed at Chambersburg, to which place he came in the spring of 1829, and remained with his employer, Robert Stewart, as journeyman for some years; then, in 1835, he engaged in the same business for himself, and in this he was occupied until 1841 or 1842, when he entered the employ of the Cumberland Valley Railroad, first as striker in the blacksmith department, and was soon advanced to the position of fireman on a locomotive. He served as fireman two years, when he was promoted to the responsible position of engineer, (this was the day of strap-rail track, and open cab on the engine), and in such capacity served until February, 1882. In April, that year, he commenced working in the Cumberland Valley Railroad shops, where he is still employed.
Our subject married April 23, 1835, Martha Stewart, daughter of Robert Stewart, a former resident of Chambersburg, where she was born in March, 1817. To this marriage were born six children, three of whom are living: James R., a resident of Chambersburg; Martha J., wife of Dr. John E. Kline, a physician, of Chambersburg, and Mary E., who resides with her father. The family belong to the Catholic Church. Mr. Adams is said to be the oldest engineer on the Cumberland Valley Railroad now living. In politics he is a Democrat.
Source: Biographical Annals of Franklin County, Pennsylvania : containing genealogical records of representative families, including many of the early settlers, and biographical sketches of prominent citizens; Chicago. Genealogical Pub. Co. 1905. Notes: Prepared in part by George O. Seilhamer.
|
| FREE Ancestry.com Tools
|
Ancestry.com
FREE Start your Own Family Tree and get access to the largest collection of family history records online.
Family Trees
FREE The largest collection of family trees online.
Message Boards
FREE
The world's largest online genealogy community. Surnames, Localities, and Genealogy Research Topics.
|
|
|
Adams at RootsWeb
|
Adams at RootsWeb
Adams in a metasearch of the oldest largest free genealogy site.
Adams in USGenWeb
Adams in the Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives of genealogy records transcriptions.
|
|
|
